The Diversity and Law Clerks and Students Committees Present “Diverse Career Paths Teleconference”

 The Diversity and Law Clerks and Students Committees Present:

Diverse Career Paths Teleconference

Panelists:

Judge Paul Grewal, Magistrate Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of California
Jack Hobaugh, Counsel/Senior Director of Technology, Network Advertising Initiative, Washington D.C.
Paul Korniczky, Partner, Leydig, Voit & Meyer, Chicago, Illinois
Christy LaPierre, Associate, K&L Gates, San Francisco, California
Kim Tran, Associate, Perkins Coie, Palo Alto, California
A.E. Williams, Retired Patent Examiner, United States Patent and Trademark Office

Moderator:

Mike Mireles, Professor, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law

Wednesday, November 6, 2013, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm ET

In the midst of an economic downturn, thoughtful career planning is a must and more information is helpful in formulating a career plan. This panel will explore the career path and planning process for six successful attorneys. What prepared them for a career practicing intellectual property law? What was the role of networking in leading to their current position? What advice do they have for students and attorneys in building a career? How did they find success and fulfillment in the practice of law? We hope to answer these questions and others during the panel discussion.

Price for Teleconference (Free for all FCBA Members)

Private Practitioner

Government/Academic/Retired

$120 non member

$35 non member

Member: Complimentary

Member: Complimentary

To register for this Program, please follow these instructions:

1) Internet Participation. Those wishing to participate in the teleconference, please visit the website, select the title of this teleconference and follow the prompts.

2) Participation for law students is free however registration is required. Use link above or contact Andrew Hunter for special “group” pricing and student groups interested in FREE internet participation.

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law – Annual Law Student Writing Competition for 2013-2014

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law are pleased to announce their 2013-2014 writing competition. This competition is open to articles written while the author is a student at an accredited law school in the United States. Authors may not have graduated from law school prior to December 1, 2013. Graduate students in law school (LL.M. candidates) are not eligible.

Entries may address any aspect of public or private sector labor and/or employment law relevant to the American labor and employment bar. Articles may address U.S. law, international law of relevance to U.S. labor and employment attorneys, or how a legal topic is treated in states across the country, but papers limited to the law of a single state will not be considered. Students are encouraged to discuss a public policy issue, practical implications of a leading case or doctrine, a statute or the need for statutory modification, or a common law doctrine. Entries will be evaluated on topic selection, analysis, quality of research, grammar, spelling, usage and syntax, clarity, structure, overall appearance, and relevance to the practicing labor and employment law bar.

The following prizes may be awarded by the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers:

First Place: $1500

Second Place: $1000

Third Place: $500

The first-place winning article will be published in the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law, and its author will be a guest at the annual CLE program of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law and honored at the Annual Induction Dinner of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. The College and the Section reserve the right not to select any article for publication or award any prizes if, in their judgment, the submissions do not meet their standards for publication.

To be considered, articles must be submitted by 6 p.m. EDST on May 15, 2014 via email using the subject line “Writing Competition.” The manuscript should be submitted as two attachments in both Microsoft Word and PDF documents. The text should be Times New Roman font, 12 point pitch, double-spaced and the footnotes single-spaced with double-spacing between footnotes on 8 ½ x 11 inch paper with one-inch margins on all sides. The manuscript, exclusive of the cover page, may not exceed twenty pages. All citations should conform to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (19th Edition). Do not submit endnotes, a table of contents or table of cases. A separate cover page must also be submitted which includes the paper’s title, author’s name, law school, graduation date, e-mail, street address and phone number. Personal information should not appear on the manuscript itself. Manuscripts must be the original work of a single author, may not have been written for paid employment, and may not have been submitted for publication elsewhere.

For additional information, please visit the website.

2014 Law Student Essay Contest

Important Rules & Information:

The use of technology in today’s law practice can and does present new challenges and risks for attorneys in small firms, as well as for solo practitioners representing clients involved in litigation. Due to technology, many traditional law practices have now evolved into virtual law practices.  It is important for attorneys to understand how virtual law offices operate and how inappropriate use of technology can help cause legal malpractice claims as well as how proper use of technology can help prevent those claims.

The purpose of this contest is to encourage law students to write essays about: 1) what a virtual law practice is; 2) what are some malpractice risks related to a virtual law practice; and 3) how technology can lead to or prevent legal malpractice claims in a virtual law office. Discussion may also address any relevant ethical considerations attorneys practicing in a virtual law practice should be aware of and how ethical issues may lead to legal malpractice claims, especially due to the proper or improper use of technology.

