Food from the Bar is a grass-roots campaign started by lawyers to fight hunger among children in our communities. It consists of a month-long friendly competition in the spring among law firms and legal offices in which participants contribute money, donate food, and/or volunteer time sorting and packing food at the local food banks in their communities. This year’s 2013 campaign will run from April 29 to May 24. NCWBA has been a leading supporter of Food from the Bar.

What was once "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" and is now officially titled "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" is an opportunity for those in the legal profession to introduce their children and other young relatives and friends to a perspective on what they do all day that may deepen a child's interest in the law or help the child gain a better understanding of the what it means to be in the workforce.  Women's bar associations are natural partners in this event, as they can provide networking opportunities for children and adults and expand the scope of the day's experience beyond the doors of a single law office.   Women Lawyers Association of Michigan is hosting a luncheon. Oregon Women Lawyers has often held a brown-bag event at a courthouse where children are invited to take turns sitting at the judge's bench and to learn about the various roles of court personnel.  For more about the day and possible activities, click here. Now in its second decade, the popularity of the day has waned.  For a blog post about why that might be the case, click here.

American Bar Association Nominations for 2013 ABA Medal are due by Thursday, May 16, 2013 Deadline

The Operations and Communications Committee of the Board of Governors invites your nominations for the 2013 recipient of the ABA Medal. The ABA Medal was established to honor a member of the bench or bar who has “rendered conspicuous service in the cause of American jurisprudence.”  Consistent with the Association's commitment to diversity, we encourage you, in considering who to nominate for the Medal, to include women and candidates of diverse backgrounds. Please submit your nominations, by Thursday, May 16, 2013.

 

The WSBA is now soliciting nominations for our annual awards, which are presented at our Awards Dinner in September. We ask that you strongly consider making a nomination or encouraging others to do so. This year's awards are listed below. We would love to receive nominations from all around the state. Please tell us who inspires you!

The nomination deadline is April 30, and the nomination form can be found on our Awards web page

FREE WEBINAR Gender Bias Against Women in the Law: Where We Are and What We Can Do About It

April, 18 2013 | 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Pacific/2:00-3:00 PM Eastern

Although women have been graduating from law school in large numbers for several decades, many fewer women than men have advanced into senior law firm positions and leadership roles. Since 2006, NAWL and the NAWL Foundation have surveyed law firms on their retention and promotion of women lawyers, and most recently on the role played by Women's Initiatives for advancing legal careers.  The results offer surprises as well as recommendations for women lawyers and their firms.  

NAWL, the Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law, the CBA Alliance, and Ms. JD have joined together to co-sponsor a presentation on the latest research into women's initiatives in law firms. Come learn more about this unique research, its implications for eliminating gender bias and the steps firms can take to advance women lawyers.

 

Speakers:

       Jennifer K. Gust, Partner, Hinshaw and Culbertson LLP/
       Board Member, Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law
       Stephanie A. Scharf, Partner, Scharf Banks Marmor LLC/
       President, NAWL Foundation

       Janet Wallace, Associate, Duggan Smith & Heath LLP/
       Vice President, Ms. JD

 

Moderator:

       Leslie Richards-Yellen, Partner/Chief Diversity and Inclusion
       Officer, Hinshaw and Culbertson LLP/Board Member, National
       Association of Women Lawyers 
 
To view the report on the National Survey of Women's Initiatives, please click HERE

 

We will be addressing questions about the survey and its results as part of the panel presentation.  Please send your questions by April 10th to Sarretta McDonough, NAWL Board Member, at smcdonough@gibsondunn.com.

 

*Registrants must be individually registered in order to be eligible for
Continuing Legal Education credits.   

 

MCLE INFORMATION*

CLE credit is currently pending in the following states: NY, NJ, IL, PA & CA

"The Pursuit of Justice" Conference

The Gonzaga University School of Law, the Gonzaga Institute for Hate Studies, and the Washington State Task Force on Race and the Criminal Justice System are pleased to organize and host this three-day international conference scheduled for April 18-20, 2013. 

The conference theme is Understanding Hatred, Confronting Intolerance, Eiminating Inequality.

"The Pursuit of Justice" offers many outstanding opportunities for cross-conversation between scholars from around the world, members of law enforcement and the judiciary, NGO leaders, public policy and social change experts, human rights activists, award-winning filmmakers, and more.
 
Conference highlights include:

Friday keynote by Professor Paul Butler - Georgetown Law Center, author of Let's Get Free:  A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice, and leading expert on race and criminal justice (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/opinion/gideons-muted-trumpet.html)

Thursday keynote by Dr. Jack Levin - Brudnick Professor of Sociology and Criminology and Co-Director of the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict, Northeastern University, author of 30 books and 150+ articles on hate, extremism, violence and conflict (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/08/hate-crimes-mississippi-oberlin-haunt-everyone; http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/12/19/podium-newtown/8RBiAPBjlYG9N9LyC2RVyM/story.html)

"The Pursuit of Justice - Judicial Perspectives" - Friday plenary panel featuring members of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, US District Courts for Eastern and Western Washington, Washington State Supreme Court, and more

Thursday opening address by Dr. Barbara Perry - "Critical Criminologist of the Year," Professor of Social Science and Associate Dean of Social Science and Humanities, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, noted expert on hate crimes against indigenous and immigrant populations

"Civil Liberties and the Politics of Hate" - Thursday plenary session on voting, political organizing, and the "neutrality of guns," as influenced by the politics of hate and extremism, featuring Dr. Terri Givens, University of Texas-Austin Professor of Government and Gonzaga Prep alumna

"Race and Criminal Justice" - Saturday session including Spokane Chief of Police Frank Straub and Ryan Haygood, Director of Political Participation for the NAACP Legal Education and Defense Fund, Inc.

