Volunteer Opportunity: Young Friends of Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project

The Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP) uses direct service and policy advocacy to transform the experiences of kids prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system. They partner with court-involved youth, their families and lawyers to develop holistic, humanizing narratives that mitigate the facts of each case; get cases transferred to the juvenile system; and make crucial connections to community resources providing education, healthcare, housing and employment. Their ultimate goal is to keep children out of adult jails and prisons.

For more information on how to volunteer, click here.

Member Benefits:

Visit Member Benefits for full details.

Lenovo

Ball games, cookouts, pool parties and summer deals from Lenovo!

June brings a home run of instant savings on Lenovo's award winning technologies. As a Philadelphia Bar Association member you can take advantage of this month's special offers up to 29 percent off select grand slam performing Laptops, Desktops, Tablets, Accessories and more! Don't forget to prepare for rainy days, upgrade your warranty service!

Shop now, save and enjoy!

• Up to 29% off Lenovo Desktops
• up to 27% off Lenovo Laptops
• up to 20% off Lenovo Tablets
• up to 15% off ThinkPad Laptops and ThinkCentre Desktops

Visit www.lenovo.com/philadelphiabar or call 1-800-426-7235, ext. 7040 (M-F: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. EST, Sat: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. EST).

Volunteer Panels Needed for Federal Court

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania invites you to join one of its prisoner civil rights and employment panels.

The members of the prisoner civil rights panel provide legal representation to prison inmates for constitutional violations by law enforcement officers before the inmate was incarcerated that relate to the matter(s) for which the inmate is then incarcerated.

The employment panel members represent plaintiffs in cases that are brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act ot 1964, the Age Discrimination Employment Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act and state claims which can be properly appended to federal employment claims.

For further information about joining the prisoner civil rights panel, please contact Panel Coordinators Stephen D. Brown Esq. at (215) 994-2240 or Samuel W. Silver Esq. at (215) 751-2309. To learn more about the employment panel, please contact Panel Coordinators Alan B. Epstein Esq. at (215) 241-8832 or Ari R. Karpf Esq. at (215) 639-0801. The Court's Volunteer Panel Administrator, Elaine Battle, can be reached at (267) 299-7034.

Tomorrow: William G. Bowen to Deliver Higginbotham Lecture June 22; Judge Dembe to Accept O'Connor Award

William G. Bowen Ph.D., president emeritus of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and former president of Princeton University, will deliver the Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Memorial Public Interest Lecture at the Philadelphia Bar Association's June Quarterly Meeting and Luncheon on Wednesday, June 22 at 12 p.m. at the Hyatt at The Bellevue, Broad and Walnut streets. Judge Legrome D. Davis of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District for Pennsylvania will make special remarks to introduce Bowen.

At the Mellon Foundation, Bowen created an in-house research program to investigate doctoral education, collegiate admissions, independent research libraries and charitable nonprofits. Author and co-author of books including "The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions," Bowen has received honorary degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Morehouse College and many more. In 2013, he received the 2012 Presidential Medal for the Humanities.

Judge Dembe has served as a mentor and role model to many aspiring woman attorneys. She is a Past President of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges, the Brehon Law Society, Conference of Metropolitan Courts, Temple American Inn of Court and the Friends of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Additionally she serves as the chairwoman of the Free Library of Philadelphia Board of Trustees. Judge Dembe was elected to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 1989 after a decade-long career in general practice representing a diverse client base in state and Federal Court on the trial and appellate levels. She was elected to President Judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 2008 and held this position until 2013.

The Sandra Day 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. New members of the Association's 50-, 60-, 65-, 70- and 75-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 22 Quarterly Meeting and Luncheon is sponsored by PNC Wealth Management.

Summer Brown Bag Lunch Series

The Philadelphia Bar Association's Public Interest Section and Law School Outreach Committee will host the "Summer Brown Bag Lunch Series," in the 11th Floor Conference Center on Thursdays, June 23 and 30; and July 7, 14, 21 and 28; from 12-1:30 p.m. These free programs provide an opportunity for summer law student interns to meet public interest attorneys who are leaders in their field and learn about different types of public interest practice and fellowship opportunities in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Click here to download a copy of the 2016 schedule.

