Applicants Sought for Board Observer Program

The Philadelphia Bar Foundation, in partnership with the Young Lawyers Division and the Delivery of Legal Services Committee, has developed the Board Observer Program, an initiative that gives young lawyers practicing in Philadelphia the opportunity to learn more about local public interest legal services organizations and to develop leadership skills necessary to serve on the boards of such organizations as well as succeed in their careers. Applications for the 2014-15 program are now being accepted and must be submitted by Sept. 26, 2014. For the Board Observer overview and application, please visit philabarfoundation.org/about.

Foreign Bar Assoc. Relationships July 23

Please join the members of the International Law Committee for an open meeting to discuss the administration of the various relationships the Philadelphia Bar Association has with foreign bar associations...READ MORE

Personal Branding in Workplace July 29

In today's attention-deficit culture, it's not enough to be memorable. It's a good first start, but you need more. You need a personal brand which is your "promise" of high value and consistent quality to your targeted audiences. Building a personal brand reflects the essence of why someone should retain you and what they will receive when they do. Join Kimberly Alford Rice for "Personal Branding in the Workplace and Beyond" at the Tuesday, July 29 meeting of the Women in the Profession Committee. The meeting begins at 12 p.m. in the 10th Floor Board Room at the Philadelphia Bar Association, 1101 Market St. Lunch is available for $8 for members of the Philadelphia Bar Association and $12 for non-members. Cancellations require 24 hours notice. Click here to register for lunch.

Four County Civil Practice CLE July 30

Navigating through the local practices and learning the unwritten rules are difficult, especially the less obvious ones. Prepare yourself for litigating in the neighboring counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties at the Wednesday, July 30 CLE program "Four County Civil Practice." Registration begins at 8 a.m. at The CLE Conference Center on the 10th Floor of the Wanamaker Building, Market and Juniper streets. Click here to register.

Increasing Diversity Among Federal Magistrate Judges July 24

The Federal Magistrate Judges Association Board and Diversity Committee will present "Increasing Diversity Among Federal Magistrate Judges" on Thursday, July 24 from 4 to 6 p.m. Join members of FMJA's Diversity Committee, a Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel Chairperson, and esteemed federal judges from across the country in a panel discussion on the path to becoming and life as a federal magistrate judge, the need for judicial diversity, how to increase diversity, and more! The event will be held in the Ceremonial Courtroom at the James A. Byrne Federal Courthouse, 601 Market St. For more information contact the chambers of Magistrate Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells or MSeng@caed.uscourts.gov or call 215-597-7833. Refreshments will be provided courtesy of the Philadelphia Bar Association.




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International Law Committee Meeting July 23

Please join the members of the International Law Committee for an open meeting to discuss the administration of the various relationships the Philadelphia Bar Association has with foreign bar associations.

The Philadelphia Bar Association currently has formal relationships with the bar associations of Lyon, France; Barcelona, Spain; and Montreal, Canada. Our long-standing relationship with the Lyon Bar Association has led to increased ties between the city of Philadelphia and the Rhone Alps region, a successful 17-year-long attorney exchange program, and international business and legal collaboration. Through our relationship with the Lyon Bar, the Manchester Law Society (United Kingdom) has expressed interest in having a friendship agreement with the Philadelphia Bar as well. More agreements with other foreign bar associations may be formalized in the coming year. These relationships are excellent vehicles for business development, sharing of information, and developing international relationships.

Though these relationships have been informally managed within the International Law Committee for years, the Philadelphia Bar Association has asked the International Law Committee to take a more active and official role in managing and expanding these and future relationships. The open committee meeting is intended to get input from members of the committee and Philadelphia Bar Association members at large with an interest in the international legal community on how we can maximize these relationships. Some agenda items include:

  • Identifying key people interested in being a "point person" or generally aiding the development of a relationship with a foreign bar association
  • The development and administration of law student and attorney exchange programs, such as exists currently with the Lyon Bar Association, with an eye toward maintaining connections with the alumni of our exchange programs
  • Discussion on how we can foster the exchange of legal knowledge and educational materials with foreign colleagues
  • Exploring opportunities to coordinate with Philadelphia's business community, international chambers of commerce, and consular corps to maximize these relationships and make Philadelphia more hospitable to foreign legal and business relationships.
  • Identifying ways to evaluate the economic impact of these relationships on our region.

If you are interested in working in a team to help foster and administer these relationships, please join us on July 23 at 12 p.m. All are welcome.

There is no cost to attend this program, which begins at 12 p.m. in the 11th floor Conference Center at the Philadelphia Bar Association, 1101 Market St. Lunch is available for $8 for members of the Philadelphia Bar Association and $12 for non-members. Cancellations require 24 hours notice. Click here to register for lunch.

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

Volunteer Judges Needed for IP LawMeet in Oct.

The IP LawMeet is the premier lawyering competition for students contemplating a transactional practice focused on IP. It is a transactional "moot court" - a live, interactive, educational competition designed to give law students a hands-on experience to develop and hone their transactional lawyering skills. This year the East Coast Regional Meet will be in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania Law School on Oct. 17. Students will compete in teams to draft, mark-up and then fly in to Philadelphia from all over the country to negotiate a client deal around an IP issue. This year's issue is a copyright license between a movie studio and an online gaming company.

Being a judge allows you to have an impact in a very direct way on the IP practitioners of tomorrow. These students have very few similar opportunities to get unvarnished, constructive feedback on their drafting and negotiating skills that will not impact their grades or their career. We are looking for practitioners that will be able and willing to offer advice on ethics, strategy and performance that will help young practitioners serve their future clients and the profession well. Click here for more information or contact dahl@law.upenn.edu.

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