PARALEGALS join for SOUP DRIVE
The Oregon Paralegal Association and IKON Office Solutions have teamed up to collect thousands of cans of soup that will help feed homebound seniors during the holidays. As part of its annual community outreach project with IKON Office Solutions, members of OPA and the legal profession will collect 2,500 cans of soup to include in holiday boxes distributed to seniors who receive Meals-On-Wheels. The holiday boxes also include fresh fruit, water, tea and small holiday goodies.

With the help of more than 5,000 volunteers the non-profit agency now serves about 4,000 meals each day — nearly 1 million meals a year.

10TH ANNIVERSARY
OF ANIMAL LAW REVIEW
Students of Lewis & Clark Law School have published volume 10 of the Animal Law Review, which draws attention to and provides a forum for scholarly discussion of legal issues pertaining to animals.

A handful of law students started the journal a decade ago, and the publication has grown to a staff of more than 40 and a subscription base of more than 1,000. Past contributors include Alan Dershowitz, Cass Sunstein and Laurence Tribe. The law review has been cited in state and federal court cases, and in the Supreme Court of Israel’s decision to ban foie gras.

The current issue includes an examination of the recent addition of animal protection language to Germany’s constitution. Other articles focus on veterinary liability, evidence doctrines on character and propensity, breed-specific legislation and nontraditional means of establishing legal standing in animal law cases, such as false advertising laws.

Copies of are available for $15. For more information, see www.lclark.edu/org/animalaw.

LEGAL WRITING COMPETITION
The Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) announces its second annual legal writing competition. Through these competitions, which are open to all law students and attorneys, PVA hopes to generate discussion on issues that affect today’s veterans. The topic of this year’s competition is "Should a Veteran be Entitled to Retain a Lawyer for Adjudication of Claims before the Department of Veterans Affairs?"

A first prize of $1,250 and a second prize of $750 will be awarded. All submissions must be received no later than March 1, 2005.

For details about entering the competition, please visit the PVA website at www.pva.org. Address entries to: Office of General Counsel, Paralyzed Veterans of America, 801 18 St. N.W., Washington, DC 20006. Questions about the contest may be directed by e-mail to GeneralCounsel@pva.org, or by phone to (202) 416-7793.

IN-HOUSE LAWYERS
SEE HEALTHY INCREASES
Most in-house lawyers have experienced healthy increases in total cash compensation, according to a new survey by the Altman Weil Law, published in partnership with the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC).

"The data seem to reflect the general upswing in the nation’s economy over the past year or so and appears to signify a movement away from the strong buyer’s market in which in-house lawyers have found themselves since 2000," says Altman Weil principal James Wilber.

Salaries for senior positions in law departments, including chief legal officers (CLOs), deputy CLOs and division general counsel, were up between 5.3 percent and 7.8 percent this year. Lawyers in more senior non-management positions also saw increases, with high-level specialist, senior attorney and attorney positions reporting increases from 3.9 percent to 5.2 percent. Staff attorney and recent graduate salaries were down 3.5 percent and 1.9 percent respectively.

The survey reports the national median salary for chief legal officers in 2004 at $275,000. The high-level specialist position drew $138,105, while a new law school graduate earned a salary of $60,000.

More highlights from the survey can be found online in the press releases section at www.altmanweil.com. The full survey report is available for purchase from Altman Weil Publications.

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The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors has voted to make Washington the second state to test new lawyers’ understanding of federal Indian jurisdiction on the bar exam. At the urging of the WSBA Indian Law Section and Northwest Indian Bar Association, Washington followed the precedent set by New Mexico, which began testing Indian law in 2002. The Idaho, Oregon, Oklahoma and Arizona bars are considering the issue as well.

Washington will test: tribal sovereignty; tribal civil and criminal jurisdiction; tribal sovereign immunity and the Indian Child Welfare Act, beginning with the summer 2007 bar exam. The delay in implementation will allow current students time to study Indian law in law school.