Civil Gideon Essay Contest Honors Ken Shear; Deadline is May 23

In honor of the retirement of Kenneth Shear, who served as executive director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for 37 years, the "Kenneth Shear Civil Gideon Legal Justice Essay Competition and Scholarship Fund" has been established by the Association and the Philadelphia Bar Foundation to honor Shear's contributions to the Philadelphia legal community. The deadline for entries is Friday, May 23.

To raise an endowment to support the Essay Competition and Scholarship Fund, Immediate-Past Chancellor Kathleen D. Wilkinson and Bar Foundation President Deborah Gross are donating seed money to begin the funding of the Essay Competition and the Scholarship Fund in order to award at least one scholarship in 2014. The announcement of the scholarship was made by Wilkinson and Gross at the December Board of Governors meeting.

Full and part-time law students who are in their second or third year of study during the academic year at one of the following six institutions are eligible to enter: Drexel University School of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Rutgers School of Law - Camden, Temple University Beasley School of Law, Villanova University School of Law and Widener University School of Law (Delaware Campus). Candidates must submit a law review quality submission on Civil Gideon.

The winning author will receive a cash award of $1,500 and serve as an intern, within six months of receiving the award, for 40 hours, on a pro bono basis, to assist the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Philadelphia Bar Foundation with its endeavors through the Philadelphia Civil Gideon Task Force, the state-wide Access to Civil Justice Coalition and/or future statewide Access to Civil Justice Commission, or will serve on another pro bono project of the Philadelphia Bar Association and Philadelphia Bar Foundation, such as service to the Public School System of Philadelphia.

The essay must be no longer than 10 pages or 2,500 words, whichever is shorter. The 2,500-word limitation refers to the text of the submission; footnotes may be a maximum of 1,000 words (in addition to the 2,500 word maximum for text). Endnotes are not permitted.

The essay must be in seminar paper or law journal article format only; submissions in the form of a memorandum, brief, judicial opinion or other type of legal document are not acceptable. The essay may not be previously published or currently accepted for publication in any publication other than in connection with this competition. For a complete list of rules please visit philabarfoundation.org. Please direct additional questions to Merril Zebe, Public Interest Coordinator for the Delivery of Legal Services Committee at mzebe@philabar.org. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. by email on Friday, May 23. Please send submissions to Cecelia Driscoll at info@philabarfoundation.org.

All contributions to the Fund should be in the name of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation with an indication in the memo field that the donation is for the purposes of the "Kenneth Shear Civil Gideon Legal Justice Essay Competition and Scholarship Fund." Please mail your check to Jessica Hilburn-Holmes, Philadelphia Bar Foundation, 1101 Market St., 11th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

Chief Judge McKee to Deliver Higginbotham Lecture June 9

Chief Judge Theodore A. McKee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit will deliver the Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Memorial Public Interest Lecture at the Philadelphia Bar Association's June Quarterly Meeting and Luncheon on Monday, June 9 at 12 p.m. at the Hyatt at The Bellevue, Broad and Walnut streets.

Judge Sandra Mazer Moss (ret.), a longtime jurist on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and now a distinguished neutral with Dispute Resolution Institute, will be presented with the Association's Sandra Day O'Connor Award at the event.

The O'Connor Award is presented to a woman attorney who has demonstrated superior legal talent, achieved significant legal accomplishments and has furthered the advancement of women in both the profession and the community.

Judge McKee was sworn in as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on June 20, 1994, and became chief judge on May 4, 2010. The former Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas judge was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals by President Bill Clinton.

New members of the Association's 50-, 60-, 65- and 70-Year Clubs will also be honored at the event. The Year Clubs recognize attorneys who have been practicing law for 50 years or more.

The June Quarterly Meeting is sponsored by PNC Wealth Management. Click here to purchase tickets.

