Farmers’ Legal Action Group, Inc. and the National Agricultural Law Center are working with USDA to develop a network of attorneys willing to assist Hispanic and women farmers, either on a pro bono or compensated basis, in completing and submitting claims forms in a non-judicial process designed to resolve past claims of discrimination in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Loan Programs for certain periods between 1981 and 2000.  For more information, please see the USDA’s Attorney Recruitment Notice as well as an article on the National Agricultural Law Center's blog that provides further explanation. 

A Senior at Nathan Hale High School would like to connect some Nathan Hale students with local community organizers and leaders in order to get students involved in North Seattle. The project is called an Author of Change Project and it involves getting some our 10th grade students to shadow community leaders. She would like to  invite some North Seattle leaders to Nathan Hale for 1-2 hours on March 8th to let the students ask questions about your organization and getting involved as a shadow. Shadowing is where students follow a community leader and learn what they do. If you are interested in finding out  more about this please contact me at sklaviolette@comcast.net

The Washington State Parks Foundation is currently seeking new members, particularly with legal expertise, to serve on its Board of Directors.  The Foundation is a non-profit organization whose activities include helping to raise operating revenues for parks, building a constituency of park supporters, and funding projects that enhance recreational opportunities, restore habitat and provide educational as well as event programming.  Please visit wspf.org for more information about the Foundation, and contact Executive Director John Floberg (john@wspf.org) if you are interested in being considered for a Board position.

Washington Courts: Press Release Detail
Monday’s Supreme Court Inauguration to Mark the First Time in State History for Female Majority, Chief Justice
January 10, 2013

OLYMPIA, WA - On Monday, January 14th at 9:30 a.m. newly-elected Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud will be sworn in as the newest Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court, marking the first time in state history that the Court will have both a female majority and female Chief Justice.

The ceremony will also mark the inaugurations of Justice Susan J. Owens and Justice Steven González, who were both elected to six-year terms, and Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, who was re-elected by her colleagues to a four-year term as Chief Justice.
 
The event is open to the public and will be held in the Supreme Court at the Temple of Justice in Olympia.
Sheryl Gordon McCloud graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1976, and graduated from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 1984. She clerked for Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Warren Ferguson before beginning her practice, which included extensive experience in appellate law. In 2008, the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers awarded her their highest award, the William O. Douglas Award, for "extraordinary courage" in the practice of law.
 
Steven González is the first justice of Mexican heritage to serve on the bench of the Washington State Supreme Court since the formation of the Court in 1889. González was appointed to the Court in 2012, and served on the King County Superior Court bench from 2002-2012. González earned his J.D. from the University of California at Berkley’s law school and was admitted to the Washington state bar in 1991. He graduated from Pitzer College, a member of the Claremont Colleges, with a B.A. in East Asian Studies and studied abroad in undergraduate and advanced studies in Japan and China.  From 1997 to 2002, González was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the state’s Western District. He also worked in the City of Seattle Attorney’s Office from 1996 to 1997 as a trial attorney in the domestic violence unit. Before that, he practiced business and civil law with the firm Hillis Clark Martin and Peterson from 1991 to 1996.
 
Susan J. Owens was first elected in 2000 to the Supreme Court. She joined the court after serving nineteen years as District Court Judge in Western Clallam County, where she was the County's senior elected official with five terms. She also served as the Quileute Tribe's Chief Judge and Chief Judge of the Lower Elwha S'Klallam Tribe.
 
Chief Justice Barbara Madsen was elected to serve a second term as the 55th Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court in October. As Chief Justice, she is the court's chief spokesperson, presides over Supreme Court hearings and conferences, and co-chairs the state's Board for Judicial Administration. The voters elected Justice Madsen as the third woman to serve on the Washington Supreme Court in 1992, and she was re-elected in 1998, 2004, and 2010. 
For full biographies, please visit www.courts.wa.gov. The ceremony will be covered by TVW, Washington's Public Affairs TV Network. For channel information, or to view coverage online, visit www.tvw.org

Support Washington Cease Fire On Jan. 13, 2013

Washington Cease Fire was started 28 years ago by attorney Tom Wales. It is working on a 2013 legislative agenda to (1) push to toughen penalties on underage possession on firearms which has bi-partisan support (this is Senator Adam Kline’s bill) and 2) a comprehensive ban on the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons including a limit of the capacity of the magazine clip to more than ten bullets.