Essay Requirements:

All entries must be prepared for this contest or for academic purposes and not previously published in print or on the Internet.  All entries must include a digital photograph for use in the event the entry is selected as the contest winner. Each entrant is required to assign to FLMIC and the other contest sponsors all rights, title and interest in the essay and digital photograph submitted.  It is the policy of FLMIC and the other sponsors, however, to release all assigned rights in all but the winning essay and notify the author of any permissions given to third parties for reprint or otherwise publish.

The essay should be a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 pages, including citations appearing in Blue Book format as endnotes.  Essays will be judged based on framing and analysis of the issue(s) discussed, research completed, solutions or practices suggestions and writing style.  The essay should be typewritten and double spaced on 8.5 x 11 inch paper.  A cover sheet should be included that contains the entrant’s name, address, telephone number, title and law school status.  No identification other than the title should appear on the essay itself.  The cover sheet will be removed before the essay is read to assure objectivity in the judging process.

Eligibility:

The contest is open to all students enrolled in a Florida law school as of the deadline date or during the prior academic year. Essays must be submitted to FLMIC by the deadline date, which is April 1st 2014 by 5 p.m.

Judging:

Essays will be judged by a committee of at least three individuals, including a representative of the YLD of The Florida Bar, FLMIC, the HenryLatimerCenter for Professionalism and the General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section of the Florida Bar, who are unrelated to the entrants.

Awards:

The winner of the essay contest will receive: 1) a $750 cash award; 2) a complimentary registration to the 8th Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference; 3) hotel accommodations for the Conference provided by The Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism; 4) recognition by the various sponsoring organizations at various events; and 5) submission of the essay by the Young Lawyers Division to The Florida Bar Journal for consideration for future publication in the June 2014 issue.

The student awarded an Honorable Mention prize will receive: 1) a $350 cash award; 2) recognition by the various sponsoring organizations at various events; and 3) submission of the essay by the General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section to their newsletter editor for consideration for future publication in the Section’s fall 2013 newsletter.

For information, please visit the website.

 

Attend the “How To Dress Like A Lawyer” Luncheon on November 4th!

Presented  by the Miami Law American Bar Association, Brooks Brothers and the Career Development Office, “How To Dress Like A Lawyer” is a luncheon where Brooks Brothers will be coming onto campus to give students a wardrobe seminar concerning how to dress in different business and professional situations. Brooks Brothers will help you with attire for your next interview, cocktail hour with co-workers, etc.

The event is open to all University of Miami School of Law students.

Details:

When:  Monday, November 04, 2013, 12:30 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.

Where: Law Campus, Room F-209

For further information, please contact Kevin Yombor, Miami Law ABA Representative.

 

The Rómulo Gallegos 2014 Fellowship

Venue of Fellowship: Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS). Address: 1889 F Street NW, Washington, D.C.20006

Deadline to present applications: November 15, 2013

Start and End Dates: January 27, 2014 to December 31, 2014

Length of the Fellowship: 11 (eleven) months

Objective: To provide an opportunity for young lawyers from OAS Member States to understand and apply the mechanisms of protection of the inter-American system of human rights.

Program: a) To assist with tasks of the Executive Secretariat of the Commission, under the supervision of its human rights specialists during the period of the fellowship; and b) at the end of the fellowship, present to the Executive Secretariat of the IACHR a detailed report on activities carried out by the fellow.

Requirements:

  • Be a citizen of an OASMemberState;
  • Be bilingual in Spanish and English (attach certificates testifying thereto), knowledge of French or Portuguese desirable;
  • Have graduated in law from an officially recognized university (attach copy of the law degree and grades obtained);
  • Have received law degree after January 1, 2006;
  • Have a demonstrable professional interest in the legal field of human rights;
  • Be registered as an attorney before the courts or the appropriate professional body; in the absence of registration, indicate the reason; and
  • Present a paper of up to five pages, not edited by another person, on one or more human rights issues of interest to the candidate.

