| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — JULY 2008 |
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Justice Ginsburg to Participate
in Willamette Symposium
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg will visit Willamette University College of Law on Sept.
12. to participate in "Presidential Power in the 21st
Century," a symposium offered by the Willamette Center
Center for Law and Government.
The symposium will focus on the scope of presidential authority under the U.S. Constitution. Among the topics to be discussed are the power of the president to commit military forces to combat without prior congressional or United Nations approval, to curtail the civil liberties of U.S. or foreign citizens for reasons of national security, to control the regulatory actions of federal administrative agencies, and to influence the interpretation of federal statutes.
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.; the event will close at 4:30 p.m.
A highlight of the symposium will be a luncheon presentation by Justice Ginsburg, who will participate in a building dedication ceremony for the College of Law’s new Oregon Civic Justice Center in the morning and will receive an honorary degree from Willamette University later in the day.
The keynote address will be presented by Neal Devins of William & Mary School of Law. A civil rights and constitutional law specialist, Devins is director of the Institute of Bill of Rights Law. He is the author of numerous books, including Shaping Constitutional Values: The Supreme Court, Elected Government and the Abortion Dispute and articles in the Columbia, Stanford, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California and William & Mary law reviews. He is also editor of the Duke University Press book series Constitutional Conflicts.
The symposium registration fee is $80 for bar and non-bar members. Registration is free for law students with valid student identification. Oregon Continuing Legal Education credits are pending.
For conference registration information, please call the Willamette Center for Law and Government at (503) 370-6046 or send an e-mail to Reyna Meyers at rmeyers@willamette.edu.
House of Delegates to Meet Sept. 13
The
Oregon State Bar 2008 House of Delegates Annual Meeting will
take place Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008, at Sunriver Resort, starting
at 10 a.m. Beginning Aug. 5, the
preliminary agenda may be viewed on the bar’s
website here.
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Flood-Affected
Attorneys Need Your Help
Several bar associations around the country
have contacted the Iowa State Bar Association asking what
they can do to help attorneys affected by the disastrous
tornadoes and flooding in eastern Iowa.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s second largest city, is the hardest-hit area. Current estimates are that nearly 7,200 properties over a nine-square-mile section of the city have been affected by flood waters. Of the 7,200, approximately 1,300 are businesses including law offices, many of which were located downtown within blocks of the Cedar River. Estimates are that as many as 250 attorneys in the Cedar Rapids area could be affected to some degree, with about 30 - 50 having lost everything. The number could exceed 1,000 if support staff and others who depend on income from the disrupted practices are included.
Late last month the Iowa State Bar Board of Governors established a task force to assist affected attorneys. Of greatest concern are those attorneys who are solo practitioners or small firms. One solo practitioner, for example, with a small building in the heart of the flooded area has a $20,000 cleanup bill pending.
The task force reviewed the needs of the affected attorneys as best as those needs can be determined at this time. Two major needs surfaced – cleanup and file reclamation. For the most part, both require specialists to accomplish. After much discussion, task force members determined that money to help defray the costs of these specialists would be the best way to help affected attorneys. Office space, furniture, computers and office supplies are being provided by other non-affected attorneys and organizations.
Based on what can be deciphered regarding costs, and the number of attorneys who are incurring these costs, the task force set a goal of raising $500,000 to be given as grants to those attorneys. The money will be distributed based on individual need. A Disaster Relief Fund has been set up within the Iowa State Bar Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation, for those who want to make a contribution. Contributions should be made out to: The Iowa State Bar Foundation, 625 East Court Ave., Des Moines, IA 50309.
"Handling High Conflict Parents" Seminar Now On DVD
A
DVD and materials from the full-day seminar "Handling
High Conflict Parents While Helping Their Children" are
now available for purchase. This seminar was sponsored by
Child Centered Solutions and held in Portland on June 13.
It was designed to help professionals work more effectively
with parents or guardians suffering from personality disorders
and to learn ways to mitigate the impact of high conflict
on children.
For more information and to order the DVD, contact Child Centered Solutions at (503) 546-6383 or visit www.childcenteredsolutions.org.
New Tip Line to Help Combat
Animal Fighting
Attorney General Hardy Myers has announced
that the Oregon Department of Justice has directed its hotline — (877)-877-9392 — to
accept tips about cockfighting and dog fighting in Oregon.
Anyone with information about involvement in these illegal
activities is encouraged to contact the justice department
and, if the information leads to the arrest and conviction
of a guilty individual, The Humane Society of the United
States will provide a $5,000 award.
"In Oregon, we’ve strengthened the laws, enhanced the penalties and raised awareness about the illegality and cruelty of animal fighting," stated Myers. "Now, we need information and any tips the public can provide will help law enforcement to do its job in combating this horrible and inhumane crime."
Information about animal fighting can be provided to the Department’s hotline by calling 1-877-877-9392 (toll-free in Oregon), 503-378-4320 (Salem area only) or 503-229-5576 (Portland area only) or by accessing a tip form online at www.doj.state.or.us. Tip line hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation
Announces New Officers
The Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation
introduces its 2008-2009 officers and board: Kathleen Bricken, president; Terri
Kraemer, president-elect; Libby Davis, treasurer; Aruna
Masih, secretary; Trudy Allen, historian; Tonya
Alexander, Dady Blake, Jill Brittle, Laurie Craghead,
Nanci Klinger, Suzanne Lacampagne, Kristin Larson, Carolyn
Miller, Phylis Myles, Yumi M. O’Neil, Kat Rosenbaum,
Barbara PicKell Smythe, and ex officio member Diane
Rynerson.
The foundation’s mission is to educate and support women and minorities in accessing and participating in the justice system. See www.owlsfoundation.org to make a donation and for more information.
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