We are seeking attorney raters for the Clark County Mock Trial middle school tournament, which is scheduled for Wednesday, January 29th and Thursday, January 30th.  

Wednesday, January 29, 2019                                                 

Round 1 - 1:00-3:00pm (5 volunteers needed)

Round 2 - 3:15-5:15pm (8 volunteers needed)

Round 3 - 5:30-7:30pm (9 volunteers needed)

Thursday, January 30, 2019

Round 4 - 1:00-3:00pm (9 volunteers needed)

The trials are held at the Clark County Courthouse (1200 Franklin Street, Vancouver, WA).  Raters need to meet in the first floor jury assembly room.  Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your round to get room assignments and score sheets.  Each trial lasts about 2 hours.

It’s very easy and fun and you don’t need any specific experience.  All you have to do is watch the trial and give some short, positive feedback to the students at the end.

In exchange for your time we can offer our gratitude, some free food and drink, and the enjoyable experience of watching these students participate in this program.

Please email me if you are able to volunteer this year.  Thank you!

Jill Sasser

jill.sasser@landerholm.com

The WSBA is looking for a new or young lawyer to chair this years Trial Advocacy Program. TAP is a really good trial practice CLE that offers two seminar days followed by a mock trial. It’s geared for folks who would like direct court room experience; the faculty are top-notch presenters who share great tips and tricks. They usually pair a civil and criminal law practitioner together as co-chairs. This year, a criminal law attorney is needed to serve as chair-elect. Kristin Teutscher, a civil law practitioner and last year’s chair-elect, is the current chair.

Greetings!  The deadline to make submissions for NCWBA award consideration is approaching!

Nominations are now being accepted from member associations for three NCWBA awards to be presented at the Women's Bar Leadership Summit to be held in Chicago on Friday, July 31. Submissions will be accepted until Friday, January 24 at 9:00 pm PST. Questions? Email us.

The Public Service Award is designed to recognize public service programs, projects or initiatives that NCWBA members have created to serve others. There is a wide range of programs, projects and initiatives that may qualify under the umbrella of a public service program. Members are encouraged to broaden their perspective on what public service means and deepen our commitment as lawyers to our public service obligations .For examples of previous award-winning projects, click here.

The Outstanding Member Program Award is given to member associations to highlight and recognize innovative and effective programs and projects for their own members. Prior awards recipients and descriptions of the programs previously recognized can be found here.

The Women's Law Student Association Award will be presented for the first time in 2020. Member women's law school groups may nominate anything from a unique presentation, service project, panel discussion or other initiative. Be creative: the sky's the limit! We invite you to share this and information about NCWBA's new membership option for law student groups with a women's law school organization in your network.

A central goal of the NCWBA is to share best practices and program ideas with one another, and our annual awards are one way to do this. We hope you will send us a nomination!

The WSBA Board of Governors will appoint one non-voting member to this Court Users Work Group (CUWG). Members of the CUWG serve as subject matter experts on court business processes, court operations, and the use of the Judicial Information System (JIS, also known as DISCIS). Beginning in October, the CUWG will begin the work of assisting the CLJ-CMS project team in the gap analysis for the new case management system. The CUWG will exist throughout the duration of the CLJ-CMS project, which is expected to take at least five years to complete.

The ideal candidate, who will serve as a user representative for the new system, will be a frequent practitioner in courts of limited jurisdiction outside of King County. The CUWG is expected to have monthly, full-day, in-person meetings beginning in October 2019 at AOC’s SeaTac facility. The frequency, in-person requirement and extend duration of the work sessions is necessary to discuss and resolve detailed requirements and business processes required for the configuration of the case management system.

To apply for this position, email a cover letter and resume to barleaders@wsba.org. The position will remain open until a representative is identified.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Pam Inglesby at pami@wsba.org.

Nominations are Due by Friday, January 24

Awards nominations are now being accepted! Each year at the Women's Bar Leadership Summit, the National Conference of Women's Bar Associations recognizes significant accomplishments of member associations. In giving the awards, we hope to inspire others to replicate or create similar programs, as well as to honor the good work of volunteers. We are excited to announce a new award this year which will highlight the work being done by women law student groups. Nominations are now being accepted for all three categories of the 2020 awards, to be presented at the Women's Bar Leadership Summit in Chicago on Friday, July 31, 2020. Nominations must be submitted via email no later than Friday, January 24 at 9:00 pm PST.

More info

Register Here

I am part of a team working at my firm (Bates Wells) with the Law Society (the English equivalent of the ABA) on an international research project to support women lawyers round the world. Our project is striving to address one of the main issues faced by women globally, which is the lack of support mechanisms and/or organisations available to them within the legal sector. This research builds on previous international research carried out by the Law Society.

This current piece is a new step forward in understanding the varying options for support, which will lead to the drafting and publication of a practical toolkit for women in law all around the world. We hope the toolkit will set out steps on how to access and build on existing models of support, as well as how to establish these new types of groups. We strongly believe that more can be done to increase opportunities and experiences for women within the legal profession and our ambition is to help women develop the confidence and knowledge necessary to progress in their legal careers.

