For the convenience of folks traveling to Seattle to attend our 2014 Banquet, this CLE will be held the day following the Banquet. You are also eagerly invited to attend the Banquet, which will be April 17th, with a cocktail hour at 5:30 p.m. and dinner beginning at 7:00, at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. The QLaw Banquet is one of the best attended minority bar events, with more than 400 guests attending each year, including judges, elected officials, and community leaders. Register for the Banquet while seats are still available!

We hope you will join us for the CLE and Banquet to celebrate the progress made in legal rights in Washington and nationwide in the past year!

Seattle University School of Law
 is proud to present
Professor Eric K. Yamamoto
 
“Repudiating the Supreme Court's WWII
Japanese American Rulings”
 
His lecture is based on the release of his co-authored book "Race, Rights and Reparation: Law and the Japanese American Internment" (second edition) (Aspen 2013) (with Margaret Chon,  Carol L. Izumi, Jerry Kang, and Frank H. Wu)

Responses provided by:
 
Margaret Chon
 Donald and Lynda Horowitz Professor for the Pursuit of Justice
 
Lori Bannai
 Professor of Lawyering Skills and Director,
 Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality
 
 
 
Tuesday, April 15
 Room C5, Sullivan Hall, 4:30 p.m.
 Reception to follow

The event is open to all, but RSVPs are requested.

The WSBA Civil Rights Law Section would like to invite and encourage you to contribute an article for the upcoming WSBA Civil Rights Law Section Newsletter.  The general theme for the upcoming newsletter will be: Civil Rights in the 21st Century (though we will consider articles on any topic regarding civil rights).

Submission deadline: May 15, 2014

To submit an article for possible inclusion in the spring newsletter, please send the article, author’s name, contact information, and a short biography to Callie Sechrist at calandra.sechrist@k12.wa.us, or Nancy Talner at ntalner@aol.com by May 15, 2014.

 

 

About the WSBA Civil Rights Law Section

The Civil Rights Law Section evolved from the WSBA Civil Rights Committee, which had been the primary WSBA entity focusing on civil rights law. The Section addresses all aspects of civil rights law and policy in Washington state as it implements its mission to educate, advocate, and improve the practice of our members in the area of civil rights law.

I am contacting your organization on behalf of Family Law CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of King County, which is a non-profit organization that assists with family court cases regarding the custody and safety of the children involved. Family Law CASA is committed to providing an Advocate for every child who needs one. Advocates serve as a critical link between the courts, the families, and the children caught in the middle. Through this program, our volunteer Advocates provide the court with a comprehensive account of each child’s life, bringing clarity and insight to complex custody cases.

 

 If your organization is interested, we would greatly appreciate an opportunity to meet with a representative to discuss volunteering opportunities. Our Advocates assist our organization in some of the toughest custody cases, with the help of our staff who are experienced in social work. If any of your members are interested in positively impacting a child’s life, please inform them of our volunteer program.

 Please contact me at (206) 748-9700 or rmennes@familylawcasa.org if you are able to meet to discuss an opportunity to meet. Thank you for your time and for considering this request. We look forward to working with you and creating a stronger community.

OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee today announced that he is appointing Tanya Thorp to King County Superior Court.

 

Thorp has worked for 12 years for the Attorney General of Washington as an Assistant Attorney General. She worked for nearly a decade in the Social & Health Services Termination Unit, working on difficult family law and parental rights cases. As an AAG she has also handled several high-profile cases in the Labor & Industries Division, including defending the State’s citation against Tesoro Anacortes Refinery after the 2010 refinery explosion that killed seven workers.

 

Thorp is a member of the Loren Miller Bar Association and currently serves as an Executive Board Member-at-Large. During the judicial evaluation process she was rated “Exceptionally Well Qualified” by the Latina/o Bar Association and Loren Miller, “Well Qualified” by the King County Bar Association, QLaw, and the Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee, and “Highly Qualified” by Washington Women Lawyers.

 

“Tanya’s experience both in the courtroom and working with families will be an excellent asset on the bench,” said Inslee. “She is highly regarded among her colleagues and her reputation as a competent and effective legal professional is well known. I look forward to her public service to the people of King County for years to come.”

 

“Tanya is a well-respected and highly regarded litigator,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “She will bring a wealth of experience and perspective to the King County bench. Our loss is certainly King County Superior Court’s gain.”

 

Thorp is replacing Judge Joan DuBuque who is retiring and has served with distinction as a Superior Court Judge for 30 years.

Mentoring and Paying it Forward

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When:

Tuesday, April 1st, 2014, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Where:

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, 1201 Third Ave., Floor 22, Seattle, WA 98101

RSVP: through Big Tent (preferred if you are a MAMAS member) or by email to HeatherColdwell@dwt.com. Please identify if you will attend in person in Seattle or if you will participate by phone.

Mentoring and Paying it Forward – Join us for a lively discussion about how to be a good mentor or mentee and how to get the most out of mentoring relationships, including how to foster an informal mentoring relationship. You will not want to miss the valuable insights from the distinguished panel.