Applicants Sought for FJD Judicial Fellowship Program

Philadelphia judges are seeking to host law school graduates as judicial fellows to provide the graduates with substantive legal experience while benefitting the court system with additional legal talent, as part of the First Judicial District's Judicial Fellowship Program. Now entering its fourth year, the Judicial Fellowship Program was created in 2011 to address the difficult hiring climate for lawyers that many recent law graduates were facing.

The Judicial Fellowship Program aims to provide high-caliber law graduates with substantive experience in the law, and to support the Court in carrying out key functions. Fellows volunteer their time, have the same responsibilities as regular paid judicial law clerks, and gain the benefit of training by judges in the Philadelphia courts. Judicial fellows' service helps our high-volume court system maintain its superior quality of service to the Philadelphia community. Judges help judicial fellows by mentoring and providing legal experience that will enhance their competitiveness for paid employment as new lawyers.

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Lisa M. Rau developed the program with help from Professor Chapin Cimino of the Drexel University School of Law as well as faculty and administrators from career services offices at the University of Pennsylvania's Law School and Temple's Beasley School of Law. The Judicial Fellowship Program quickly expanded and now welcomes graduates from law schools from across the country. The Philadelphia Bar Association is a supporter of the Judicial Fellowship Program.

The application process is streamlined and selective. Prospective judicial fellows apply directly via email to judges with whom they are interest in working. Judges select judicial fellows from those applicants who apply to them directly. The list of judges with available positions for judicial fellows is provided on the Judicial Fellowship Program's website. Each judge and fellow team designs a flexible schedule (minimum of 20 hours per week) that ensures reliable service to the judge but permits the fellow to seek a paid position elsewhere. Judicial fellows do not commit to any length of service enabling them to leave the fellowship with two weeks' notice to their judge upon obtaining paid employment.

During the first three years of the program, more than 50 judges volunteered to host judicial fellows and the Court hosted 149 judicial fellows from 30 different law schools. As of February 2014, the vast majority of judicial fellows (approximately 84 percent) who left their fellowship departed for paid jobs using their legal skills.

For additional information and fellowship application forms, please visit www.courts.phila.gov/jfp

Bar Foundation Golf & Tennis Classic June 16

The Philadelphia Bar Foundation is excited to host the 26th Annual Golf & Tennis Classic on Monday, June 16 at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Sponsorship opportunities, foursomes and individual tickets for golf or tennis are now available. The Bar Foundation is pleased to offer special rates for judges and Young Lawyers Division members, as well as dinner-only tickets.

Golf will take place on both the Wissahickon and Militia Hill courses. The Philadelphia Cricket Club also features grass and clay tennis courts. Please note that Wissahickon is a walking course, and carts will only be available for those over the age of 65 or with a medical note. Carts are available on Militia Hill. Individual golfers and foursomes will be assigned to Wissahickon by lottery if necessary.

Register today and help the Philadelphia Bar Foundation celebrate 50 years of promoting access to justice! Click here to register. For more information, please contact Alexander McDowell at 215-238-6334 or amcdowell@philabar.org.

Speed Mentoring Program June 25 at Chima

The Business Law Section, in conjunction with the Young Lawyers Division, invites young lawyers and law students to engage candidly and meaningfully with seasoned practitioners and coaches about building a book of business and marketing oneself as a young lawyer at a Wednesday, June 25 speed mentoring program at Chima.

Attendees will be divided into small groups which will circulate to discuss focused topics with mentors seated at individual tables. Developing one's practice is essential to a successful legal career, and starting early can reap significant benefits. Topics will include: Connecting with Clients and Referral Sources, Practical Networking Pointers and Etiquette, Work-Life Insights and Advice, and Attaining Your Career Goals.

The event will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Chima, 1901 JFK Blvd. Registration for this event is required and will include heavy hors d'oeuvres and drinks. Tickets are $10 for law student members; $20 for non-member law students (includes automatic membership to the Philadelphia Bar Association for the remainder of the year, which is a discount off the standard fee); $20 for Philadelphia Bar Association members; and $30 for non-members. The event will be limited to the first 50 people to register. Click here to register.

