Weekly Newsletter        |        July 26, 2016
In This Issue
Message from the BALIF Board 


The Board has been hard at work this summer updating the bylaws, streamlining the membership process, planning the 2017 Gala (save the date:  March 3, 2017!), and planning additional events including a Legacy Event tentatively scheduled for this fall!  The Board is full of busy bees!
 
The Lavender Law conference in Washington, DC is around the corner (August 3 - 6, 2016).  If you would like to sponsor law students to attend the conference, or if you are a law student who would like to apply for sponsorship to attend, please see below.  In addition, there will be a special reception on August 3 for affiliate members (that's BALIF!); if you would like to attend the reception, please RSVP by July 31 here:  
 
We hope to see you in DC!


Sincerely, 


Jessica Bogo
BALIF Board Co-Chair
Please Donate Today!
LavLaw Conference Scholarship 
The Lavender Law Conference is just around the corner! This year, the annual conference hosted by the National LGBT Bar Association is in DC from August 4-6. We hope to see you there!
 
We are still seeking additional donations for our Lavender Law scholarship! If your company has not already done so, please make a contribution to help Bay Area LGBT law students attend Lavender Law.  Please send your check to BALIF with "Lavender Law" in the memo line, at BALIF, P.O. Box 193383, San Francisco, CA 94119.

Lavender Law 2016 - 
A Washington Welcome
LGBT Bar Association
of the District of Columbia
Lavender Law 2016 - A Washington Welcome
Please join us on August 3, 2016 at City Market at O in downtown DC for an Affiliate Welcome Reception during the Annual Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair!
 
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
City Market at O 
800 P St NW
Washington, DC 20001




Practical Steps in Working with Social Security for the LGBT Community & Joint Happy Hour

Thursday, August 4, 2016
10:00 am-12:00 pm CT
Morrison & Forrester LLP
425 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

This will be a highly interactive program to provide practical information  for lawyers and other legal practitioners who work with the LGBT  community in how to obtain a Social Security card for a name change,  birth of a child, how to confirm reported earning, to apply for retirement  benefits or disability benefits.

The program will include a power point presentation and step by step instructions from the Social Security Administration. Presenters also will include private practitioners and Administrative Law Judges.

Moderated by Judge Lodi Levine,
U.S. Administrative Law Judge at SSA/ODAR

Speakers will include members from the
Social Security Administration

Presented by:
The ABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF)
AIDS Legal Referral Panel

Cosponsored by:
The ABA Judicial Division
The ABA Senior Lawyers Division
The ABA Commission on Disability Rights Law


Please Join BALIF and ABA for a Joint Happy Hour after the program!


Thursday, August 4, 2016
6:00pm-8:00pm
Jillian's at the Metreon
175 4th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
The Next LGBT Rights Battleground:
Transgender Rights in Court and 
Public Policy
The Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society and Bay Area Lawyers for  Individual Freedom present:


Following the Supreme Court's historic marriage equality ruling last year in Obergefell v. Hodges, reactionary forces at the  state level are scrambling to rebuild the crumbling edifice of discrimination by passing hateful "religious freedom" laws. In a  revealing and disturbing twist they are now targeting transgender Americans in their push to enshrine hate in the law. This  panel discussion will focus on the efforts of those groups to support LGBT rights, particularly those of transgender people  who are being targeted. We will hear from transgender advocates on their cutting edge litigation, a representative from the  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on what the agency and the administration are doing to stamp out  discrimination, and a representative from Salesforce to talk about how the business community is putting its weight (and
money) behind LGBT equality.

Wednesday August 10, 2016
12:00 p.m.
Morrison Foerster
425 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-2482

BALIF Law Students- 
LavLaw Scholarships  Available 
Funds are available to assist BALIF Student Members who are attending the Lavender Law Conference this year. If you are attending the conference and would like to apply for a limited amount of reimbursement for your travels, please notify us by  Friday, August 12 and include the following documents: 

  • Your registration receipt for the Lavender Law Conference
  • Receipts for flights to and/or lodging in DC
  • A copy of your BALIF membership card
 
To be eligible for reimbursement, you must be a current Northern California law student and a current BALIF member. The amount available for reimbursement depends on how many applicants send us their information. No late applications will be accepted. Bay Area law schools may also provide funding to students attending Lavender Law. Please check with your respective institutions. 
 
Please send all the required documents in .doc or .pdf format by Friday, August 12 to  balif@balif.org and to  lawstudentrep@balif.org. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us.

Pride Law Fund Bay Cruise

Join us for a cruise in the San Francisco Bay on FDR's historic presidential yacht.  We're raising a toast to the  Pride Law Fund, a BALIF partner supporting attorneys and law students dedicated to promoting equality for the LGBT community.  All aboard on Sunday, August 14, 2016, 3:00-6:00 p.m.  All proceeds benefit Pride Law Fund's fellowship programs.

BALIF Board at Work:
Board members Jessica Bogo, John Unruh, Jennifer Orthwein, Jamie Dupree, and Peter Catalanotti have been busy updating BALIF's bylaws this summer, with the helpful guidance of Jeff Jacobi of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP.  Jamie is taking the laboring oar in revising BALIF's gender parity requirements for Board elections, and Pete and Jeff have worked hard to align the new bylaws with policies and procedures that accord with BALIF's modern needs.  Thanks to these Board members, Pillsbury, and Jeff for their work and wisdom on this important task!