Speakers:

Jennifer Ivan - Jennifer Ivan is an Assistant General Counsel for Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington, where she supports the Microsoft Business Solutions group. In this role, she manages a team of 10 legal professionals that provides general counseling and transactional legal support in areas of product development, product marketing, distribution and compliance. The Microsoft Business Solutions group is responsible for the Microsoft Dynamics product line, which includes Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

Prior to joining Microsoft, Jennifer was Legal Director for Dell Computer Corporation in Austin, Texas, where she supported the Dell Services organization. Throughout her tenure at Dell, she provided legal support for Product, Service, and Sales and Marketing organizations, providing general counseling and negotiation of strategic partner and customer relationships. She also undertook an assignment in Singapore for Dell supporting sales and marketing activities for Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining Dell, Jennifer was a Staff Attorney for IBM in Austin, Texas, where she provided comprehensive legal support for IBM's Server Group, which included support for the IBM UNIX proprietary operating system, AIX. Throughout her tenure at IBM, she provided legal support for employment and litigation matters, marketing, export compliance, product development and strategic development partnerships.

Jennifer graduated Cum Laude with Honors in Liberal Arts with a B.A. in Political Science and English from the Ohio State University in 1990. Jennifer received her J.D. Cum Laude from the Ohio State University School of Law in 1994. Jennifer served on the board of directors for the Capital Area Planned Parenthood (Austin, Texas). She currently serves as President for the board of Youth Eastside Services, a non-profit that provides counseling and support programs for children and young adults who are dealing with drug and alcohol addiction, mental health issues, abuse and other difficult issues. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her nine year old daughter (Olivia), her 16 year old son (Parker) and her husband, Donnie.

Ron Knox – Ron is an Owner at Garvey Schubert Barer. Ron has had an active role in mentoring, both informal and as part of formal mentoring programs, for many years and currently serves as GSB’s Mentor and Sponsor Coordinator. Ron practices in the areas of labor and employment law. His clientele includes both public and private sector companies, with special emphasis on municipal corporations, regional service and manufacturing businesses, and public service corporations. He also represents clients in the computer software industry. Ron's experience encompasses personnel management, consultation and advocacy, labor and business negotiations, business contract negotiation, administrative and civil litigation. Ron serves clients and is licensed to practice in Washington and Oregon.

Tom Robertson -Tom Robertson is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Microsoft. He manages the legal and corporate affairs support for the recently-formed Operating Systems Group, which creates the Microsoft operating system platforms for phones, tablets, personal computers, entertainment devices and large screen devices, known today as Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox, along with their associated online marketplaces and services. He is a member of the leadership teams for the Operating Systems Group and the cross-company Legal and Corporate Affairs Department.

In his 16 years at Microsoft, Tom has also been Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for the Office and Business Solutions Divisions, Associate General Counsel for the Office product group, General Manager for Microsoft’s Corporate Standards and Interoperability Group, head of Microsoft’s legal and corporate affairs team for China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the lead for Microsoft’s intellectual property policy and enforcement work in Asia. He spent his first eight years at Microsoft based in Asia, first in Hong Kong and then in Tokyo.

Before joining Microsoft, Tom was the Associate General Counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in the Executive Office of the President, responsible for both intellectual property issues around the world and general trade issues in the Asia-Pacific region. He practiced law at Covington & Burling in Washington D.C. and London, England, and clerked for the Hon. Albert V. Bryan, Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Tom holds both engineering and law degrees from the University of Virginia.

Tom has represented Microsoft on the Duke University Fuqua School of Business’ Innovation Working Group, is a Fellow of the U.S.-Japan Leadership Program, and is on the Board of Directors of the National Bureau of Asian Research, Town Hall Seattle and the Seattle Trade Alliance. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Marcelle O’Connell, and their three daughters.

Kerry Robinson –Kerry is Foster Pepper’s Professional Development Counsel. In that position, Kerry works with the firm’s senior attorneys, practice group leaders, business development group, and the executive leadership team, to help guide the development, integration, and training of Foster Pepper’s newer attorneys. Kerry is also a member of the firm’s Employment and Labor Relations and Litigation practices and serves on the Pro Bono and Professional Development committees.

Jen Scully --Jen is a Senior Attorney at Microsoft responsible for advising Microsoft’s consumer cloud services business. Prior to her current role, Jen worked in the Trademark & Copyright Group as primary trademark counsel to the Xbox business, Microsoft Office and Microsoft’s enterprise cloud services, and prior to that, she was an IP attorney at the Seed IP Law Group in Seattle. Jen has two amazing kids, and has been their classroom art docent, soccer coach, and mostly recently, the mother who it’s now embarrassing to have come along as a chaperone and who was strongly encouraged not to sit next to them on the bus.

Erin Snodgrass – Erin is a Co-Founder and Principal of Snodgrass Annand PLLC. Erin’s experience as a mentor and mentee in a variety of settings has provided her with valuable insights on mentoring relationships. Erin’s practice focuses ontechnology and media transactions and intellectual property. Erin has significant experience in a variety of transactions involving software, media and technology, including development, licensing, production, transfer, consulting services and distribution transactions. Prior to co-founding Snodgrass Annand PLLC, Erin practiced in the technology transactions group at Cairncross & Hempelmann, P.S. and the trademark and licensing groups at Foster Pepper & Shefelman PLLC.