Required documents: The following documents are required in order to be considered for the fellowship:

  • Letter of interest
  • Completed Fellowship Application
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Certification of second language a Copy of law degree and grades obtained a Proof of registration as an attorney before the courts or the appropriate professional body (if applicable)
  • Written paper of up to five pages

Benefits:

  • The IACHR provides a monthly stipend of US$3,200.00 for the period covered by the fellowship, that is US$35,200.00 total for 11 months. With the stipend provided, the fellow is responsible for obtaining health insurance coverage of his/her choosing for the duration of the fellowship, and should provide proof of coverage to the Executive Secretariat of the IACHR.
  • Round-trip economy class air transportation from the participant’s country of residence to Washington, D.C. Terminal and transfer expenses are not covered.
  • The IACHR will award a certificate of participation in the Fellowship Program to the fellows who satisfactorily complete the entire period of the fellowship.

Responsibilities of the selected candidates:

  • Once an applicant has been selected, he/she should formally accept the fellowship in writing, confirming with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights his/her availability to complete the fellowship during the specified time period. Once accepted, the IACHR will proceed with the necessary arrangements for purchase of round-trip economy air transportation between the candidate’s country of origin/residence and Washington, D.C.
  • In the event a candidate accepts a fellowship but cannot complete it, for whatever reason, he/she must immediately inform the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights so that the course of action may be decided.
  • It is the responsibility of each selected candidate to request and obtain the necessary visa to enter the United States, and/or transit visa (if applicable) in a timely manner. The IACHR will not incur in any expense related to the processing of immigration or visa documents. The IACHR will provide the candidate a document certifying his/her selection as an official fellow of the IACHR so that he/she may request the corresponding visa, which is the sole responsibility of the selected candidate. In addition, the OAS will send a diplomatic note to the Embassy or Consulate where the selected candidate will be requesting his/her visa, certifying the fellow’s selection.
  • It is the responsibility of the selected candidate to arrive in a timely manner so that he/she will be present for the commencement of the fellowship on the date established by the IACHR.
  • If the selected candidate declines the fellowship after the flight ticket has been purchased, or does not travel on the established dates or changes routes, the candidate shall reimburse the IACHR the cost of the flight ticket or any additional costs incurred. The latter includes any additional costs, if any, incurred by the IACHR, such as extra costs for accommodation during the candidate’s travel to and from Washington, D.C.
  • If the candidate resigns, cancels or terminates the fellowship after the program has begun without providing sufficient reason and evidence to the IACHR for doing so, he/she will fully reimburse the IACHR for all costs incurred on his/her behalf.

Presentation of candidates:

The application and other required documents indicated above must be submitted to the Executive Secretariat of the IACHR prior to the closing date of the application period, by fax, mail or an email with the Subject “Rómulo Gallegos 2014 Fellowship”:

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
1889 F Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C., 20006, U.S.A.
cidhoea@oas.org
Telephone: +1 202 370 9000
Fax: +1 202 458 3992

 Visit the website for any other information.

Willamette University is Seeking an Assistant Director of Placement

Job Description Summary:

Willamette University announces a full-time position for an Assistant Director of Placement for the College of Law.

The Assistant Director is responsible for working in partnership with, and providing support to, the Assistant Dean of Placement to provide job and career opportunities for students and alumni including pursuing potential job openings. The Assistant Director also provides strategic leadership in the creation, implementation and management of a comprehensive series of programs and workshops for students and recent graduates. This position will play an essential and high profile role in establishing and managing professional relationships with employers, attorneys and judges.

This is a full-time administrative position. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience and education. Willamette University offers an attractive benefits package including life, health, and disability insurance, tuition exchange, retirement contributions, and reimbursement for moving expenses.

Duties & Responsibilities:

The duties and responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to, the following functions:

1. Develops and maintains professional relationships with prospective employers, attorneys and judges in all areas of the law through meetings with hiring partners and administrators at law firms, businesses and government agencies to identify potential job opportunities and expected applicant qualifications; represents the College of Law at professional legal events and conferences; is an active participant in various local and state legal organizations.

2. Advises and counsels individual students and alumni on job placement opportunities, job search strategies and skills, application materials such as cover letters and resumes, career options, and other related areas. This includes identifying particular students, recent graduates or alumni for specific job openings and helping them prepare for the application process and potential interviews.

3. Develops, facilitates and participates in career-related workshops, information sessions, attorney panel presentations, and other Placement-related student and alumni events to increase employment and career opportunities in conjunction with the Assistant Dean.

4. Facilitates the Ed Sullivan Land Use Fellowship Program and directs the Willamette College of Law Pro Bono Honors Program.

5. Keeps current on legal employment trends and vehicles to enhance career networking.

6. Works with the Director of Externships to coordinate job and externship opportunities.

7. Performs the duties of the Assistant Dean in her or his absence or as directed.

For qualifications and additional information, please visit Symplicity or the website.

