Weekly Newsletter        |        June 30, 2015
In This Issue
Message from the BALIF Board 
Greetings!

 

 

I will keep this message brief. After all, it's a short week, and many of us will be heading out of the Bay Area for the long weekend. It also goes without saying that many of us are (still) recuperating from this past weekend's many events. 

 

I first thought I would highlight the significance and impact of the Supreme Court's decision in Obergerfell v. Hodges. Then I thought I would explain just how appropriate it was for this decision to come down the day before SF's Pride weekend and a week before Independence Day. And then I thought I would point out that we still have a long way to go in reaching full equality.... But, instead, this week, I only copy verbatim what is arguably the most powerful paragraph from Obergerfell and ask that we reflect upon these words as we celebrate the ideals that all "are created equal" and that we have "certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness": 

 

"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."

 

Happy Independence Day.

 

 

Sincerely, 


Mario Choi

BALIF Board Treasurer


Obergefell v. Hodges: 
Marriage Equality at the Supreme Court 
Event on July 7, 2015

 

The American Constitution Society and BALIF invite you to join our all-star panel of marriage equality experts for a discussion of the Supreme Court's pending marriage equality cases consolidated into Obergefell v. Hodges.

 

Where: Morrison & Foerster, 425 Market Street, SF, CA

When: Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at 12:00pm   

 

On the panel are three of the most distinguished names in the history of marriage equality both in California and on the national stage.

 

Kate Kendell 

The leader of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a relentless advocate for the rights of LGBT people that regularly brings cases on behalf of LGBT plaintiffs all across the country, including Tanco v. Haslam, one of the four marriage equality cases currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

The Honorable Therese Stewart 

The former Chief Deputy City Attorney for San Francisco who represented the City and County of San Francisco in securing a ruling in favor of marriage equality in In re Marriage Cases in the California Supreme Court before Prop. 8, and argued before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that Prop. 8 was unconstitutional. In 2013, her groundbreaking work led to the U.S. Supreme Court's historic decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act. 

 

Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker

Presided over the Prop. 8 case while serving on the U.S. District Court for  the Northern District of California, was one of the first judges in the country to rule that marriage equality was a  constitutional right, a decision that has served as the backbone of the more than 60 marriage quality decisions  decided since and leading up to the cases now before the Supreme Court.


 

The discussion will be moderated by Berkeley Law Professor Fred Smith. 

Please see the attached flyer for details!

 

RSVP required to get into the building for the panel. 

Click here to RSVP!

 

Insider Tips from General 
Counsel: Developing Business Relationships and In-House Careers

 

BALIF is proud to be co-sponsor of the Baker Botts Global Women's Forum's a "Summer Spotlight on Success" panel of General Counsels, including Kelly Tullier (GC of Visa), John Kuo (GC of Varian Medical Systems), Jan Kang (GC of AOptix), and Brian Cabrera (GC of nVIDIA).

 

This high-profile panel will discuss topics of interest and relevance to both in-house attorneys and law firm attorneys: how GCs decide whether to give work to outside counsel, plus tips on developing business relationships and pitching for business; and how GCs hire supporting in-house counsel, plus tips on networking to get on the insider track for in-house positions.

 

The details: 

July 1, 2015

Panel Discussion: 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Reception: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Baker Botts LLP

1001 Page Mill Road

Building One, Suite 200

Palo Alto, CA 94304

 

 1.0 Hour of General CLE Credit is pending approval.

 

Please click HERE to RSVP.

 

BALIFBuzz
Dawn Hassell

Congratulations to Dawn Hassell and her team! On June 15, 2015, they obtained a $825k result on a SF slip and fall case, the highest published result listed in Verdict Search for this type of injury in a slip and fall case in CA. Fittingly, Ms. Hassell was also named a Northern California Super Lawyer, and one of the Top Women Attorneys in Northern California by San Francisco Magazine.
BALIF Files Ninth Circuit Amicus Brief Supporting Medical Care 
for Transgender Prisoner

June 12, 2015 - San Francisco - Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) filed an amicus curiae brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Norsworthy v. Beard. Ms. Norsworthy is a transgender woman held in a California men's prison. The district court concluded that the denial of necessary medical care to Ms. Norsworthy violated the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It issued a preliminary injunction requiring the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to provide Ms. Norsworthy with adequate medical care, including sex reassignment surgery. CDCR appealed the preliminary injunction to the Ninth Circuit.
 

BALIF's brief in support of Ms. Norsworthy argues that when sex-reassignment surgery - or any medical treatment required for a serious medical need - has been identified as medically necessary for a prisoner, CDCR must provide it. There is no authority for a blanket denial of a particular procedure due to anticipated security and administrative issues. The brief explains that state and local detention systems throughout the country, including CDCR, have developed policies and procedures that ensure the health and safety of transgender prisoners while effectively balancing security and administrative issues. CDCR's asserted security issues ignore important aspects of California's prison system and are entirely manageable with respect to Ms. Norsworthy. Constitutional and other federal law require that CDCR take steps to ensure both the health and safety of a transgender prisoner like Ms. Norsworthy, as the district court correctly held.
 

"CDCR cannot hide behind its asserted security and administrative concerns to avoid its constitutional duty to provide medically necessary care to all prisoners, including Ms. Norsworthy," said Julie Wilensky, chair of BALIF's Amicus Committee.
 

BALIF's brief was filed by pro bono amicus counsel Rosen, Bien,  Galvan & Grunfeld LLP, whose team includes attorneys Aaron J. Fischer and Sanford Rosen, summer associate Abbye Klamann, and paralegal clerk Charlotte Landes. 

 

Click here to read the brief.