We encourage you to attend our brown bag meeting in person to facilitate both networking and a lively discussion.

Please bring your lunch and join us for this presentation, and meet fellow MAMAS members! Cookies will be provided.

For those who cannot attend in person, we offer the option to participate by phone.

Call in #: 888-757-0729; Passcode: 1396142354#

When attending via telephone, please use your mute button to prevent background noise, but do not place the call on hold. Some firms have hold music, which is disruptive to the presentation. If you need to leave the call briefly, please hang up and call back in when you are able.

Brenthaven, a retailer of bags and cases for mobile technology headquartered in Seattle has recently opened a flagship retail store on Capitol Hill and are excited to host community events every month featuring a different prominent Seattle entrepreneur speaker.

On Wednesday, March 19, 2014, from 12:00-1:30pm, the WSBA Lawyer’s Assistance Program’s Bi-Monthly Career Management Series (formerly Bi-Monthly Job Seeker group) is proud to feature a unique panel presentation exploring the issue of racial diversity in the job-seeking context. Attorneys James Armstrong, Martha Sandoval, Omar Nur and Katrina Zafiro will be leading this discussion, the first in a series of panels focusing on dimensions of diversity for job seekers, whether at the beginning or mid-point of one’s legal career. Topics to be discussed in the upcoming panel presentation include examining barriers and how they may be overcome, as well as guidance for job seekers who are members of a racially diverse community. There is no cost for the presentation and registration is required; attendance is offered either in-person at the WSBA Conference Center or via webcast. To register, go to: https://www.mywsba.org/OnlineStore/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductId=6543519&page=sem&mt=

INVITATION TO UW LAW ACADEMY- Friday, March 14 (UW School of Law)- MENTORS WELCOME!

You are cordially invited to participate in our first UW Law Academy!

Updated 3/5/14:  If you would like to have your profile shared with our high school participants, please send a response with the following information (feel free to attach a photo).  The agenda for the day is noted below.

Name:

Title/Office and/or area of practice:

High School:

College/University:

Law School:

Please answer at least one (or as many as you wish!) of the following questions:

1)      What was the greatest obstacle you faced pursuing your educational or legal career?

2)      Who or what experience inspired you to pursue a legal career?

3)      What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were in high school that could have helped you in deciding your career path?

4)      What advice would you give our high school students as they consider a higher education and potential legal career?

5)      Any books or resources you would recommend for inspiration/motivation, career guidance, or setting goals?

 

Thanks for your support of the UW Law Academy!

With the help of the UW Office of Minority Affairs, Rise UP/GEAR UP! and DiscoverLaw.org, the UW School of Law is inviting diverse high school students from around the State to spend the day at the law school. We hope to inspire students to really consider pursuing a legal education and career by introducing them to judges, attorneys, and law students; participating in a mock trial/street law program; and giving them an action plan on how to get from high school to law school.

WA State Supreme Court Justice Steven Gonzalez will be our keynote speaker during the morning session. We need attorney/judge/law student volunteers to help make this a great experience for our high school guests. Please RSVP at ecc93@uw.edu as soon as possible. Let me know if you would like to attend the morning or afternoon session, either session +the luncheon, or stay with us for the entire day. Please feel free to forward the invitation to your colleagues (Walk-ins Welcome!).

If you would like to sponsor the program by bringing volunteer attorneys/judges/law students or by donating any amount, please let me know. Donations will be used to help with costs of student attendance and/or to purchase gift items for the student giveaway contests (i.e. UW Law t-shirts, etc.). We hope you will join us!

Sponsor levels (titles subject to change):

“Most awesome!”: $500 or more and/or 6-10 volunteers

“Awesome like the ‘80s!”: $250 or more and/or 3-5 volunteers

“We Rock!”: $100 and/or 1-3 volunteers

“We Rock too!”: any $$ amount, any kind of gift swag, and/or any number volunteers!!

Lawyers with Disabilities Celebration

Please join us and our friends with the Washington Attorneys with Disabilities Association as we gather to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Perkins Coie signing the ABA’s Pledge for Change regarding disability diversity in the legal profession. We’ll be enjoying good food and great company as clients, community leaders, and friends of the firm recognize the accomplishments and contributions of attorneys with disabilities.

Speakers will include Stuart Pixley (LCA), a Senior Attorney with Microsoft Corporation, a member of the ABA’s Commission on Disability Rights, and a board member of the Washington Attorneys with Disabilities Association, and Representative Cyrus Habib, Perkins Coie Community Liaison for the Puget Sound Region and state representative for the 48th District.

Thursday, March 13, 2014
Perkins Coie LLP
1201 3rd Ave, 49th Floor
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
6:15 p.m. – Speakers’ Remarks

RSVP Here.

Please contact Judah Travis at jtravis@perkinscoie.com with questions