"The World Is All Around Us" - Friday workshop with Lee Mun Wah, the internationally renowned Chinese American documentary filmmaker, Asian folkteller, poet/author, community therapist, educator, and master diversity trainer

For all conference information, please visit http://www.gonzaga.edu/pursuitofjustice.  We will continue updating the schedule into April.  Direct any questions or concerns to hatestudies@gonzaga.edu, attn: Conference Co-Chairs Prof. Jason Gillmer and Dr. John Shuford.

Apply to be an At-Large Governor with WSBA.  Interested? Submit a letter of application and current resume by 5 p.m. PST on April 19. The letter should include a statement addressing how you believe you meet the intent specified in the WSBA Bylaws, April VI(D)1.

Send the letter and resume to

WSBA Office of the Executive Director
1325 Fourth Ave., Ste. 600
Seattle, WA 98101

For more information, email pami@wsba.org or call 206-727-8226.

Former At – Large Governors Eric De Los Santos shares his experience serving on the Board.
http://www.wsba.org/About-WSBA/Governance/Board-of-Governors/Elections/At-large-position

Dear Potential Judges:

On behalf of the Moot Court Honor Board at the University of Washington School of Law, I would like to invite you to participate as a judge in our 2013 Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson Appellate Advocacy Competition. The competition will take place from Monday, May 13, 2013 through Thursday, May 16, 2013. More information about the competition and a complete schedule may be found at the bottom of this email. For your service as a judge, you may receive 3 free CLE credits per competition or, 5.5 credits for judging both.* Free parking and a meal are provided. We welcome attorneys from all practice areas to participate.

You may REGISTER to serve as a judge using the following online sign-up sheet (Note that these sign-up sheets cover the preliminary rounds through the semifinal round. Final round judges are recruited on an individual basis.)

PLEASE CLICK HERE to sign up for the 2013 Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson 1L Appellate Advocacy Competition

As a judge, you will provide feedback and evaluate the participants’ performance. We welcome attorneys from all practice areas. We will provide you with details regarding the problem and fact pattern in advance of the competition. Judging for a UWLS competition is an opportunity to provide law students with valuable feedback on their trial advocacy skills. Volunteer judges are also invaluable to the continued success of the Moot Court Honor Board and the in-house competition program.

If you are unable to serve as a judge for this competition, but would like to receive invitations to judge future competitions (or would like to be removed from our judge database), please let us know via the sign-up sheet. Questions regarding the competition can be sent to judges@uw.edu.

Thank you in advance for your support. We hope to see you at the competitions.
Sincerely, Kristi D. Knieps Vice President of Judges UW Moot Court Honor Board
*Each round of competition entails a time commitment of substantive work (training, listening to competition rounds, grading and delivering feedback) of approximately 3 to 3.5 hours. WBSA regulations restrict the number of CLE credits you may receive for judging moot court competitions to 6 CLE credits per three-year reporting period. Note: you will receive 3 credits if you judge one round, but 5.5 if you judge a round in both
competitions. This is because pre-competition training counts for .5 credits, but it is identical for both competitions, and so cannot be counted twice.

2013 Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson 1L Appellate Advocacy
Competition Schedule

Monday, May 13, 2013: Preliminary Round #1
5:30-6:00 p.m. Judge check-in, chance to review problem.
6:00-6:30 p.m. Mandatory training for judges.
6:30-9:00 p.m. Competition round and feedback.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013: Preliminary Round #2
5:30-6:00 p.m. Judge check-in, chance to review problem.
6:00-6:30 p.m. Mandatory training for judges.
6:30-9:00 p.m. Competition round and feedback.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013: Quarterfinal Round
5:30-6:00 p.m. Judge check-in, chance to review problem.
6:00-6:30 p.m. Mandatory training for judges.
6:30-9:00 p.m. Competition round and feedback.

Thursday, May 16, 2013: Semifinal Round
5:30-6:00 p.m. Judge check-in, chance to review problem.
6:00-6:30 p.m. Mandatory training for judges.
6:30-9:00 p.m. Competition round and feedback.

Monday, May 20, 2013: Final Round
* Recruitment of judges for the final round is completed by other means. The schedule for this day is provided for informational purposes only.
5:30-6:00 p.m. Judge check-in, chance to review problem.
6:00-6:30 p.m. Mandatory training for judges.
6:30-9:00 p.m. Competition round and feedback. 9:00-10:30 p.m. Awards ceremony and refreshments.