LGBT Rights Committee Summer Associate Reception and Rosenblum Award June 28

Please join the LGBT Rights Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association as we welcome incoming members of our profession, summer associates, to the Philadelphia legal community at Ballard Spahr LLP on Tuesday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m. Graciously hosted by Ballard Spahr, we hope that this event will provide opportunities for summer associates to network with established professionals and their peers.

In addition, we will be presenting the Second Annual David M. Rosenblum Law Student Leader Award. Presented by the LGBT Rights Committee of The Philadelphia Bar Association, the award honors the memory of David M. Rosenblum, the late legal director of Mazzoni Center, a tireless lawyer and advocate, and an LGBT organizer while in law school.

Ballard Spahr LLP is located at 1735 Market St., Philadelphia. For more information and to register, click here.

2016 Annual Affinity Bar Association Quizzo Championship July 21

Love trivia? Possess a wealth of knowledge about all things obscure? Tired of "proving" your skills by yelling at "Jeopardy" contestants on TV?

Come compete against your friends and colleagues at the annual installment of the Affinity Bar Association Quizzo Championship at Field House on Thursday, July 21 at 5 p.m. Presented by the Young Lawyers Division, this event is open to the entire legal community. If you are not a member of one of the participating groups, volunteer your talents to the highest bidder (and consider joining)!

To participate, you must register in advance. Deadline to register is July 19.

Networking: 5-6 p.m.

Quizzo starts at 6 p.m.

Entry Fee - $10

One hundred percent of the entry fee proceeds go to the winning team's choice of one of the legal public service agencies supported by the Philadelphia Bar Foundation. This event is sponsored by:

Attendees will receive a drink ticket and enjoy light hors d'oeuvres, world-class Quizzo by Quizzomaster Ed Beitz, a chance to win a prize gift basket filled with items donated by the participating groups and a chance at eternal glory by having your team's name engraved on the coveted Quizzo Championship trophy!

Field House is located at 1150 Filbert St., Philadelphia. For more information and to register click here.

Registration Now Open: Bench-Bar & Annual Conference Sept. 23-24

New Venue for 2016!

The Philadelphia Bar Association will hold its 2016 Bench-Bar & Annual Conference on Friday, Sept. 23 and Saturday, Sept. 24 at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City.

The Association is proud to be hosting the 2016 Bench-Bar at the new, world-class $125 million Waterfront Conference Center at Harrah's Resort. An additional 100,000 square feet of meeting space makes the Waterfront Conference Center the largest meeting facility of its kind from Baltimore to Boston.

Attracting hundreds of lawyers and judges, the annual conference provides attorneys with an opportunity to earn CLE credits while getting a chance to network and socialize with colleagues and members of the judiciary.

For more information and to register, visit PhilaBenchBar.com

Featured Philadelphia Bar Association CLE

CLE - Pardon My Diversion? - An Examination of Philadelphia Diversion Courts June 21

This CLE course will examine the process behind and procedures of Philadelphia County diversion courts in criminal cases. Our faculty will review costs and fees in criminal diversion programs. Is diversion court "priced to sell," or have we priced people out of the "market?" The following will be covered within this CLE presentation:

Brief overview of Philly’s diversionary programs

• Benefits to the defendant
• Benefits to the public (cost savings, reduced recidivism?)

Paying for diversionary programs

• What are the associated costs?
• What does the defendant have to pay?
• Where does the money go?
• Compare cost of diversionary programs to typical court costs imposed on criminal defendants

What happens when someone is offered participation in a diversionary program but are unable to afford it?

• How often do people opt out of diversionary programs because they are too expensive?
• Are indigency waivers available?
• If so, how is indigency determined?
• At what point in the plea bargaining process is indigency assessed?
• Is this determination made in a formal court proceeding? If not, how?
• Are there standards for who is entitled to free diversionary programs?

Should we offer diversionary programs that are not accessible to everyone equally?

• Does this exacerbate racial and economic inequalities in the criminal justice system?
• What does Philly do well in terms of making these programs available to the most vulnerable people in society, and what can be improved on?
• What Philly models should be imported to other counties?
• What do other counties do better (if anyone knows)?

Expert panel answers your "need-to-know" questions when considering Diversion programs.

