OSB awards dinner is Dec. 1
Don’t miss the Oregon State Bar Annual Awards Dinner, a special evening of events to be held at the Benson Hotel in Portland on Dec. 1.

The annual awards include the OSB Award of Merit and three OSB President’s Awards: the Membership Service Award, the Public Service Award and the Affirmative Action Award. The evening will also include the Edwin J. Peterson Professionalism Award, presented by the Oregon Bench/Bar Commission on Professionalism. In addition, the Oregon New Lawyers Division will be presenting the Member Service Award, Public Service Award and Volunteer of the Year.

The evening begins with the opportunity to connect with bar leaders, fellow bar members, award recipients and their guests beginning at 5 p.m. with a networking reception. The OSB Annual Awards Dinner immediately follows the reception at 6 p.m.

If you would like to RSVP, or would like additional information about this event, contact Shannon Wallace at (800) 452-8260, ext. 367, or (503) 620-0222, ext. 367, or by e-mail at swallace@osbar.org. You can also find information about the event on the bar’s website at www.osbar.org. Please RSVP by Nov. 21.

This year’s award winners are:

OSB Award of Merit: Henry H. Hewitt.

OSB President’s Affirmative Action Award: Anastasia Yu Meisner.

OSB President’s Membership Service Award: Valerie J. Vollmar, Hon. Janice R. Wilson and Michael C. Zusman.

OSB President’s Public Service Award: John H. Van Landingham IV.

Edwin J. Peterson Professionalism Award: Wayne C. Annala.

ONLD Member Services Award: Anna S. McCormack.

ONLD Public Service Award: Amy E. Bilyeu and Sherilyn D. Holcombe Waxler.

ONLD Volunteer of the Year: Paul Neese.

Conference of Bar Leaders also Dec. 1
The Conference of Bar Leaders for 2006 section leaders, local bar presidents and specialty bar groups will be held Dec. 1 at the Benson Hotel, Portland. The conference is sponsored each year by the OSB Member Services Department to prepare bar leaders for the upcoming year. Leaders have the opportunity to learn more about reporting deadlines, budgets, attendance records and much more. (The Conference for Bar Committee Leaders will be held on Jan. 20, 2006.)

This year the conference will be held in conjunction with the OSB Annual Awards Dinner. There is no charge to bar leaders for the conference, lunch and reception. Conference registration forms will be mailed to sections, local bars and specialty groups in early November.

For more information, call (800) 452-8260 or (503) 620-0222. For information on the Conference of Bar Leaders information, contact Jane Gillespie, ext. 308 (jgillespie@ osbar.org). For ticket information on the OSB Annual Awards Dinner, contact Jennifer Maldonado, ext. 377 (jmaldonado@ osbar.org), or Jessica Beckman, ext. 352 (jbeckman@osbar.org).

Conference looks at domestic violence
On Dec. 2, the public is invited to attend a conference at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Wilsonville entitled, "Working Toward Equality: Responding to Sexual Minority Domestic Violence."

Many of the speakers are the leading authorities in the country on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues, and on domestic violence as it relates to sexual and gender minorities. Two speakers from the Williams Project of the UCLA School of Law, considered to be a leading "think tank" on sexual orientation law and public policy, will be present. Portland Mayor Tom Potter will provide opening remarks.

The event will be held at the Holiday Inn in Wilsonville. Cost is $35, including lunch. The OSB has approved the conference for 6.5 elimination of bias CLE credits. Registration information is available by contacting Linda Good at (503) 846-2774 or linda_good@co.washington.or.us.

This conference is sponsored by Washington County Domestic Violence Intervention Council, Western Community Policing Institute, Washington County Circuit Court, the Williams Project of the UCLA School of Law and Voices Set Free.

Law library values now online
The 2006 schedule of suggested values for law libraries is now published online. The useful schedule of suggested book values, used to calculate personal property taxes, is provided by the Oregon Department of Revenue.

It can be found at Bar News Online.

This schedule has been prepared by the property tax division of the Oregon Department of Revenue. Owners of law libraries should declare the schedule values to the assessor.

OLF invites grant applications
The Oregon Law Foundation has $200,000 available for a one-time-only special project grant. The special project funds will be granted only to those programs that provide direct civil legal services to persons of lesser means.

The grant applications must be received by the OLF not later than 5 p.m., Friday Dec. 16.

For more information please go to www.oregonlawfoundation.org or contact Judith Baker at (503) 431-6323 or Dawn Nelson at (503) 431-6373.

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Lawyers annual drive raises over $90,000 for food bank
Oregon Lawyers Against Hunger (OLAH) concluded its ninth annual fundraiser to benefit Oregon Food Bank on Oct. As of October 11, those firms that had reported their totals had raised $90,857. Contributions continue to flow in.

Since its inception in 1997, OLAH, a non-profit organization comprised of legal professionals in Oregon, has raised over $700,000 for Oregon Food Bank, enabling the food bank to collect and distribute millions of pounds of food.

Competition among metro area firms is a highlight of OLAH’s annual fundraiser. Again this year, firms competed for the "Golden Can" award (highest contribution per capita) and "Silver Barrel" award (highest total contribution). Yates Matthews won the Golden Can with a per capita contribution of $240.83, ending Heller, Ehrman, White & McAuliffe’s two-year streak. Lane Powell continued its nine-year dominance of the Silver Barrel award, raising $18,000 through activities ranging from a bake sale, to a Pictionary contest, to a raffle entitling the winner to hurl water balloons at a partner.

OLAH and Oregon Food Bank will also give special recognition to the dozens of individual donors who joined the "Give a Ton" club by donating $350 or more ($350 enables OFB to distribute 2,000 pounds of food) or the "Thousand Pound Club" ($175 or more).

Each dollar contributed allows the OFB to collect and distribute approximately six pounds of food worth $8 and fund programs that address the root causes of hunger. Oregon remains among the top states in the nation in hunger. Last year, an estimated 850,000 people ate meals from emergency food boxes distributed by the OFB Network throughout Oregon and Clark County, Washington. About 38 percent of those receiving emergency food are children.

For more information about OLAH or to make a contribution, contact Kathy Dent at 503-778-5338. Information about the Oregon Food Bank is available at www.oregonfoodbank.org.

Notice of reinstatement applications
Two attorneys have filed applications for reinstatement as active members of the Oregon State Bar, pursuant to Rule of Procedure (BR) 8.1.

Jack Roberts of Eugene, OSB #78353, transferred to inactive status in 1996 because he was not practicing law. During the period of his inactive membership status, Roberts served as commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. He is presently the executive director of a nonprofit agency in Lane County.

Denise Ross Dodson of Portland, OSB #93472, transferred to inactive status to stay home with her children. While inactive, she has been self-employed as a photographer. Dodson has no specific plans after reinstatement.

The Rules of Procedure require the Board of Governors to conduct an investigation of BR 8.1 reinstatement applications to determine whether applicants possess the good moral character and general fitness to practice law, and that the resumption of the practice of law in this state by these applicants will not be detrimental to the administration of justice or the public interest. Any person with information relevant to these applications is asked to contact promptly the OSB Regulatory Services Division, P.O. Box 1689, Lake Oswego, OR 97035; (503) 620-0222 or toll-free in Oregon at (800) 452-8260, ext. 343.