Board Observer Program Seeks Young Lawyers

The Philadelphia Bar Foundation, in partnership with the Young Lawyers Division of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Delivery of Legal Services Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association, has developed the Board Observation Program, an initiative that gives young lawyers practicing in Philadelphia the opportunity to learn more about local public interest organizations and to develop leadership skills necessary to serve on the boards of such organizations as well as succeed in their future careers.

Through the program, a young lawyer will be paired with a Philadelphia nonprofit service organization so as to observe that organization's board activities during the one-year program. If you are a young lawyer interested in becoming a Board Observer or if you are a nonprofit organization and would like to express an interest in having an Observer next year, click here.

Gormley on Watergate at Bench-Bar; Register Early and Save

Duquesne University School of Law Dean Ken Gormley will discuss the 40th anniversary of the “Saturday Night Massacre” that led to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon during the Opening Luncheon at the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Bench-Bar & Annual Conference on Friday, Oct. 4 at Revel in Atlantic City, N.J. Association members who register before Sept. 13 can save $80! Click here to register.

The Bench-Bar & Annual Conference provides attendees with the opportunity to earn continuing legal education credit while networking with colleagues and members of the bench. Hundreds of attorneys and judges are expected to attend.

A new addition to this year's conference will be a Law Practice Management track among the 22 CLE seminars that will be offered. Another highlight of the weekend will be the Friday night reception at Revel's HQ nightclub. Prices for the 2013 edition of the Bench-Bar & Annual Conference are being kept at 2012 levels.

In addition, we are pleased to offer a special REVEL hotel room group rate to our Bench-Bar attendees. A rate of $179 plus tax is available Friday, Oct. 4 and a limited number of rooms are available at $149 plus tax for Thursday, Oct. 3. You must be a registered attendee of the Bench-Bar & Annual Conference in order to reserve a room at the group rate. Once you are registered for the conference you will receive instructions on how to make your room reservation.

Sponsors for the 2013 Bench-Bar & Annual Conference include USI Affinity; The First Judicial District of Pennsylvania; iDiscovery Solutions; Insurance Adjustment Bureau, Inc; Frankly Legal; JAMS, The Resolution Experts; Kaplan, Leaman & Wolfe Court Reporting & Litigation Support; LexisNexis; Love Court Reporting; M. Burr Keim Company; Robson Forensic, Inc.; State Civil Litigation Section; US Claims Inc; and Wilkie Lexus. For sponsorship information, contact Tracey McCloskey at 215-238-6360 or tmccloskey@philabar.org.

Family Fun Day Sponsored by YLD Sept. 21 in Fairmount Park

Join us for Family Fun Day sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse on Reservoir Drive in East Fairmount Park.

Enjoy pizza, fruit, cookies, soft drinks and face painting with your families and colleagues at the 6.5-acre playground that features a giant wooden slide and more than 50 pieces of playground equipment from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The 16,000-square-foot playhouse, designed for children age 5 and younger, gives them a chance to drive a train, cook in the kitchen, ride tricycles and much more! The park and pavilion are open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Admission is $10 for adults. Children under 10 will be admitted free. Click here to register.

First Amendment Issues, High School Conduct CLE Sept. 12

First Amendment issues and competing considerations in public schools' regulating off-campus conduct of high school students will be the focus of a Thursday, Sept. 12 CLE program sponsored by the Education Law Committee, Appellate Courts Committee and Federal Courts Committee.

Panelists include Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Debra McCloskey Todd; U.S. Court of Appeals Judge D. Brooks Smith; U.S. District Court Senior Judge Norma L. Shapiro; Robert L. Byer and Sean R. Sullivan. The program will be moderated by Chancellor Kathleen D. Wilkinson.

This program will use a mock appellate argument as a means of discussing the issues that can arise when public high schools attempt to regulate off-campus conduct by students. These issues are the subject of debate and adjudications have resulted in divergent views among various trial and appellate courts. The mock argument will be followed by a general discussion of the issues by the participants.

The program has been approved for 1 substantive CLE credit. Participants wishing to receive the CLE credit will be required to pay a fee of $33.50 for members of the Philadelphia Bar Association admitted for more than five years and $28.50 for members of the Philadelphia Bar Association admitted for less than five years. Interested parties not seeking CLE credit may attend and purchase lunch for the fee of $8.50.

Registration and lunch begin at 12 p.m. at The CLE Conference Center on the 10th floor of the Wanamaker Building, Market and Juniper streets. Click here to register.

Chancellor's Forum - Changing Parameters of Diversity Sept. 10

The Philadelphia Bar Association will present the Chancellor's Forum "The Changing Parameters of Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession" on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

The featured speaker is Sandra S. Yamate, CEO, The Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession. She will be joined by Sophia Lee, chief litigation counsel at Sunoco and co-chair of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group and Philadelphia Bar Association Corporate In-House Counsel Committee and secretary of the Philadelphia Bar Association; Wesley R. Payne IV, partner, White and Williams LLP and co-chair of Philadelphia Diversity Law Group as well as treasurer of the Philadelphia Bar Association and president of the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel; and Brennan J. Torregrossa, in-house counsel, Glaxo SmithKline and co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Corporate In-House Counsel Committee. The program will be moderated by Chancellor Kathleen D. Wilkinson.

Established in 2009, the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession (IILP) is one of the newer organizations establish-ed to devote its energies and focus its efforts at creating a more diverse and inclusive legal profession. With its motto, "Real change. Now," IILP has been asking hard questions and undertaking research and programming aimed at finding answers to those questions. Yamate will provide an overview of IILP's work, explaining how it supplements and supports the diversity leadership offered by groups like the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, and minority and women's bar associations, highlighting some of its research findings, and sharing insights into the most recent and cutting edge diversity and inclusion developments that IILP has been observing within the legal profession.

The event begins at 4 p.m. in the 11th floor Conference Center at the Bar Association, 1101 Market St. Registration is free at philadelphiabar.org.

School Supplies Needed for Philadelphia Students

The YLD is partnering this year with the Pennsylvania Bar Association Minority Bar Community Outreach Committee in a School Supply Drive in order to collect donations for students in economically challenged areas of the city. We need your help! We are looking for donations of backpacks, notebook paper, pens/pencils/highlighters, notebooks, composition books, rulers, dictionaries, folders, binders, pencil cases and anything else you think might be useful.

Locations where school supply donations are being accepted include:

Martin LLC
1818 Market St., 35th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Contact – Maria Bermudez-Harris, mharris@ssdisabilityfirm.com

Anapol Schwartz
1710 Spruce St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Contact – Joe Fantini, jfantini@anapolschwartz.com

Kolsby Gordon
2000 Market St., 28th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Presenting Your Personal Brand After the Death of the Elevator Speech

The Solo and Small Firm Committee, the Brehon Law Society and The Justinian Society of Philadelphia will present "Presenting Your Personal Brand After the Death of the Elevator Speech," at the offices of Reed Smith LLP, 1650 Market St., 23rd Floor, on Thursday, Sept. 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The speakers are Gina Furia Rubel, past chancellor of The Justinian Society and president and CEO of Furia Rubel Communications, and former sports broadcaster, academic All American, and member of the Villanova 1985 basketball championship team, Mark Plansky.

This is a great opportunity to learn various ways to communicate your personal and corporate brands both online and offline - from strategic use of social media to in-person networking. Cocktails and light refreshments will be served. There is no cost to attend the program but RSVP is required and space is limited. Please contact Siobhan Lyons at siobhan@brehonlawsociety.org, Maureen Farrell at mfarrellesq@verizon.net, or John Sullivan at jsullivan@vklaw.com to register for the program.