The Business Law Section would like to thank its Annual Sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Apple Tech Academy Series Begins June 4

Join the Philadelphia Bar Association's Bar Academy for the new Apple Tech Academy Series. This five-part series will be hosted weekly to help members learn and better understand technology that can be of use to them whether it's in the courtroom or their law practice. The series is exclusively for Philadelphia Bar Association members and space is limited, so interested attendees are encouraged to register early.

The programs will be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Apple Store, 1607 Walnut St. The series includes: June 4 - Introduction and setting up your iPad; June 11 - Creating and editing documents; June 18 - Reviewing and annotating existing documents; June 25 - Presentation software in the courtroom; and July 2 - Case management and case research.

In lieu of a registration fee for this educational series, attendees are encouraged to contribute $15 for all five sessions (members only), which will be donated to Chancellor William P. Fedullo's Support Our Schools Campaign. Attend as many or as few sessions as you like. Click here to register.

The Philadelphia Bar Association Academy provides Bar members with civic and cultural educational experiences that allow for enhanced business development opportunities. Academy programs provide a unique entry to the city's most vibrant institutions and leaders, offering behind-the-scenes access to these institutions in a manner designed to benefit all participants.

Federal Bench-Bar Conference June 13

A state of the courts presentation and keynote remarks by Witold "Vic" Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, are among the highlights of the Federal Courts Committee’s Federal Bench-Bar Conference on Friday, June 13.

The Federal Bench-Bar Conference is a half-day educational event that is always eagerly anticipated by federal court practitioners and judges. Attendees will spend the morning hearing panel presentations by both judges and practitioners on topics of current interest in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The conference will begin with opening remarks by Danielle Banks, chair of the Federal Courts Committee, followed by an introduction of the program by Bruce P. Merenstein, course planner and vice chair of the Federal Courts Committee. Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. at The Rittenhouse Hotel, 210 W. Rittenhouse Square. To register for the Federal-Bench Bar Conference, visit pbi.org.

The first panel discussion, "Expert Witnesses in Federal Court: What Works and What Doesn't,” features U.S. District Court Judges Cynthia M. Rufe, Juan R. Sanchez and Mitchell S. Goldberg and moderator Nina M. Gussack.

U.S. District Court Judge Legrome D. Davis and attorneys Catherine M. Recker, Robert A. Zauzmer and moderator David Rudovsky will discuss "The Use of Social Media to Investigate, Prosecute, and Defend Criminal Charges."

Following a short break, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Petrese B. Tucker, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Chief Judge Eric L. Frank and Clerk of Court Michael E. Kunz will present a report on the state of the courts.

The last panel discussion, "Ethical Issues During Depositions: Hypothetical Scenarios," features U.S. District Court Judges Paul S. Diamond and Gerald A. McHugh Jr., along with former Chancellor Abraham C. Reich and moderator Dennis R. Suplee.

The program concludes with Walczak's keynote remarks. He will address why it is important that federal courts be receptive to litigation brought on behalf of unpopular people and causes. Click here to register for the Federal Bench-Bar Conference.

Jewish Law Day Celebration May 21

John Q. Barrett, professor of law at St. John's University in New York, will speak on "Justice Jackson, Nuremberg, and the Universality of the Hebrew Bible" at the 32nd annual Jewish Law Day celebration on Wednesday, May 21.

The program, sponsored by the Committee of Judges and Lawyers, The Louis D. Brandeis Law Society, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, and VAAD: The Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia, is a free program open to the entire community. The event will be held at the Jewish Community Services Building, at 2100 Arch St. beginning at 5 p.m.

This event is funded entirely through voluntary contributions. A reception will follow the program. Complimentary valet parking is provided. Dietary laws are strictly observed. To register, or to make a voluntary contribution to Jewish Law Day, please visit brandeislawsociety.org.