Weekly Newsletter        |        March 2, 2016
In This Issue
Message from the BALIF Board 
Greetings!

 
Happy March!
 
There are two events this week that I'd like to share with you.  The first is the monthly BALIF happy hour taking place this Thursday, March 3rd at Hi Tops.  The gathering will start at 6pm, and is sure to be a great time.  Come have a drink, reconnect with all those new friends you made at the BALIF gala, and eat some wings for me.
 
The second is a really exciting opportunity to view a film that's been gaining widespread acclaim on the independent film circuit.  BALIF's own Zachary Davina is hosting a screening and discussion panel of the film "The mask you live in" for USF's Diversity Week.  Created by Jennifer Seibel Newsom, this film is an in depth look at how America's narrow definition of masculinity is affecting the young men in our society, encouraging them to disconnect from their emotions, devalue authentic friendships, objectify women, and resolve conflicts through violence.  Experts in neuroscience, psychology, sociology, sports, education, and media offer empirical evidence and their efforts to combat this issue in our society.  As an ardent follower of independent film for the last ten years, I found this film to be one of the most raw and compelling films I have seen in a long time, and highly recommend it.  The screening and discussion will take place this Thursday, March 3rd, from 5-8:20pm, in room KN103 on the USF campus.
 
To all the law students about to embark on spring break, I hope you have a blast! You've earned it.
 

Sincerely,

Joseph Deignan
BALIF Law Student Representative 
BALIF March Happy Hour
TOMORROW!

Join us tomorrow at Hi Tops in the Castro!!

Thursday, March 3, 2016
6:00pm- 8:00pm

Hi Tops Bar
2247 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94114

Join the BALIF Board of Directors-
BALIF Board 2016 Elections
A great way to serve the LGBT legal community and become more involved in BALIF is to join BALIF's Board of Directors. BALIF's Directors are elected by the BALIF membership, and each Director holds office for two years. Any BALIF member is welcome to run for the Board or nominate another BALIF member. BALIF's bylaws reflect the Board's commitment to "equality, parity, and diversity," and we specifically encourage people of color, women, and transgender and/or gender non-conforming individuals to run for the Board. 
 
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 March 31, 2016 at 5:00pm. BALIF's bylaws require gender parity on the Board, with a certain number of positions allocated to Directors who identify as male, female, and gender non-conforming. So if you are seeking a position, please indicate the category with which you identify.
 
Elections will be online starting on April 1, 2016 and there will be an opportunity to vote in person at BALIF's annual general membership meeting on Thursday, April 14, 2016 from 6 - 8:30pm. The results will be announced at the end of the meeting.
 
Questions about the Board? Thinking about seeking a position? Feel free to contact Peter Catalanotti at secretary@balif.org

BALIF Endorses Sean SeLegue 
for the State Bar of California Board of Trustees
BALIF endorses Sean SeLegue of Arnold & Porter for the State 
Bar of California Board of Trustees. We encourage our 
membership to learn more about Sean here: 

Vote here:
http://www.calbar.ca.gov/AboutUs/BoardofTrustees/Elections/2016B
oardofTrusteesCandidates/SeanSeLegue.aspx).

If you need your PIN for voting, please email or call Michelle Pierce
at the State Bar (415.538.2053 / michelle.pierce@calbar.ca.gov) and provide Michelle with your member number.

2016- 2018 Public Interest Fellowship
Public Justice, a national public interest law firm dedicated to pursuing high impact lawsuits to combat social and economic injustice, protect the Earth's sustainability, and challenge predatory corporate conduct and government abuses, seeks to hire a law school graduate to serve as a Fellow for two years in either its Washington, D.C. headquarters or its Oakland, California office.  The Fellow will help develop and litigate Public Justice's cases.  The position will start in the fall of 2016. 

2016 HNBA LGBT Summit: 
"Defining a National Agenda for Leadership & Advocacy"
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Planet Hollywood
Las Vegas, Nevada
 
The LGBT Division of the Hispanic National Bar Association is proud to announce the first-ever HNBA LGBT Summit. The featured event will be a roundtable panel of national LGBT and Latino leaders on the current state of affairs of Latino/a LGBT rights, followed by an interactive workshop designed to help define a national agenda for leadership and advocacy among Latino/a LGBT legal professionals. We will also have panels on professional and leadership development, and on strategies for defending against new challenges to LGBT rights after the US Supreme Court's landmark Obergefell case establishing marriage equality. Our programming is designed to bring together and build a pipeline of LGBT Latino/a leaders nationwide.
We are honored that the National LGBT Bar will be our conference co-sponsor.