Washington Cease Fire will hold a march beginning at Westlake Center at 1pm to Seattle Center for a rally at 2pm on Sunday January 13, 2013 (the day before lawmakers return to Olympia). The rally will include a wide swath of students, parents, religious leaders, educators, and business and civic leaders. The march will include signs, speeches and perhaps some high profile musical entertainment. The core focus in the speeches and at the rally will be on moving our legislators to support a ban on semi-automatic weapons.

Christensen O'Connor Johnson Kindness PLLC Announces the Election of Pam K. Jacobson to the Membership

COJK has announced that Pam Jacobson, Co-Vice President of Professional Development on the WWL State Board, has been elected to its membership.  Pam is a registered patent attorney with extensive experience litigating intellectual property disputes throughout the United States.  She also maintains an active patent prosecution docket and manages the intellectual property asset portfolios of her clients. Please join WWL in extending her a well-deserved congratulations!

Invites you to attend our next monthly brown bag lunch:

Leaves of Absence: Local and State New and Emerging Laws
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

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

**NEW EASTSIDE LOCATION FOR GROUP CALL IN AND NETWORKING**
Hanson Baker Ludlow Drumheller P.S., 2229 - 112th Avenue NE, Suite 200, Bellevue, Washington 98004-2936

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 Eastside or if you will participate by phone.

Are you pregnant?  Are you adopting?  Do you or your child have illnesses that require you to miss work?  There are a host of laws that protect pregnant moms, new parents, those who are ill and those who have family that are ill.  Come learn about the various protections in place including the new Seattle Sick and Save Paid Leave Ordinance that went into effect a few months ago.  In addition, learn about the Economic Opportunity Institute’s efforts to promote legislation for a Family Medical Leave Insurance program in Washington state that would allow new parents who wouldn’t otherwise have paid parental leave the opportunity to have partially paid leave from work to care for their new child. 
Laurie Johnston is a partner at Gordon and Rees LLP. Her practice focuses on defense of employers in employment litigation and preventive employment counseling.  Laurie has litigated a broad range of subjects, including claims for employment discrimination and harassment, class actions, defamation, wage and hour violations, FMLA compliance, employee disability and other workplace legal issues.  She has also defended charges and suits brought before the EEOC, the Washington Human Rights Commission, and Labor & Industries.  Added to that, Laurie provides general advice to employers on a full range of workplace issues, including harassment, discrimination, terminations, disability accommodations, religious accommodations, the FMLA and ADA.  She also helps employers prevent problems by developing policies, forms, practices and training that address both the employer's legal needs and its business realities.  Laurie has two children: Connor, a four-year-old boy, and Alex, a seven year-old-girl.

Stephanie Berntsen focuses her practice in employment advice and litigation and securities litigation representing national and regional clients. Ms. Berntsen has served as lead counsel in numerous employment and securities disputes, assisted clients in resolving matters by defense up to and including at trials and arbitrations, including FINRA matters. She recently defended clients in two employment discrimination jury trials -- gender discrimination and Title VII retaliation -- both resulting in defense verdicts. She speaks regularly on employment related issues, including Seattle's Safe and Sick Leave, wage and hour, disability law, discipline and termination, and trade secrets. She currently serves as the assistant practice group leader for the firm's employment law group. For the past seven years, Ms. Berntsen has been recognized for inclusion in Thomson Reuter's Washington Rising Stars list, an annual roster of the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state.  Stephanie has two children:  Samantha, age 4, and Madeline, age 2.

Marilyn Watkins is Policy Director at the Economic Opportunity Institute, a nonprofit policy research institute that focuses on restoring opportunity and rebuilding economic security for working people and their families. She led the successful campaign for paid sick days in Seattle and chairs the Washington Work and Family Coalition. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services at the University of Washington, and has been appointed to the Governor’s Commission on Transforming Washington’s Budget, the Joint Legislative Taskforce on Family Leave Insurance, and serves on the executive committee of the Family Values @ Work Multi-State Consortium.  She earned a B.A. at Harvard and Ph.D. in history at the University of Michigan. Before joining EOI in 1999, she worked as a historical consultant for Northwest Indian tribes and taught courses in Pacific Northwest and American women's history.

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 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.

MAMAS would also like to thank our

Platinum sponsors:
Garvey Schubert Barer
Navigant Consulting, Inc.
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

and Gold sponsors:
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
K&L Gates LLP
Microsoft Corporation
Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt
Susman Godfrey L.L.P.

 

www.MAMASeattle.org