Weekly Newsletter        |        February 6, 2018
In This Issue
Message from the BALIF Board 

BALIF's 38th Annual Gala is right around the corner.  If you haven't done so yet, now is the time to sponsor BALIF and  purchase your tickets to the Gala. This year's format is an elegant cocktail party with food stations and drinks sprinkled around the venue. It's a fabulous format for mingling with old friends and meeting new ones. Don't miss the best party of the year!

Your sponsorship of BALIF and ticket purchases will fund law student scholarships, mentor programs, CLE, Amicus briefs on LGBT issues, LGBT recruiting, social events to LGBT lawyers, community outreach, and much more. If your business or firm would still like to sponsor the Gala, it is not too late to take advantage of some of the many benefits of  sponsorship, such as recognition through the end of 2018 on the BALIF website and newsletter, and complimentary tickets to the gala.

The Gala is BALIF's largest annual event with more than 600 attendees, including lawyers, judges, lawmakers, legal professionals, students, and in-house counsel.  Please join us Friday, March 2 from 7:00 - 11:00om at the Bently Reserve to celebrate the amazing progress our community has made over the past year.
 
See you there!


Sincerely,
 

Stephan Ferris
BALIF Social Chair

Congratulations to BALIF Member 
Thomas Hixson

Congratulations to BALIF member and Morgan Lewis partner Thomas Hixson on being selected for a San Francisco magistrate judge position with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.  The announcement was made on 02/05/2018.  Judge Hixson will fill the seat currently occupied by U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James, who is set to retire in September 2018.
BALIF's 38th Annual Gala
Friday, March 2, 2018


38th Annual Gala:  Resilient Together
March 2, 2018 7-11pm
VIP Reception 6pm

Bently Reserve, 301 Battery Street
 
Purchase Tickets or Sponsor
 
Help us Celebrate our Awardees!

2018 Legal Service Award
Toby Adams
Intersex & Genderqueer Recognition Project (IGRP)

2018 Community Service Award
Justice Now

ACCTLA Trial Judge of the Year 2017 
(Contra Costa)
Carol Bowen with Judge Bowen. Photo courtesy of ACCTLA.

Longtime BALIF member Superior Court Judge Christopher R. Bowen was recently honored by the Alameda Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association as the 2017 Trial Judge of the Year for Contra Costa County.  Judge Bowen was appointed to the bench in 2010 and has just completed a five year assignment in Family Law, including two years as Supervising Judge.      
2018-2019 FAIR Fellowship Opportunity
The Foundation for Advocacy Inclusion & Resources (FAIR) is now accepting applications for its fifth annual FAIR Fellowship  (formerly called The Sanford Heisler Public Interest Diversity Fellowship) , which will enable a new attorney to work full-time for two consecutive six-month terms at (1) Legal Aid at Work and (2) a law practice affiliated with the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), an organization of more than 1200 workers' rights advocates throughout California. 

FAIR will fund a Fellow with salary and benefits during the first six months the fellow is working at Legal Aid at Work. The applicant will then be matched with a CELA affiliated firm for the second six month term and be paid a salary and benefits by that entity.
 
Applicants must have superior academic qualifications, be members of the California Bar (or anticipating becoming members by fall 2018), be committed to a career in social justice, and have 0-3 years of legal experience. Preference will be given to applicants with diverse backgrounds, demonstrated interest in employment law, clinical and/or pro bono and social justice interests, and plans to practice in California. Foreign language abilities and judicial clerkships/externships are also valued. 
 
 
The deadline for submitting applications is Monday, April 2, 2018 and an award decision will be made by April 30, 2018.

