BALIF Newsletter- Civil Rights Coalition Panel @ 5:30pm!

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Weekly Newsletter | August 10, 2022

Upcoming Events:

August 10, 2022- Civil Rights Coalition Panel Discussion Featuring Diverse Bar Associations TONIGHT

August 20, 2022- Back to School Picnic

Civil Rights Coalition Panel Discussion

Featuring Diverse Bar Associations TONIGHT!

Wednesday, August 10, 2022 |5:30pm

VIrtual Panel

Click Here to Register

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Please join us on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 from 5:30 PM to 7 PM Pacific for a Civil Rights Coalition Panel Discussion Featuring Diverse Bar Associations. The program will include a discussion of recent and pending civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and state legislation impacting civil rights. The panel of representatives from diverse bar associations will cover a wide range of topics including the independent state legislature theory, substantive due process, privacy rights, abortion rights, contraception, same sex marriage, Affirmative Action, critical race theory law, voting rights, gun rights, environmental justice, and other hot button civil rights issues. This program will be open to the public. Anyone interested in a robust discussion about civil rights and representative democracy is encouraged to attend. Duane Morris LLP Partner and Charles Houston Bar Association President, Terrance J. Evans will moderate the discussion.

Panelists

Kel O'Hara – Equal Rights Advocates and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom
Rafael M. Langer-Osuna - Squire Patton Boggs and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom
Professor Deborah Moss-West - Executive Director of the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center, Charles Houston Bar Association, and Alameda County Bar Association

Additional Speakers Will Be Confirmed

Moderator

Terrance J. Evans - Duane Morris LLP Partner, Charles Houston Bar Association President, NBA Region 9 Deputy Director, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of CLA Racial Justice Committee

Back to School Picnic

Saturday, August 20, 2022 |3-5pm

Dolores Park

Click Here to RSVP on Facebook

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Join BALIF for a picnic in the park! You don't have to be a law student to attend. We will have some drinks available, but please feel free to bring your own beverages, blanket, and/or refreshments.

Family, Friends, and Pets are highly encouraged!

BALIF Membership

Renew your annual membership TODAY!!!

Renew Membership

Please heed this call to join or renew your Annual Membership to BALIF! Last year, we ended our legacy auto-renewal payment program of annual dues to align everyone’s membership term with our fiscal year. Therefore, many past members may not realize that your dues were not auto-paid for the 2021-2022 membership year and our programs budget really needs your support.

LET’S RE-UP (and sign-up again for auto-renewal)! Email Jon Lucchese (jon.lucchese@roberthalf.com) and/or Katie Carlson (balif@balif.org) to confirm if you are an active member.

WHY DO BALIF? BALIF’S purpose is to network together and lead our LGBTQI+ legal community through advocacy, justice, community empowerment, and professional development. Northern California lawyers (of all income levels – affordable dues based on sliding scale), legal professionals, and law students committed to LGBTQI dignity and equality are encouraged to join us.

Grab Your BALIF Pride Gear Today & Help Support BALIF!!

TGIJP is Looking for Volunteer Attorneys

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Click Here to Email

If you are interested in helping or would like more information, please contact Zy’aire Nassirah (zyaire@tgijp.org). Thank you!

The Transgender Gender-Variant Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP) is looking for volunteer attorneys to participate in its new Parole Preparation Program by providing pro bono representation of incarcerated transgender, gender-variant, and intersex community members who are preparing to appear before the California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH).

TGIJP’s Parole Preparation Program was started by one of TGIJP’s Reentry Case Managers, Zy’aire Nassirah, who successfully went through the BPH process in 2019 and was represented by BALIF member Gabrielle Ruiz on a pro bono basis. As part of the program, TGIJP conducts screening of participants to match them with volunteer attorneys and then provides additional support to both participants and volunteer attorneys alike throughout the BPH process.

APPLY FOR A BUSINESS LAW SECTION STANDING COMMITTEE

To apply, print out, complete and return the Application Form. If you are interested in more than one Committee, please indicate your order of preference on the application. Applications will be accepted until all vacancies are filled. We look forward to hearing from you.

REPLY TO:

John Buelter

California Lawyers Association

400 Capitol Mall, Suite 650

Sacramento, CA 95814

john.buelter@calawyers.org

Application Form

The Business Law Section (“BLS”) serves its members and the public through its substantive Standing Committees (the “Committees”).

