March 14, 2023
FRIENDS OF THE STATE BAR
Don't miss your chance to register
for the WV State Bar Annual Meeting. Click below for registration details.
Registration closes March 17, 2023.


News
Public Interest Advocates (PIA) Auction
WVU College of Law Public Interest Advocates and
West Virginia Fund for Law in the Public Interest
to Host 35th Annual Benefit Auction
March 19-23, 2023

All proceeds to benefit PIA Fellowships for WVU College of Law Students working for low-income and at-risk West Virginians throughout the state. The week-long auction will conclude with a reception on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at the West Virginia University College of Law. The reception will begin at 7 p.m. Heavy hors d'oeuvres and desserts will be provided. The event is free and open to the public.
Auction items and bid at the following link: 32auctions.com/wvupia

Contact: Carrie Miller, President, Public Interest Advocates at [email protected]

PUBLIC NOTICE FOR REAPPOINTMENT
OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE MICHAEL J. ALOI
The current term of office of United States Magistrate Judge Michael J. Aloi at Clarksburg/ Elkins, West Virginia, is due to expire on September 30, 2023. The United States District Court is required by law to establish a panel of citizens to consider the reappointment of the magistrate judge to a new eight (8) year term.  The duties of a magistrate judge in this Court include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) conduct of most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases; 2) trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases; 3) conduct of various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings upon delegation from the judges of the district court; and 4) trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants. Comments from members of the bar and the public are invited as to whether the incumbent magistrate judge should be recommended by the panel for reappointment by the Court and should be placed in an envelope marked “CONFIDENTIAL” and directed to Cheryl Dean Riley, Clerk of Court, U.S. District Court, 1125 Chapline Street, P.O. Box 471, Wheeling WV 26003. Comments must be received by April 17, 2023.   

UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION
The State Bar will be mailing orange postcard reminders regarding membership reporting and fees in June for the July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024 fiscal year. Please be sure to log into the membership portal and verify or update your contact information (Bylaw 2.02 (b)) by JUNE 1.
Information that you will need to verify or update include:
  1.   Name of Employer (If sole practitioner, enter the sole practitioner’s name)
  2. Address of Principal Place of Business
  3.  Telephone and Fax Numbers
  4.  Email Address
  5.  Financial Responsibility Disclosure (FRD) (Bylaw 4.01 and Rule 4.01)
  6.  IOLTA Account Information (Rule 10). Your IOLTA account should be titled: “Attorney or Firm name, IOLTA Account.” (Rule 10.05 (f)). IMPORTANT NOTICE: If your IOLTA account has any reference to the West Virginia Bar Foundation or the West Virginia State Bar, please take immediate action with your financial institution to have the reference removed.
CLE
CLE Rule Spotlight
Mandatory CLE Requirement
 
Administrative Rule 6.05(c) states that “[n]o more than half of the total required mandatory continuing legal education requirements may be satisfied by pre-recorded presentations that do not offer an interactive component.”  Please note that this limitation has NOT been waived for the 2022-2024 reporting period.  The previous waiver of this limitation only applied to the 2020-2022 reporting period. Attorneys must achieve half of the total required CLE credits by a means other than pre-recorded presentations for the 2022-2024 reporting period.
Events
West Virginia State Bar Annual Meeting
March 26-27, 2023
Host: West Virginia State Bar
Location: The Greenbrier Resort, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Cost: $180 Banquet only, $150 CLE Program only, or $330 Sunday Banquet and Monday CLE program
CLE: Pending
Schedule of Activities:
Sunday, March 26 -

  • 5:30-7:00 p.m. Attorney and Judicial Welcome Reception and sponsor displays.
  • 7:00-9:30 p.m. Annual Banquet and sponsor displays ($180 per person)

Monday, March 27 -

  • 8:00-9:00 a.m. Registration and sponsor displays
  • 9:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Continuing Legal Education Program ($150, includes a box lunch)
 
State Bar Members who are employed as Federal/State Public Defenders, Federal/State Court Law Clerks, and/or with Legal Aid of WV are offered a special discounted rate of $50 for the March 27 Seminar. Click Here to Register as for the Seminar.

Annual Meeting Registration Closes March 17, 2023, at 4 pm.
Accommodations: The block of rooms at Greenbrier Resort for the $199 rate closed on February 22; however, rooms may still be available at the regular rate.

The block of rooms at the Hampton Inn, Lewisburg has also closed. You may call the Hampton Inn at (304) 645-7300 to confirm available rooms and prices.
Save the Date
March 27, 2023
West Virginia State Bar Young Lawyer Section 
Bridge the Gap Program
To be held in conjunction with the West Virginia State Bar Annual Meeting
 
About: Each new lawyer admitted to practice between July 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020 will have thirty-six months after their date of admission to complete the program. All new lawyers admitted on or after January 1, 2021 will have twenty-four months after their date of admission to complete the program.
Host: WV State Bar Young Lawyer Section 
Location: The Greenbrier Resort, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
CLE: 7.6 credits, including 4 in ethics/attorney wellbeing/law office management
Cost: Free


Registration Closes March 17, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.

Only members admitted after July 1, 2018 or attorneys admitted prior to July 1, 2018, who have not previously completed the Bridge the Gap requirements, may attend the live course and satisfy the mandatory Bridge the Gap requirements.
Roadways to the Bench:
Who Me? A Bankruptcy or Magistrate Judge?
April 3, 2023

The federal Judiciary, led by the Judicial Conference Committees on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System and the Magistrate Judges System, will hold the second iteration of the national diversity event for law students and attorneys, "Roadways to the Bench: Who Me? A Bankruptcy or Magistrate Judge?"

When:
  • April 3, 2023, at 4 p.m. ET at the WVU College of Law in Morgantown, West Virginia, as well as 37 other locations across the United States.
  • A cocktail and heavy hors d’oeuvres reception will be held immediately following the roundtable event in the Fitzsimmons Event Center.
Local Roundtable Sessions:
  • After the national presentation, the program will proceed to in-person local roundtable sessions among law students, attorneys, and federal district, magistrate and bankruptcy judges from West Virginia. 
CLE: This is a non CLE event.
Event Registration and Contact information:
Registration is required and invitations will be limited. The registration window will open on January 31, 2023, and close on March 24, 2023. Registration and attendance is limited to attorneys and law students and will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. Available seats may fill up before the registration window closes on March 24, 2023, so please register early.
Applicants will be notified by email of their acceptance as an attendee. Only applicants receiving a written email invitation may plan to attend the event.
Contact Monica Nassif Haddad at [email protected]  for more specific information about the event, including registration questions.
Views from the Bench: Insight from Reggie B. Walton, Senior United States District Court Judge
Presentation with reception to follow
April 12, 2023

Host: WV State Bar's Minority Lawyers Committee 
Location: West Virginia State University -- Fannin S. Belcher Theater in the Davis Fine Arts Center
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Cost: Free
CLE: 1 credit

Please join us to hear Judge Walton speak about his pathway to the bench, his experience presiding over high-profile cases, the operation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and how he reached success despite bias within the profession.
WVJLAP CONFERENCE & RETREAT
MAY 19-21, 2023

Host: WV Judicial & Lawyer Assistance Program
CLE: Credits Pending
Location: Stonewall Resort - Roanoke, WV
The West Virginia State Bar
www.wvbar.org
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