This Week at the CDO (Week of October 28, 2013)

Monday, October 28:

  • FL Bar GPSSF Section, Robert Wayne Presentation. (DRM) – 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., Room A-110 – The GPSSF Section will present the benefits of the section to the students upon graduation, including what the GPSSF can do for small and solo practitioners. Students will also be invited to the Small and Solo Firm Conference in January 2014.  This Conference is one of its kind and has received rave reviews from former student attendees of the Small and Solo Firm Conference in Orlando. Lunch will be provided to students.

Tuesday, October 29:

  • CDO 1L Orientation – 12:30 p.m. – 1:50pm, Room F-309

Wednesday, October 30:

  • CDO 1L Orientation – 12:30 p.m. – 1:50pm, Room F-309

Thursday, October 31:

  • CDO 1L Orientation – 12:30 p.m. – 1:50pm, Room F-309

The Donald C. Alexander Tax Law Writing Competition – Deadline is January 6, 2014

The Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation sponsors an annual writing competition and invites law students to participate.  The Section on Taxation has recently named the annual competition the Donald C. Alexander Tax Law Writing Competition in honor of former IRS Commissioner (1973-1977) DonAlexander, who passed away in 2009.  Mr. Alexander was a widely admired role model and advocate for writing skills and style in the area of tax law throughout his career.

All full-time and part-time law students currently seeking a juris doctor (J.D.) or a master of laws (LL.M.) at an accredited law school are eligible to enter the competition.  Students may submit any original paper concerning federal taxation.

Papers written in connection with a law school course, seminar or paid employment are eligible provided that they are written in the form of a scholarly article and do not contain any client-specific work product. Student papers submitted for publication in law reviews or other legal journals are eligible for the competition.  However, student papers that have already been published in a law review or other legal journal, or that have been selected for publication, are not eligible for the competition.

Students must sign a Warranty and Authorization to Publish guaranteeing that the paper has not been published or selected for publication as of the date the paper is submitted to this competition and agreeing to permit the Section on Taxation to publish the paper.  Student papers submitted to other competitions are eligible for the Donald C. Alexander Tax Law Writing Competition.  Papers must be a minimum of twenty pages and a maximum of fifty pages (double spaced, twelve-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins) including endnotes (which may be single-spaced).

Papers will be evaluated based on the following criteria: (1) depth of research; (2) originality of thought; (3) quality, clarity and efficiency of presentation; and (4) relevance to current tax policy or events.  Additionally, each student must sign and return the warranty (a .pdf copy by e-mail is acceptable).

Submissions must be postmarked or e-mailed by January 6, 2014.  If mailing submissions, please use the following address:

Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation
Attn: Donald C. Alexander Tax Law Writing Competition
1220 N. Fillmore Street, Suite 444
Arlington, VA  22201

If e-mailing submissions, please e-mail to Sherwin Valerio, with the subject line “Donald C. Alexander Tax Law Writing Competition.”

Two winning papers will be selected by the Officers of the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation.  The authors of the first place and second place papers will receive:

(i)         A cash prize ($2,000 for first place and $1,000 for second place); and

(ii)        A trip to the FBA’s Annual Tax Law Conference in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2014 (value not to exceed $700), where each winner will be presented with a Commemorative Plaque and complimentary one-year membership in the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation.

Both the first place and second place papers may be published in the Report, the newsletter of the Section and/or The Federal Lawyer, the magazine of the Federal Bar Association.  To be eligible for publication in The Federal Lawyer, the paper must be on a topic that is of general interest to the Federal Bar Association membership.

For additional information, including the Warranty and Authorization to Publish, please ask your CDO advisor or visit the website.

2014 Summer Legal Internship Opportunities at the National Employment Law Project

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) is a non‐profit research and advocacy organization that partners with national, state and local allies – including community groups, immigrant advocacy organizations, worker centers, unions, policy makers and think tanks – to develop and promote policies and programs that create good jobs and enforce hard-won worker rights.

