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Week of March 5, 2007
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Provide Leadership to Your Peers and the Profession, Resumes Due This Thursday, March 8
Austin Bar Association is seeking candidates for officers and directors for the 2007-08 bar year. The nominating
committee chaired by President Steve Benesh requests applications from interested persons for president-elect,
secretary, treasurer, and four director positions. Candidates should demonstrate a history of activity within
the organized bar.
Interested persons should send a resume along with the position title by this Thursday, March 8 to: Austin Bar Association,
Attn: Nominating Committee; 816 Congress Ave., Suite 700; Austin, Texas 78701. Officer positions are one-year terms.
Director positions are for two years. Nominees for the office of president-elect shall have served at least two
years on the Board of Directors prior to assuming office.
The Nominating Committee is composed of President Steve Benesh, President-Elect Jo Ann Merica, Past President
Randy Howry, two representatives from the affiliate bar associations, and four representatives of Austin Bar's
sections.
The Nominating Committee's decision shall be announced on or before March 15. The number of candidates to
be nominated for each position shall be left to the discretion of a majority of the Nominating Committee. Any
qualified member not receiving the nomination of the committee may be included on the ballot by submitting a
written petition signed by 75 members of the association. Such written petitions must be submitted to the
association by April 10. Voting will be conducted at the annual meeting of the membership in May and
via electronic ballot. If there is a contested race, early voting will begin 15 business days prior to the annual
meeting.
For questions about the election process, please contact Austin Bar Executive Director DeLaine Ward at 472-0279.
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American Bar Association's Administrative Law Section Looking for Ideas - Due This Friday, March 9
The American Bar Association's Administrative Law Section is holding its quarterly meeting in Austin from
May 18 through 20. The section is taking proposals for panels to be held on Friday, May 18 (CLE or non-CLE)
and wants your input and ideas.
Programs may address, for example, broad topics of interest to administrative law practitioners, current issues
at the legislature, or recent publications reflective of an administrative law development.
If you have an idea for a program you would like to have considered for the 2007 Spring Meeting, please submit
a program outline by Friday, March 9.
Please click here for a form.
Watch future Bar Codes for more information on the ABA Administrative Law Section meeting.
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Online Legal Career and Practice Development Conference and Job Fair This Week, March 5 through 10
Join LegalCareerExpo.com as they bring to you a career and practice development conference with convenience.
Attend a variety of teleseminars from March 5 through March 10.
Over 40 bar associations have joined together to deliver a powerful online career and practice development
program for the legal communities that they serve. Attendees will find new ways to grow their book of business,
advance their careers, and network confidentially with some of the top legal employers across the nation.
Learn simple techniques on how to grow your practice, how to make a successful lateral move, how to think big,
and even how to find your next job.
Also, get questions answered in live Q&A sessions and dial into important Keynote speaker presentations.
Don't miss out on this opportunity!
Click here to register.
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A Lawyer Walks into a Bar...March 13
Camel's Back Films announces the World Premiere of "A LAWYER WALKS INTO A BAR..." at the 2007 South by Southwest
Film Festival.
The film takes a whimsical look at lawyers, law, and litigiousness in America as seen through the eyes of six
would-be lawyers preparing for the most notorious bar exam in the nation. The documentary features a cast of
characters that runs the gamut -- from a type A "gunner" hellbent on rising to the top of her profession at
whatever cost, to a former Marine who has taken the bar exam 41 times. (Yes, 41 times.)
The film features cameos by legal luminaries, politicians, celebrity lawyers and other notables, including actor
and comedian Eddie Griffin, attorney Robert Shapiro (counsel to O.J. Simpson), CNN's Nancy Grace, Court TV's
Catherine Crier, novelist Scott Turow, Harvard law professor and legal commentator Alan Dershowitz, U.S. Senator
John Cornyn, Clinton advisor Vernon Jordan, renowned Texas trial lawyers Joe Jamail and Mark Lanier, Comedy
Central's Michael Ian Black, and ABC's John Stossel.
Date: Tuesday, March 13
Time: 10:30 p.m.
Location: Paramount Theater, 713 Congress Ave.
Visit
http://2007.sxsw.com/film/screenings/film/F7354.html
for the film trailer.
To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit
http://www.alawyerwalksintoabar.com.
Space is very limited as SXSW badge holders will have priority seating after this advance ticket pre-sale.
Please reserve your seats early. Purchased tickets can be picked up at Will Call at the Paramount Theater
thirty minutes prior to the show. Please bring your receipt and picture ID.
For questions, please e-mail info@alawyerwalksintoabar.com
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Love Bar Code? Pay Your Dues by March 15
If you have not yet paid your dues for 2007, you will stop receiving the Austin Bar's e-newsletter, Bar Code,
as of March 15, as well as lose many other benefits that are included in an Austin Bar membership.
To pay your dues, call 472-0279.
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Nominations Wanted - Deadline March 15
Austin Bar Association is on the lookout for nominations for two awards to be presented at our Law Day Banquet
on Tuesday, May 1.
Regina Rogoff Award This award is given annually to an attorney in Travis County that has demonstrated outstanding
service in the public/non-profit sector and is a lasting tribute to Regina Rogoff, who started at Legal Aid in
1973 and was Executive Director for 19 years. Past recipients include Berry Crowley, Betti Balli Torres, Bree
Buchanan, and Fred Fuchs.