Pardon My Diversion? - An Examination of Philadelphia Diversion Courts
2 SUB
12:30-2:30 p.m. Lunch and registration begin at 12 p.m.

CLE - Strictly Speaking: Public Speaking Skills for Lawyers June 24

Featured Speaker: Past Chancellor John E. Savoth

One of the most important skills for lawyers is the ability to speak in public, whether it be before a forum of hundreds or a conference room with only a handful of people in attendance. It is expected that all attorneys, not only trial lawyers, have the gift of rising from your seat and providing concise and relevant remarks. That occasion may arise in your professional or personal life.

This CLE course will provide attorneys with the tools to conquer any public speaking engagement in any environment, including courtroom arguments and orations, firm presentations, large audience addresses, toasts and eulogies.

Through the use of video examples, featured speaker and former Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor, John E. Savoth, will offer guidance on effective methods of delivery. Attorneys will learn practical tips and techniques to prepare them for any public speaking event.

Strictly Speaking: Public Speaking Skills for Lawyers
3 SUB
12-3:15 p.m. Lunch and registration begin at 11:30 p.m.

CLE - Mindful Decision-Making July 14

Day-to-day decision-making can be stressful. For an attorney, the stress of decision-making is complicated by several factors: the legal issues themselves, the reactions of the involved parties, and the non-legal ramifications of any particular decision. Sometimes an attorney's healthy concern for the client's emotions and reactions can snowball into anxiety. All of this competition for mind share can stymie decision making. The challenge of decision-making may lead to delays in action, which can have worse consequences than a bad decision itself. It is said that "Mindful decision-making begins with the recognition of our need to act."

This program -- the second CLE course in the Business Law Section Mindfulness Series -- examines mindful decision-making and how a mindful approach leads to ethical decision-making. Our faculty will provide a mindfulness foundation, offer a definition for mindful decision making, and walk you through a process for making decisions mindfully and ethically. This interactive program will enable you to incorporate mindfulness into your decision-making process, apply the tools of mindful decision-making to a current decision you face, and leverage the skills of mindfulness to represent your clients ethically and zealously.

Mindfulness is an awareness of life in the present moment creating the opportunity to pause, breathe, and connect with oneself so that we may be able to moderate our reaction and respond thoughtfully to our clients and colleagues. For the same reasons, practicing mindfulness in law enhances our capacity to be more genuine and present for what arises in our interactions.

In this program, faculty will highlight:

1. Definitions of Mindful Decision-Making
2. A Process of Making Decisions Mindfully
3. Practical examples, resources and tips

Allow mindfulness to be an everyday tool to enable better focus in your practice of law and bring an enjoyment into your work environment.

Mindful Decision-Making
1 ETH
8:30 a.m. Registration begins at 8 a.m.

Upcoming Philadelphia Bar Association CLE Courses

The Philadelphia Bar Association, a statewide Continuing Legal Education (CLE) provider in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, offers CLE courses to lawyers and members of the business and legal communities throughout the region. Lawyers and other professionals can turn to the Philadelphia Bar Association for convenient, high-quality, low-cost CLE courses on the latest issues, legislation and regulations.

As an added benefit, Philadelphia Bar Association members will be able to receive six free CLE credits that will be offered as three, two-credit courses on dates to be announced.

June 21
Pardon My Diversion: An Examination of Philadelphia Diversion Courts
2 SUB
12:30-2:30 p.m. Lunch and registration begin at 12 p.m.

June 24
Strictly Speaking: Public Speaking Skills for Lawyers
3 SUB
12-3:15 p.m. Lunch and registration begin at 11:30 a.m.

June 28
Mediating a Landlord Tenant Dispute
2 SUB
4-6 p.m. Registration begins at 3:30 p.m. Wine and cheese refreshments will be served.

July 14
Mindful Decision-Making
1 ETH
8:30 a.m. Registration begins at 8 a.m.

July 19
Mitigation and Reentry Planning In Juvenile Life Without Parole Resentencings: Responding to Montgomery v. Louisiana
3 SUB
12 p.m. Lunch and registration begin at 11:30 a.m.

For questions regarding Philadelphia Bar Association CLE, contact Director of Continuing Legal Education Tara D. Phoenix at 215-238-6349 or tphoenix@philabar.org.