 

American Association for Justice's 
LGBT Caucus & CLE Lineup

 

The newly formed LGBT Caucus with the American Association for Justice has planned its first-ever CLE lineup for the American Association for Justice Annual Convention this summer in Montreal being held on July 11-15. Started less than two years ago, the LGBT caucus has gained in size and momentum and aims to have its huge coming out this summer at the convention.

 

The lineup will consist of three events. On the afternoon of July 11, the caucus will host a 1.5 hour CLE presentation focused on marriage equality, which will have just been argued before the Supreme Court.

 

The panel of speakers will include:

  • Justice John Greaney (ret.) of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, who authored the powerful concurring opinion in the Goodridge case.
  • Chuck Herring, Esq., of Texas, whose tireless efforts and creativity got a marriage license issued in Texas for the same-sex marriage of two of his clients.
  • Professor Michael Kavey, of NYU School of Law, who has worked for Lambda Legal, clerked for Justice Sotomayor (while on the Second Circuit) and been named by the national LGBT Bar Association as one of the "Best LGBT Attorneys Under 40."
  • Elizabeth Schwartz, Esq., of Miami, FL, who has worked tirelessly for marriage equality as counsel in a case challenging Florida's marriage ban.

 

The LGBT Caucus will also host a business meeting for its caucus members and a cocktail reception for its members to network and socialize.

 

For information on becoming a member of the American Association for Justice and the LGBT Caucus, or attending the convention, please contact the AAJ at membership@justice.org or (800) 424-2727, ext. 8611.

Office Available for Rent
BEAUTIFUL UPPER CASTRO Semi-Private Space For Rent 
Ideal for any professional. Located in a unique mid-century modern corner building with loads of natural light, and a sunny patio. Use of either front or separate side-entrance. Shared full kitchen, full bathroom and reception area. Plenty of on-street parking, easy Muni access and a truly pleasurable working environment. This is an open floor plan that can fit up to four desks or any other creative use of the space. Reception area also serves as art gallery with seasonal art openings. Water, PG&E, WiFi and garbage included in rent. Share space with two progressive attorneys. Don't be fooled by the attorney titles though, this is not a stuffy or stodgy space. Our office is a creative, cooperative and congenial place to work. We are looking for a another simpatico soul to join us!

Follow BALIF on Twitter!

 

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.

 

Join the BALIF Listserv!

 

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 Want Your BALIFBuzz

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

 

Job Postings Now on BALIF Website

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.

July 9 - BALIF Happy Hour
July 1 - Insider Tips from General Counsel 
Our 2015 Sponsors
Partner Level
Seyfarth
 
Counsel Level

A&P

Fenwick
HB Logo
Kilpatrick

Mofo
Sedgwick2


Wilson

Advocate Level

 

A.L. Nella & Company, CPAs 

AT&T

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher  

Jones Day 

Latham & Watkins LLP 

Morgen Lewis & Bockius LLP 

MUFG Union Bank

O'Melveny & Meyers LLP 

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP 

Pacific Gas & Electric

Perkins Coie LLP 

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP 

Sanford Heisler Kimpel, LLP 

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton 

Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP 

 

Benefactor Level

 

Callaway & Wolf

Carroll, Burdick & McDonough LLP

Clarence, Dyer & Cohen LLP / Swanson & McNamara LLP 

Cooley LLP 

Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP

Farella Braun + Martel LLP 

Futterman Dupree Dodd Croley Maier LLP 

Golden Gate University, School of Law 

Jackson Lewis LLP 

JAMS  

Lewis, Feinberg, Lee & Jackson, P.C. 

Littler Mendelson P.C. 

Lubin Olson & Niewiadomski LLP

Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP 

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP 

Novak Druce Connolly Bove + Quigg LLP

Paul Hastings LLP 

Pritzker Levine LLP

Reed Smith LLP 

Roeca Hass Hager LLP 

San Francisco City Attorney's Office 

San Francisco District Attorney's Office 

Schiff Hardin LLP 

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP  

 

Individual Sponsors

 

Dave Arellano, Altep, Inc.   

Michael Colantuono, Colantuono Highsmith & Whatley, PC 

David Fermino, Sideman & Bancroft LLP 

David Helbraun, Helbraun Law 

Frederick Hertz, Law and Mediation Office of Frederick Hertz

John Hill, Law Offices of John E. Hill, P.C.

Hon. Stuart Hing & Rhoda Hing, Alameda County Superior Court

James Kealohi, Pathways Personnel

David Monroe, Able & Monroe P.C.

Todd Norris, Bullivant Houser Bailey 

Debra R. Schoenberg, Schoenberg Family Law Group, P.C. 

Cheryl Sena, Sena Family Law 

Hon. James L. Warren (Ret.), JAMS  

BALIF Board of Directors
Jessica Bogo & John Robert Unruh
  
Peter Catalanotti
Secretary

Mario Choi
Treasurer

Denise Bergin 
Judiciary Chair

Nick Clements & 
David Sims
Gala Co-Chairs  

 

Meaghan Zore 

Julie Wilensky
Amicus Chair     

 
Jennifer Orthwein
Communications Chair 

Jamie Dupree
Programs Chair

Felicia Medina & Shauna Madison
Young Lawyers & Law Students Co-Chairs  

Brandon Lawrence & Daniel Faessler
Social Action Co-Chairs 


Dmitri Pikman
Lindsey Rosellini
Community Ambassador Chair  

Joseph Deignan, Alex Lemberg & Sam Potts
Katie Carlson
BALIF Administrator 
Follow BALIF

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BALIF | | info@balif.org | http://www.balif.org
P.O. Box 193383
San Francisco, CA 94119