The Professionalism Award The Austin Bar Association presents this award along with the Texas Center for
Professionalism to a local lawyer who best exemplifies, by conduct and character, truly professional traits,
who others in the bar seek to emulate, and who all in the bar admire. Past recipients of this award include
Chuck Herring, Xavier Medina, Steve Zager, Larry Langley, Mina Brees, and Mike McKetta.
Please send your nominations to DeLaine Ward at delaine@austinbar.org
or 816 Congress Ave., Suite 700, Austin, Texas 78701 by March 15.
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Join AYLA for Fun and Networking at Docket Call, March 15
Looking for a way to have a good time and to get to know your fellow young lawyers? AYLA's got you covered -
join them March 15 for Docket Call and get your weekend started a little early!
Time: 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Location: InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Bar, 701 Congress Ave.
Sponsored by Choice Investments and Home and Hearth Realty Co.
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American Bar Association's Fundamentals of Franchising, March 23
Take advantage of a rare opportunity to attend the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising's Fundamentals
of Franchising program in Dallas.
This program provides a comprehensive overview of franchise law for those who want the best possible introduction
to the field, as well as those who want a refresher on one or more areas of franchise law practice.
Some of the area's top franchise lawyers will give presentations on structuring the franchise relationship,
disclosure and registration requirements, defining and protecting a franchise system's intellectual property,
franchise relationship laws, antitrust and representation of franchisees.
The program will also include a discussion of some highlights of the recently amended Federal Trade Commission
franchise rule.
Date: March 23
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Belo Mansion, 2101 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas
CLE Credit: 4.0 hours
Please click here
to register and for more information on this highly informative forum.
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Legislative Update - How It May Affect You
The House State Affairs Committee will today hear HB 1237, by Rep. David Farabee (D-Wichita Falls), which would
allow licensed attorneys to keep personal identifying information confidential, including their home address,
home telephone number, e-mail address, Social Security number, and date of birth. For more information about this
bill,
click here
The Legislature is also considering a proposal that would eliminate the sunset provision from the $65 legal
services fee the Legislature passed in 2003.
For more information on these and other bills that affect lawyers and the legal profession, visit
http://www.texasbar.com/fridayupdate.
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New Benefits Through the State Bar of Texas
The State Bar of Texas has added The American Bar Association Retirement Funds, an organization that offers
tax-qualified retirement plan services to legal professionals, to its members' affinity program. Texas joins
28 other state bar associations and legal organizations that have given ABA Retirement Funds
"preferred vendor status."
The State Bar of Texas will extend its members the opportunity to join the ABA Retirement Funds program,
which offers retirement plan services, investment options and related advice and educational information
specifically - and exclusively - to professionals within the legal community.
Program eligibility is open to any law firm or practitioner that has at least one partner or shareholder
who is a member of the ABA, or a state or local bar association represented in the ABA's House of Delegates.
For more information call Joe DiBello at 800-826-8901 or visit
www.abaretirement.com.
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IOLTA Comparability Rule in Effect
On March 1, the Texas Supreme Court's IOLTA comparability rule, which requires that Texas lawyers keep their
IOLTA accounts with eligible financial institutions that pay interest rates on IOLTA accounts that are comparable
to the rates they pay on similar accounts, went into effect.
A list of more than 100 eligible financial institutions is posted on the Texas Access to Justice
Foundation's Web site at www.teajf.org.
The foundation is working with hundreds of other banks to become eligible before the June 1 compliance deadline.
If a financial institution decides not to pursue eligibility, its account holders would be required to move their
IOLTA accounts to an eligible institution.
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Calling All Golfers
A golf competition among friends, without pressure, with loads of fun for a great cause -
that's The First Tee of Greater Austin's Kings of the Course Corporate Scramble & Relay.
You are invited to organize a team for the Friday, April 6, Legal Division event, starting at 5:00 pm,
with reception to follow. If you really need a reason to leave work early on a Friday to play golf, pick from
the following:
- The tournament is on the First Tee's own nine-hole course. If you've never played it, you should! The
three par fours are model risk-reward holes and the six par three holes would hold their own on any course
in Austin.
- The three-hole relay is sure to boost your adrenaline. Forget everything you know about the rules of golf
for this event. It's all about how fast four people can scrape a ball through three holes.
- If your team wins the Legal Division - and with a scramble and a relay, every team has a chance - you play
in the Final Corporate Showdown against the winning teams in other industries.
- It only takes about two hours - not five or six like most scrambles.
- At $75 per player or $300 per team, it doesn't break the bank. You can also help at a higher level or just
sponsor a hole for $50. See the details at firstteeaustin.org.
- The proceeds go to the First Tee Youth Scholarship Fund of The First Tee of Greater Austin, the local
chapter of a national charity organization that mentors children and teens through the game of golf. Many of the
kids who benefit wouldn't have any other way to play golf, much less get life and golf lessons from mentors in
our community.
This is a great way to pull together as a profession, and a great way to support our community's youth. If you're
interested, sign up online today at www.firstteeaustin.org/kings.
For questions, please contact Shawn St. Clair at 495-6071 or
sstclair@mcginnislaw.com
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Upcoming Meetings
SECTIONS:
Wednesday, March 7, Family Law Section Meeting
Thursday, March 8, Labor and Employment Law Section Meeting
Thursday, March 8, Financial Institutions Section Meeting
Tuesday, March 13, Real Estate Law Section Meeting
Thursday, March 15, Construction Law Section Meeting
COMMITTEES:
There are no committee meetings this week.
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Proud corporate sponsors of the Austin Bar Association
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