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Weekly Newsletter | April 18, 2023

BALIF's Annual Membership Meeting & Elections

THIS THURSDAY!

Thursday, April 20, 2023

6-8pm

We hope you will join us in person to meet other board members and visit with other BALIF members in person!

The Sausage Factory

517 Castro Street

San Francisco, CA

Vote Now for the BALIF Board of Directors!

Elections are OPEN!

It's time to vote! Your voice matters in selecting the people who will lead BALIF as members of the Board. Voting will be open until Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 4 PM to elect the BALIF Board of Directors for 2023-2024. We have a fabulous and diverse group of candidates this year! We will announce election results online late in the evening Thursday, April 20, 2023 on our website and social media pages!

How to Vote

Please check your inbox (and spam folder) for your personalized e-ballot. If you haven’t received your ballot yet, please email balif@balif.org. You must be a current member of BALIF in order to vote, and must be a law student in order to vote for the student candidates. Please make sure your membership is current!

Elections voting will be online from Thursday, April 13, 2023 until 4 pm on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

List of Candidates

Please click here to read all candidate statements! We truly appreciate everyone who submitted their candidate statements and expressed interest in running for the board.

Open Seats

There are 4 open slots for women, 3 open slots for men, 5 open slots for TGNC/Other Genders, and 3 open slots for the law student categories.

Women (4 open positions)

Alyssa Aguilar *+
Raisa Dyadkina
Lauren LaVare+
Jane Migachyov *
Dani Tishkoff Chidester +

Men (3 open positions)

Jamal Anderson
Dustin Helmer *
Myell Mergaert *

TGNC/Other Genders (3 open positions)

Hanna Chan
Sam Potts *

Law Student Women (1 open position)

Emily Hunt +

Law Student Men (1 open position)

Caleb Krywenko

Law Student TGNC/Other Genders (1 open position)

No candidate running

* = board incumbent or previous board member

+ = endorsed by NomCom

Fight to Legalize Drag

Saturday, April 29, 2023 | 2:30pm - 5:30pm PST

In-Person Event

OASIS

298 Eleventh St

San Francisco CA

Click Here to Sponsor/ Purchase Tickets

Tennessee has passed a dangerous restriction on free speech and the artistic expression of drag, and we MUST FIGHT BACK!

Legalize Drag is a collective of drag artist legal professionals protesting attacks on the art of drag and trans, gender non-confirming, and queer communities. Our goals are to raise awareness, bring together queer folks, and provide a clear pathway to donate to this cause. We are raising money for the grassroots organizations inclusion tennessee, Tennessee Equality Project, and Protect Trans Health TN.

Our fundraiser will be held on Saturday April 29, 2023 from 2:30pm - 5:30pm at OASIS (298 Eleventh St, San Francisco, CA 94103). The event will feature drag performances by LGBTQI+ legal professionals. Any performer payment will come from the organizers, not from the funds raised, so every dollar raised will go directly to supporting queer organizers in Tennessee. If other states pass drag bans in the meantime, or if Tennessee orgs express that they are already well-funded, then funds raised will go to grassroots organizers in other states with anti-drag and/or anti-trans legislation.

Performances by:

Dextra DeNovo
Juicy Liu
69 Degrees
DJ Another Bard
and more!

Speakers:

Miss San Francisco, Monroe Lace, and Miss Oakland, Rhiannon Jones

** Folks in drag can get in FREE but we encourage a minimum donation of $20 for all attendees. Trans, intersex, and gender non-conforming community members will not be turned away for inability to pay! Please only reserve this ticket if you are not otherwise able to contribute to this fundraiser and plan to attend.

Questions? Email legalizedrag@gmail.com

Join us June 7th for an ALRP History Panel

Wednesday, June 7, 2023 | 6pm - 8pm PST

In- Person Event

Morrison & Foerster

425 Market Street

San Francisco, CA

RSVP in Advance

Forty years ago, a handful of BALIF attorneys drew up a short list of their colleagues who could run out to hospitals and draft wills for folks who were dying too quickly and too young. That list grew into the AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP), an organization that has served tens of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS and leveraged millions of dollars in donated legal services.

Join us on Wednesday, June 7 at 6:00 PM at the law offices of Morrison & Foerster for a special panel discussion that features some of those BALIF members who were there at the start.

It is hard to overstate the impact of HIV/AIDS on San Francisco. We lost many BALIF members to the epidemic. Yet we fashioned a community response that was filled with compassion and has remarkably been sustained over forty years.

This public event is free to attend.

Please Save the Date and plan to join us!

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!!

Meet the Judges of the San Francisco Superior Court

Saturday, May, 20, 2023 |2pm - 4pm

Willie “Woo Woo” Wong Playground

830 Sacramento Street

San Francisco, CA 94108

Click Here to Register

Presented by: San Francisco Superior Court Committee on Elimination of Bias

Hear from judges to learn about different departments, including:

Small Claims
Family
Criminal
Civil Harassment
Preliminary Hearings
Juvenile

Q&A session to answer your questions

Get to know your local judges!

Light refreshments will be served.

Bench Conduct and Demeanor for Temporary Judges

Friday, June 16, 2023 | 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Zoom CLE

Click Here to Register

On Friday, June 16, 2023, from 1:30 to 4:30 pm, the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara will host a live session of Bench Conduct and Demeanor for Temporary Judges. This course will be taught by Judge Drew Takaichi and Judge Vanessa A. Zecher, and held via Zoom.

Please note that video and audio capability are required to participate in this highly interactive class.

Space is limited. Register to guarantee your seat for the three-hour MCLE course, including .50 credit for ethics and .50 for elimination of bias, today.

The Zoom link to join will be sent once your registration is accepted. Please direct any questions to TJP@scscourt.org. Thank you!

BALIF Board of Directors

Rafael Langer -Osuna

BALIF Board Interim Co-Chair

Amicus Co-Chair

Social Activism Co-Chair

Programs 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

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

Andrea Long

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.