Law Student Candidates Needed

BALIF has extended the deadline one week for law student representatives to submit their candidate statements for the BALIF Board of Directors.  To run for the Board or nominate someone else, please send a candidate statement of up to 250 words to Pete Catalanotti (secretary@balif.org) and BALIF's Administrator, Katie Carlson (balif@balif.org) by Sunday, March 22 at 5pm.  Please indicate whether you are applying for the male, female or transgender/gender non-conforming position in your statement.  

Election Update

BALIF has received a record 16 candidate statements for the 10 open positions on the Board!  Thank you to everyone who submitted statements and nominations.  Let the campaign season begin!  Good luck to all of the candidates!    

Elections will begin online on April 1, 2015.  The candidate statements will be posted online.  There will also be an opportunity to vote in person at BALIF's annual general membership meeting on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 from 6 - 8:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Sausage Factory in the Castro.  The results will be announced at the end of the meeting. 

When:  Thursday, March 19, 2015; Thursday, May 14, 2015; Tuesday, June 16, 2015; Thursday, July 16, 2015; and Thursday, August 20, 2015

Time:  12:30 pm to 2:00 pm

Where: San Francisco City Club (155 Sansome, 10^th Floor)

What: Gourmet buffet lunch with other partners and firm owners

Cost: $40 payable by cash or check only

BALIF has created the BALIF Partners Exchange to bring together our members that are looking to network and exchange business and ideas.  This event is exclusively for BALIF members who are partners or owners of their firm with 7 year or more of experience. 

March's luncheon topic:  What is the relevance of being an LGBT attorney? Does it help or hurt with business development and/or recruiting employees? What is the continuing significance of BALIF? Or is it premature to even ask the question given the pendency of the marriage cases?

Space is limited so only the first 11 to RSVP to jdupree@fddcm.com may attend. 

RSVPs being accepted for Thursday, March 19, 2015 only.  

Calling all BALIF mentors, mentees, and law student members -- please join us for a happy hour on April 2. For law students, this will be a great opportunity to meet and mingle with LGBT attorneys and other law students before you leave for the summer. We'll also celebrate BALIF's mentors and mentees and honor this year's BALIF Mentor of the Year with an award. And of course, there will be free drinks and food. Hope to see you there!

When: Thursday, April 2, 2015

Where: The Patriot House, 2 Embarcadero Center, SF

Time: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

BASF and BALIF presents:

Thursday, April 9, 2015

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

The Bar Association of San Francisco

301 Battery Street, Third Floor

$30 BASF Student and Legal Professional Members

$40 Committee Members, Government and Nonprofit Attorneys and BALIF Members$50 BASF Members * $65 Others

MCLE: 1.5 Hours of Elimination of Bias CreditMCLE Registration: 

5:00 - 5:30 p.m.

Light Refreshments/Program: 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

Event Code: G151629

Click here to view the flyer!

THE PANEL

HON. ANGELA BRADSTREET- San Francisco Superior Court

HON. LINDA COLFAX- San Francisco Superior Court

HON. VICTORIA KOLAKOWSKI- Alameda County Superior Court

HON. VAUGHN WALKER (RET)- United States District Court for the Northern District

STUART PLUNKETT- Morrison & Foerster/BASF Judiciary Committee

THE PANEL DISCUSSION WILL FEATURE

* LGBT judicial officers discussing their personal pathways to the bench

*Information on the vetting process for judicial candidates in California

* Advice for (LGBT) attorneys considering a career in the judiciary

MARCH 6 - San Francisco - Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) filed an amicus curiae brief yesterday in the United States Supreme Court in the consolidated cases Obergefell v. Hodges , Tanco v. Haslam, DeBoer v. Snyder, and Bourke v. Beshear, in support of the Petitioners' positions that the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a same-sex marriage lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state. BALIF's brief argues that it is the duty of the courts to decide the equal protection challenge, that the marriage bans are unconstitutional applying even the most deferential rational basis review, and that the bans inflict profound legal, economic, and emotional harm on same-sex couples and their children.

"Contrary to the Sixth Circuit's holding, it is the role of the judiciary to evaluate the constitutionality of state provisions and not to defer the question to the state voters and legislators who enacted them," said Leah Nutting, BALIF's Amicus Committee chair. "Fundamental rights such as the right to marry cannot be denied by majority vote. The institution of marriage is too special and the harms caused by the bans are too costly to just 'wait and see' for the democratic process to recognize that right."

Thirty bar associations and legal organizations from around the nation joined BALIF in signing the brief. The coalition of amici includes state, metropolitan, local, and minority bar associations and local non-profit organizations. The brief was filed with pro bono support from Jerome C. Roth and Amelia L. B. Sargent of the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson.

Substance Abuse in the Legal Profession: Prevention, Detection, and Treatment

• Thursday, March 26, 5:30-7:30pm
• Presented by David Mann - Northern California Consultant to The Other Bar
• 1.5 Substance Abuse CLE Credits

All Classes take place at:

Bar Association of San Francisco

301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, Board Room

San Francisco, CA 94111

To RSVP

Email:

mcle@alrp.org

Call: 415-701-1200 ext. 303 

If you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact Nicole Britton-Snyder at nbrittonsnyder@sfbar.org.

Nicole Britton-Snyder, Esq.

Diversity Pipeline Programs Manager 

Justice & Diversity Center, The Bar Association of San Francisco 301 Battery Street, Third Floor 

San Francisco, CA 94111 
Tel: 415-782-8914 

nbrittonsnyder@sfbar.org | www.sfbar.org/diversity

SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103

Join Lambda Legal's Bay Area Leadership Council for a fabulous night in San Francisco! Supporters will learn of Lambda Legal updates while enjoying a fantastic dinner among friends and supporters at the City View at Metreon.

For more information, please visit the event website at http://www.lambdalegal.org/sfsoiree2015, or contact Adrian Ogle at 646-307-7397.

BALIF's twitter feed is up and running.  Follow us to see BALIF news, event info, #ThrowbackThursday posts, and more.  Just click the Twitter button in the right hand column of the newsletter or here.

Have a job or need one? Civil procedure question? Need a

referral? Have something important to ask ... or news to tell? Want to get to our members quickly? Join our Listserv!

BALIF members should have received our invitation to join our newly-created Listserv. You must proactively respond to the request in order to be added to our Listserv. If you didn't get a request, please let us know by emailing technology@balif.org or balif@balif.org.

We all love that section in our alumni newsletters that talks about who's doing what.

Well, we're introducing the BALIFBuzz to show-off all the great things that our members are doing.  BALIFBuzz will be appearing in the weekly BALIF newsletter.   

New job?

New client?

Promotion?

Court victory?

Significant settlement?

Baby on the way?

Recently married or engaged?

Speaking engagement?

Award, recognition, certification, or degree?  

Or anything else you're excited about...

Keep it to one or two lines.  Please send to membership@balif.org.

Can't wait to hear your great news!

Meaghan Zore 

BALIF Membership Chair

All job postings can be found here!  

BALIF membership must be current to view the job postings. Simply log into the BALIF website with your membership ID and password, and select JOBS from the menu on the left.