We are hoping you would be able to circulate our survey to your members and/or contacts.  The survey will be used as a basis for our toolkit and any insights will contribute greatly to our understanding. The survey has 12 questions which take approximately 10 minutes to answer and all responses are confidential. The survey as available at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/internationalwomeninlaw

We are also looking for case studies of groups and organisations that are already set up and modelling best practice and your organisation seems like a great example. If someone from your organisation was willing to have a quick phone call, we would appreciate this greatly.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to drop me an email .

Best wishes,

Eloise

Eloise Pollard
Trainee Solicitor
Public & Regulatory

The QLaw Foundation LGBTQ+ Legal Clinic is rolling out an exciting new volunteer training program starting November 22. This multi-part training is part of our new partnerships with Entre Hermanos and the Lavender Rights Project, and offers great training for new and returning volunteers, as well as attorneys who want to volunteer with our pro bono network launching in 2020. The new trainings will cover lots of key issues and topics that will be coming our way through the new partnerships, including legal issues affecting Latinx individuals and immigration and asylum issues, legal and non-legal issues for survivors of violence, as well as case management, intake, and client relationship-building. We are really excited about our new client-focused clinic model and community partnerships, and cannot wait to get all of our existing volunteers and new volunteers on board!

 REGISTER HERE!

Who should attend this training? All current QLaw Foundation LGBTQ+ Legal Clinic volunteers, past volunteers who are interested in getting involved, prospective volunteers, and interested law students.

When is the training? Friday, November 22, 2019, 8:30am – 4:30pm

Where is the training? Davis Wright Tremaine, Downtown Seattle (920 5^th Avenue, #3300, Seattle, WA, 98104 – thank you, DWT, for your support!)

Where can I register? Agenda, registration, and other details are available here!   

Will there be CLE credit? Yes! We are applying for CLE credit; information about pending and approved credits will be on the registration page.

Is there a cost? The training and CLE is free of charge to all who agree to volunteer at the LGBTQ+ legal clinic or with our pro bono network.  For those who do not plan to volunteer, the cost is $40.00 for QLaw Association members and $75.00 for non-members.

What if I cannot attend? The CLE will be recorded and will be available online at a later date. However, the training will include lots of simulations, discussions, and hands-on learning, so we do encourage all who are able to attend in person.

Will there be more trainings? Yes! We have another training coming up in December. Stay tuned for a save-the-date in the coming weeks.

Please contact denise@qlawfoundation.org with any questions!

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project ~

REPRESENTING IMMIGRANT SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:

U-VISAS AND ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICATIONS FOR U-VISA RECIPIENTS

Thursday November 14, 2019

12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Perkins Coie

1201 Third Avenue Suite 4900

Seattle, WA 98101

**Lunch not provided** **4 CLE credits pending**

Topic

12:30-1:30 Working with Survivors of Domestic Violence

1:30-3:00 The U-Visa Application Process

3:00-4:15 Adjustment of Status for U-Visa Recipients

4:15-4:30 Questions

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

To register for the above training, please complete the information below and fax to Jordan Wasserman at 206-587-4025 or email to jordan@nwirp.org. Please register no later than November 11, 2019.

Registrant: ________________________________________________________________________

Last Name, First Name

Agency/Organization: ________________________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________ City____________ State______ Zip_________

Telephone Number: ( )___________________ Fax Number: ( )__________________________

E-Mail Address: _____________________________________________________________________

Check One

____ I agree to pay $150 for attending this CLE.

____ My attendance at this CLE is free because I agree to take a pro bono U-Visa or U-Visa Adjustment of Status case from NWIRP within the next 6 months.

Presenters

Roxana Rahmani:

Roxana is a staff attorney in the VAWA Unit, where she provides direct representation to immigrant survivors of violence. Prior to joining NWIRP as a legal fellow in the Children and Youth Unit, she was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Catharine F. Easterly of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. She earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Rachael Scheibert:

Rachael coordinates the Adjustment of Status applications for survivors of domestic violence, trafficking, and other crimes in NWIRP's VAWA unit. She earned her BA from Bard College in New York. Prior to joining NWIRP, Rachael worked as an immigration paralegal and volunteered as a labor rights advocate working to recover stolen wages for Spanish-speaking King County residents. She is passionate about immigration law and helping others access their rights.

Maha Khalil:

Maha is a staff attorney with the Violence Against Women Act Unit (VAWA). Prior to joining NWIRP, Maha represented immigrants in a wide range of immigration matters with a focus on working with asylum seekers and clients in removal proceedings in Texas. She earned her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. She is licensed to practice in Texas.

Jenny Mashek:

Jenny is the Directing Attorney of NWIRP's Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Unit. The VAWA Unit represents immigrant survivors of violence with VAWA Self-Petitions, I-751 Waiver Petitions, U Visas, and T Visas, as well as removal defense. Jenny received her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and her J.D. from the University of Iowa. She spent five years practicing law at Farmworker Legal Services of Michigan before joining NWIRP in May 2008. Jenny is fluent in Spanish.