NLP is currently seeking applications from interested law students for their 2014 summer legal internship program. With a staff of lawyers, social scientists, and policy experts, their approach is to work in close partnership with grassroots organizing groups and reformers to test new models in the states and then translate them to the federal level, in order to respond to the key problems of the U.S. labor market in the twenty‐first century. The work includes:

  • Developing new strategies to improve enforcement of basic workplace rights in order to combat the growing number of low‐wage and immigrant workers who are not paid the minimum wage or overtime, endure unsafe workplaces, and face retaliation when trying to organize;
  • Developing policies and providing campaign support to raise minimum wage and labor standards at the federal, state, and local levels, with a particular focus on eliminating loopholes that exclude immigrants, people of color, and contingent and temporary workers from these protections;
  • Working with policymakers and community coalitions to make economic development accountable to community needs and create living wage jobs for local residents.

Summer legal interns will assist NELP attorneys in all aspects of their work. Interns will perform legal research and writing in support of policy advocacy, litigation and community education, and will assist in drafting manuals, articles and policy briefs for publication. Interns may also work with NELP’s National Wage and Hour Clearinghouse, a growing movement of unions, community groups, worker centers, legal services, plaintiff’s attorneys and public agencies working to make headway against wage theft and the erosion of the minimum wage floor and right to overtime pay

Students interested in a position in the NYC or Oakland office should submit an application. See Symplicity for specific application instructions.

Students must come with their own funding for the summer for the NYC and Oakland positions.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, but students are encouraged to apply as early as possible. 

NELP will also be hiring one summer legal intern for their Seattle office through the Peggy Browning Fund Summer Fellow Program, which provides a total ten‐week stipend of $4,500.  Eligible students interested in applying for a NELP internship through the Peggy Browning Fund, which will begin accepting applications in November 2014, should read the Application Requirements available on the Peggy Browning Fund website  and then submit an application package.

 

The 2014 Mollie and Paul Hill Student Writing Competition in Medical-Legal Interprofessional Collaboration – Deadline January 2, 2014

Beginning in 2014, the Florida State University Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law, based in both the FSU College of Medicine and the FSU College of Law, will present awards for the outstanding original papers submitted by a law student and a medical student or medical resident in response to a question pertaining to collaboration between the medical and legal professions. This writing competition is made possible by a generous gift from Mollie and Paul Hill.

Outstanding Paper by a Law Student — $250

Outstanding Paper by a Medical Student or Medical Resident — $250

2014 Contest Question:

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted into law in 2010 attempts to improve the access of Americans to improved quality health care, while controlling the nation’s escalating health care expenditures. As the ACA gets further implemented in 2014, discuss opportunities and challenges this law presents for constructive, innovative collaboration between the legal and medical professions in contributing to the quest for a more affordable and accessible high quality health care system.

Applicant and Paper Criteria:

1. All authors must be enrolled, at the time of paper submission, in an accredited law school or medical school (M.D. or D.O.) or participating in an accredited medical residency program in the United States.

2. No paper that has been previously published in any form will be considered; however, papers written for course credit are allowed as long as they have not been published. An applicant may submit a paper for publication consideration after the winner of this writing competition has been announced.

3. Each submitted paper must be the original work of a single author.

Format:

1. The length of the paper must be between 1,200 and 5,000 words. The word count applies to the total paper, including title page, body, footnotes, figures, and tables (if any).

2. No abstract is required.

3. All references should be in the form of footnotes, using either Blue Book or APA style.

4. All papers are to be submitted in Word document format, using 12 point Times New Roman font for all text, including footnotes. The body of papers must be double-spaced and footnotes should be single-spaced. All text must have one inch margins. All pages must be numbered.

5. The first page must be the cover page, which must include: the author’s name, full contact information, and school or residency program, as well as the final word count obtained from Word and a disclosure of any conflict of interest affecting the author concerning the subject matter of the paper.

6. At the top of the first page of text, only the title of the paper should appear.

7. If the author wishes to acknowledge an individual or institution, this may be done only on the cover page.

Judging:

1. All papers will be judged by a committee of national experts on medical-legal collaboration, appointed by the Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law, in a blinded review process. The decision of the judges is final.

2. Prizes will not be awarded if the competition judges determine that no entry in a particular year meets the appropriate standards.

3. Papers will be judged according to the following criteria:

  • Responsiveness to the competition question
  • Originality and thoughtfulness
  • Quality of analysis
  • Quality of writing

Deadline and Submission:

1. All papers must be submitted in the proper format by midnight (EST) on January 2, 2014.

2. Papers must be submitted electronically.

3. Direct questions to:

Mollie and Paul Hill Student Writing Competition, Florida State University Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law, 1115 W. Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4300.

For additional information, please visit the website.

Winners will be announced on or before April 1, 2014.