Membership on a Committee affords unique opportunities to participate in the creation of law in your practice area, to get to know and be known by other practitioners, to work with the recognized leaders in your field and to stay on the cutting edge of developments and practice techniques. It is a rewarding experience that keeps one ahead of and in touch with business law developments. Beyond a willingness to contribute, there are few eligibility requirements. All members of the BLS who have been in practice at least five years are eligible to be appointed to a Committee, and the requirement of five years of practice may be waived for members of the Editorial Board. The BLS strives to include members from solo and small practices as well as larger firms, geographical areas outside California’s major urban centers, women and members of ethnic and racial minority groups and other under-represented categories of the BLS’s diverse membership base.

Queer Nonprofit Legal Referral Panel seeking volunteers!

The Queer Nonprofit Legal Referral Panel (QNLRP) is a joint project of TurnOut and BALIF. QNLRP seeks volunteer legal professionals to provide pro bono legal support to California LGBTQI-focused nonprofits and events. This is a great way to use your transactional legal skills and give back to the community!

Email Jack Beck at jack@turnout.org with any questions or concerns.

BALIF Support

Let's Keep In Touch!

We are moving virtually these days and have hosted some successful get togethers, including the Lavender Graduation and Pride Power Hour to raise money for Aunt Charlie's. Check out the BALIF Forum for Pro Bono/Volunteer Opportunities and Suggested Donations. We're in this together, and BALIF's Covid Response Team is here to help. Our "Covid Resources" on the website offers resources and community connections during these troubling times. Let us know how you're dealing with the outbreak, and if you have any resources to share with our members. You can reach us here: CRT@balif.org

Out of Work During COVID?

Remember, BALIF offers deeply discounted memberships for unemployed attorneys. During this time, we think community is especially important, and we intend to continue offering the networking opportunities that our members depend upon.

Please join us or renew your membership so we can get through this together!

BALIF Board of Directors

Mark Fickes

BALIF Board Co-Chair

Andrea Long

BALIF Board Co-Chair

Jeff Kosbie

Treasurer

Judiciary Co-Chair

Amicus Co-Chair

Lindsey Kincaid

Social Activism Co-Chair

Communications & Social Media Co-Chair

Nas Yasin

CCBA Co-Chair

Amicus Co-Chair

J Abello Tharp

New Lawyers & Law Students Co-Chair

Social Activism Co-Chair

Ernest Hammond III

New Lawyers & Law Students Co-Chair

Kel O'Hara

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer

Stephan Ferris

Social Co-Chair

Gala Co-Chair

Rafael Langer -Osuna

Amicus Co-Chair

Social Activism Co-Chair

Programs Co-Chair

Sam Potts

Community Ambassador Co-Chair

Secretary

Jon Lucchese

Membership Co-Chair

Gala Co-Chair

Nat Ochoa

Communications & Social Media Co-Chair

Judiciary Co-Chair

Atticus Lee

Community Ambassador Co-Chair

Membership Co-Chair

Myell Mergaert

New Lawyers & Law Students Co-Chair

Social Co-Chair

Communications & Social Media Co-Chair

Alyssa Aguilar

Law Student Representative

CCBA Co-Chair

Communications & Social Media Co-Chair

Diana Jimenez

Law Student Representative

New Lawyers & Law Students Co-Chair

Communications & Social Media Co-Chair

Jordan Montgomery

Law Student Representative

Judiciary Co-Chair

Katie Carlson Cartwright

BALIF Administrative Director

JOIN BALIF

BALIF Foundation

Board of Directors

Jamie Dupree, Chair

Shay Aaron Gilmore

Chelsea HaleyNelson, Secretary

Jeff Kosbie, Treasurer

Nina Paul

Austin Phillips

Ashley Pellouchoud

Linda Scaparotti

Alex Touma

John Unruh

Giving to the BALIF Foundation

Please consider making a tax deductible donation to The BALIF Foundation. The Foundation supports scholarships, stipends and fellowships for law students and attorneys working in the LGBTQI community. You can donate here to support the Foundation's work, which is increasingly needed to protect our community.

For more information about The BALIF Foundation or how to get involved, contact Jamie Dupree and Shay Gilmore.

Email Jamie Dupree

Email Shay Gilmore

BALIF & The BALIF Foundation

BALIF, which is the Bay Area's LGBTQI Bar Association, is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization, which means it can engage in political activity. BALIF's Board members are elected by the BALIF membership, and these BALIF Board members chair various committees of the BALIF Bar Association.

The BALIF Foundation is BALIF's charitable arm, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It is dedicated to supporting the BALIF Bar Association through educational programming, supporting LGBTQI community organizations, and providing scholarships, summer stipends, and fellowships for LGBTQI law students and attorneys seeking to help the LGBTQI community through legal work. Among other projects, the BALIF Foundation has sponsored summer fellowships every year since 2017.