The LGBT Summit will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2016-the day before the HNBA Corporate Counsel Conference at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In attendance will be HNBA and National LGBT Bar members, LGBT Latino/a leaders, and our allies. The Summit will focus on assessing who we are as LGBT Latino/a professionals, what our needs are as a community, and what agenda we should pursue at the national level. It is open to all interested.

There is no additional fee, but registration will be required. Registration will go live early February 2016.

Questions? Contact Gonzalo Martinez, Chair, HNBA LGBT Division at gmartinez@cbmlaw.com.

BALIF Partner Exchange Luncheon
When: Tuesday, March 22, 2016; Friday, April 22, 2016; and Thursday, May 19, 2016

Time:  12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
Where: San Francisco City Club (155 Sansome, 10th Floor)
What: Gourmet buffet lunch with other partners and firm owners
Cost: $40 payable by cash or check only
 
BALIF has created the BALIF Partner 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 years or more of experience. 

I am always looking for topics so let me know if there is something you'd like to discuss at an upcoming luncheon.
 
Space is limited so only the first 11 to RSVP to jdupree@fddcm.com  may attend. 

ALRP Free 2016 MCLE Trainings
ALRP
 
Wage & Hour Claims for People Living with HIV - Sponsored by the State Bar's Labor & Employment Law Section
  • Wednesday, March 9, 5:30-7:00pm
  • Presented by Lakeisha Poole, Esq. (lkplegal.com) & Asha Wilkerson (thewilkersonlawoffice.com)
  • 1.5 General CLE Credits
Ellis Act Evictions
  • Wednesday, March 23, 5:30-7:00pm
  • Presented by Raquel Fox, Esq. - Tenderloin Housing Clinic - thclinic.org
  • 1.5 General CLE Credits
Employment Issues Facing Clients with HIV/AIDS - Sponsored by the State Bar's Labor & Employment Law Section
  • Wednesday, March 30, 5:30-7:00pm
  • Presented by Sonya Smallets, Esq. - Minnis & Smallets LLP - minnisandsmallets.com
  • 1.5 General 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:
Call: 415-701-1200 ext. 303

Advising an Aging LGBTQ Population
Wednesday, March 23, 2016

It's been said that age is just a state of mind, but statistically speaking, LGBTQ people face some unique challenges as we grow older. Consider that two thirds of us don't have children. We are twice as likely to live alone and significantly more likely to be disconnected from our families of origin. And over the next 50 years, the number of people over 65 is expected to double. 
 
In this session, you'll learn more about the issues facing your aging clients, including: 
 
  • Long-term financial and estate planning
  • Recognizing signs of elder abuse or cognitive impairment
  • Long-term care and end-of-life preparations
 
 
Event is free. Lunch is provided.

BALIFBuzz
Alex Austin
 
Austin Law Group has the pleasure of announcing that our firm is production counsel on the Academy Award nominated short documentary 'Last Day of Freedom' and founding attorney Alex Austin is also Co-Executive Producer of the film. You can view the film, by Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman, on Netflix. 
Reed Smith / Kaiser Permanente
1L Diversity Fellowship Program
The Reed Smith/Kaiser Permanente Diversity Fellowship Program provides an award in the amount of $5,000 and a 2016 summer associate position to a diverse, first-year law student who has demonstrated strong academic scholarship, dedication to community service and/or leadership, and an understanding of the importance of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. The $5,000 will be awarded for the recipient's second year of law school and will be paid in addition to the summer associate salary. The successful candidate will spend seven weeks of the summer program at the Reed Smith San Francisco office and three weeks at Kaiser's Oakland office.

Download the application materials. The deadline for this year's application materials to be submitted is 5:00pm PST on
Friday, March 4, 2016.

Applications and program inquiries should be emailed to:

Jessica Sisco
Senior Manager of Legal Recruiting
Reed Smith LLP
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.

March 3 - BALIF Happy Hour
April 14 - BALIF Annual Meeting & Elections Night
Our 2016-2017 Sponsors
Partner Level

 
Counsel Level

A&P

Fenwick
HB Logo

 

Mofo
Sedgwick2
Seyfarth


Wilson

Advocate Level


Benefactor Level


Individual Sponsors

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

BALIF | P.O. Box 193383 | San Francisco | CA | 94119