The AIDS Legal Referral Panel FREE Winter 2018 MCLE Training Programs 

To RSVP
Email:  mcle@alrp.org or
Call: 415-701-1200 ext. 303


  What You Must Know About Planning for Your Death 
* Thursday, February 15th, 5:30pm - 7:00pm 
* Presented by Jim Wood, Esq. ( Law Offices of James M. Wood) 

Post-Death Administration: Basics of Handling Affairs When a Loved One Passes 
* Wednesday, March 7th, 5:30pm - 7:00pm 
* Presented by Alma Soongi Beck, Esq. (Lakin Spears LLP) 

#MeTooLawyers - Sexual Harassment Experienced by Lawyers 
* Tuesday, March 20th, 5:30pm - 7:30pm 
* Presented by Kenneth D. Martinson, Esq. (Kenneth Martinson San Bruno) and Heidi A. Machen, Esq. (Machen Law - machenlaw.com) 

Don't Drink and Debate: Stay Sober, Be Calm, and Carry On 
* Thursday, March 22nd, 5:30pm - 7:30pm 
* Presented by Kenneth D. Martinson, Esq. (Kenneth Martinson San Bruno) and Michelle Leigh Kral (Morse Giesler Callister Karlin & Hiura LLP) 

Asylum Claims for LGBTQI and HIV+ Clients 
* Thursday, March 29th, 5:30pm - 7:00pm 
* Presented by Jose Z. Marin, Esq. (Jose Marin Law) and Melanie Kehr, Esq. (Jose Marin Law) 


Location: 
BASF
301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA

Giving to the BALIF Foundation
 

Please consider making a tax deductible donation to the BALIF Foundation.  The Foundation recently launched and is working to assist BALIF in bringing LGBT judges to the bench and supporting scholarships, stipends and fellowships for law students and attorneys working in the LGBTQ community.  You can donate here.  In the four years ahead, we believe the Foundation's work will be critical in helping to protect our community.

And the Foundation is looking for Founding Circle members through the end of 2017 - pledge and pay as little as $1,000 to always be listed as a Founding Circle member of the BALIF Foundation.

For more information about the BALIF Foundation or how to get involved, contact Jamie Dupree jdupree@fddcm.com.  
BALIF & The BALIF Foundation

BALIF is the Bay Area's LGBT Bar Association, which is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit, which can engage in political activity.  Its Board members are elected by the BALIF membership and chair various committees of the BALIF bar association.
 
The BALIF Foundation is BALIF's charitable arm.  Donations to the BALIF Foundation are tax deductible because it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.  The BALIF Foundation is dedicated to increasing the number of LGBT judges on the bench through educational programming, supporting LGBT community organizations, and providing scholarships, summer stipends, and fellowships for LGBT  law students and young attorneys seeking to help the LGBT community through legal work.  It gave its inaugural summer fellowship for the summer of 2017.

Job Postings Now on BALIF Website
Looking for a job or a law school internship?  As a BALIF member you get access to all job postings.  Click here to see the opportunities, or log into the   BALIF website with your membership ID and password, and select JOBS on the menu on the left.
March 2 - BALIF 38th Annual Gala
Our 2017-2018 Sponsors
Partner Level


 
Counsel Level



Fenwick


  
Mofo



Sedgwick2
Seyfarth


Advocate Level

A.L. Nella & Co., CPA
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Jones Day
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
O'Melveny & Myers LLP
Pacific Gas & Electric
Sanford Heisler, LLP
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Sidley Austin LLP
Uber
Weaver, Austin, Villeneuve & Sampson LLP
Wells Fargo Legal Specialty Private Bank
White & Case LLP
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Benefactor Level


Individual Sponsors


BALIF Board of Directors
Nyla Moujaes & Peter Catalanotti
  
Jennifer Orthwein
Secretary &

Felicia Medina
Mario Choi
Treasurer

Annick Persinger
Judiciary Chair

Sarah Nicole Davis 
Gala Co-Chair

Alex Touma
Meaghan Zore
 
Stan Sarkisov
Communications Chair 

Jamie Dupree
 
Stephan Ferris
Ashley Pellouchoud
Community Ambassador Chair  

Jaclyn Gross & Kevin Jones
Follow BALIF

youtube
 
BALIF Foundation


BALIF Foundation
 Board of Directors
Jamie Dupree, Chair
  
Shay Gilmore

Chelsea HaleyNelson, Secretary

Laura Maechtlen

Nina Paul

Linda Scaparotti

David Tsai

John Unruh, Treasurer

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