Annual Social Justice Attorney Mixer & Panel Discussion: Riot or Uprising?
Finding Common Ground
Progress comes when people work together.  Join us as we attend the Asian American Bar Association's Annual Social Justice Attorney Mixer and Panel Discussion: Riot or Uprising? Finding Common Ground.  

When: July 26, 2016, 6-8:00 p.m.

Where: 
Farella Braun + Martel
235 Montgomery Street 17th Floor
San Francisco, CA  94104

Get all the details:  
http://www.aaba-bay.com/events-and-information/calendar-of-events/
SABA-NC July Happy Hour
Time: July 28, 20166-8pm
Place: B Restaurant & Bar
Address: 720 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
 
Come mingle with fellow attorneys from SABA-NC at B Restaurant & Bar! First Legal Deposition Services is sponsoring our event and will provide free food and drinks. This is a perfect opportunity to expand your horizons and meet new people while having free food and drinks!

ALRP Free 2016 MCLE Trainings
 
More dates coming soon!

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

ALRP from the Heart 
33rd Annual Reception & Auction

PLEASE JOIN US on OCTOBER 19, 2016

The AIDS Legal Referral Panel, formed in the early 1980s by a group of BALIF attorneys, is holding its ALRP From the Heart 33rd Annual Reception & Auction on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 from 6:00-9:00pm in the Julia Morgan Ballroom at the Merchants Exchange in San Francisco (465 California Street, near Montgomery Street).

ALRP's reception features gourmet catered hors d'oeuvres,
wine and beverages, a silent & live auction, and great networking.

During this special evening, we will honor those who have made a lasting difference in the lives of people with HIV/AIDS and recognize ALRP's 33 years of achievement. ALRP will be presenting its 2016 Clint Hockenberry Leadership Award to Jerome Fishkin, Esq., the ALRP 2016 Attorney of the Year Award to Okan Sengun, Esq., and the ALRP 2016 Firm of the Year Award to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.

Tickets start at just $100 and can be purchased by contacting Jim McBride at (415) 701-1200 ext. 301,  jim@alrp.org, or simply pay at the door on October 19th.

SPARK! Transgender Law Center's 
14th Anniversary Celebration
SPARK! 2016: A 14th Anniversary Celebration of Transgender Law Center

October 20, 2016 
6 p.m.  Reception
7 p.m.  Awards Ceremony and Program 

Julia Morgan Ballroom
465 California St
San Francisco, CA 94104

In 2016, Transgender Law Center will celebrate 14 years of igniting changes to law, policy, and attitudes so that everyone can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression. For the last several years, we have held a widely popular anniversary celebration, called SPARK! This year, we anticipate over 400 of our most generous supporters, corporate partners, organizational allies, and elected officials to participate as we come together and recognize outstanding community leaders and businesses making huge strides in advancing transgender rights.
BALIF Amicus Brief Archive Now Online
For more than thirty years, BALIF has been participating as amicus - a friend of the court - in major cases raising issues of concern to the LGBT community and our allies. Check out the new archive on BALIF's website, where you can learn more about BALIF's amicus participation and read BALIF's briefs on a wide range of issues, including: the rights of same-sex parents and partners; the unconstitutionality of state sodomy statutes; the interpretation of disability civil rights laws to people with HIV/AIDS; Don't Ask, Don't Tell; the scope of Title VII and other workplace protections for LGBTs under federal and California law; the asserted First Amendment rights of organizations that explicitly exclude LGBTs; marriage equality; medical care for transgender prisoners; and more.
 
Please contact BALIF's Amicus Committee Chair, Julie Wilensky, amicus@balif.org, with any questions about or additions to the archive.
Follow BALIF on Twitter!

Follow @BALIFSF on Twitter
 
Stay looped in on the latest BALIF events, LGBT news, scholarship opportunities and #ThrowbackThursday post.  Connect by clicking 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!

 

Alex Touma

BALIF Membership Co-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.

July 26 - Annual Social Justice Attorney Mixer & Panel Discussion
August 4 - BALIF / ABA Joint Happy Hour
August 10 - The Next LGBT Rights Battleground
August 14 - Pride Law Fund Bay Cruise
August 24 - BALIF Partner Exchange
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 & Peter Catalanotti
  
Julie Wilensky
Secretary & Amicus Chair

Mario Choi
Treasurer

Nick Clements
Judiciary Chair

Sarah Nicole Davis & 
John Unruh
Gala Co-Chairs  

 

Shauna Madison & Alex Touma
Shauna Madison

CCBA Chair

 
Stan Sarkisov
Communications Chair 

Jamie Dupree
Programs Chair

Ashley Pellouchoud & David Sims
Young Lawyers & Law Students Co-Chairs  

Daniel Faessler
Social Action Chair

Jennifer Orthwein
 
Lauren Pietsch
Lindsey Rosellini
Community Ambassador Chair  

Sam Potts & Stephan Ferris
Katie Carlson
BALIF Administrator 
Follow BALIF

youtube
 

BALIF Foundation


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