President’s annual awards dinner will be Dec. 1
Join OSB President Nena Cook the evening of Thursday, Dec. 1 as she honors this year’s award recipients at the President’s Annual Awards Dinner.

This special evening of events will be held at the Benson Hotel in Portland. 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 awards dinner immediately follows the reception at 6 p.m.

Please join us in recognizing the outstanding achievements of this year’s award recipients.

OSB Conference of Bar Leaders to be held in conjunction with awards dinner
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 in 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 Jan. 20, 2006.)

This year the conference will be held in conjunction with the President’s Annual Awards Dinner (see above). 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 the 1st of November.

For more information, call (800) 452-8260 or (503) 620-0222. Contact Jane Gillespie, ext. 308, Jennifer Maldonado, ext. 377, or Jessica Beckman, ext. 352. They can also be reached at the following e-mail addresses: jgillespie@osbar.org, jmaldonado@osbar.org or jbeckman@osbar.org.

Just getting started in private practice?
The Professional Liability Fund is sponsoring a practical skills seminar, "Learning the Ropes," for new admittees to the Oregon State Bar and lawyers entering private practice in Oregon. The seminar will include information on developing a successful practice and avoiding legal malpractice, a professionalism/ethics workshop, practical tips from judges and lawyers, and presentations on setting up effective office systems.

Attendance at the full program will satisfy MCLE requirements for new admittees’ first reporting period.

The seminar will be held Nov. 2-4 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. The $60 registration fee includes the entire seminar and lunch on Nov. 2 and 3. Registration deadline is Oct. 25.

Registration flyers were sent to all new admittees and to lawyers in private practice who were admitted to the bar from 2000 through October 2005. If you were admitted to the Oregon Bar before 2000 and would like a registration flyer, you may print one from the PLF website, www.osbplf.org. Click on Seminars under Loss Prevention, Seminars, and then Learning the Ropes. If you do not have Internet access, please write, fax or e-mail Karen Sunseri, Professional Liability Fund, P.O. Box 1600, Lake Oswego, OR 97035; fax: (503) 684-7250; e-mail: karens@osbplf.org.

Immigration lawyers to honor pair
The Oregon chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has announced Salem attorney Michael Muñiz as this year’s recipient of the Gerald H. Robinson Excellence in Advocacy Award. This award is given annually to an Oregon AILA member in recognition of outstanding advocacy of immigrant rights.

The award will be presented at a special dinner and program on Friday, Oct. 28, 6-9 p.m., at the Governor Hotel in Portland. Proceeds from the dinner and program will benefit non-profit legal service providers serving Oregon’s immigrant communities.

At the dinner, Portland criminal defense attorney Christine Dahl of the Federal Public Defender’s office will be recognized for her successful litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the indefinite detention of immigrants.

For dinner ticket information contact either Teresa Statler at (503) 220-4185 or Bradley Maier at (503) 796-2440.

National Lawyers Guild in Portland
Lawyers, law students and legal workers are coming to Portland Oct. 27-30 for the National Lawyers Guild annual convention.

The convention includes panels and workshops focusing on such topics as gender equality, the anti-war movement, the attack on educators, judges and lawyers as a result of the "war against terror."

On Thursday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, at the Benson Hotel, the Guild’s International Committee will sponsor a CLE program on international law, "Out of the Classroom Into the Courtroom: How to Use International Law in Our Everyday Law Practices." Prominent litigators in this field will discuss how to incorporate international law into the practice of criminal defense, labor and employment, poverty and civil law. Information about this program and how to register is at www.nlg.org/members/convention2005.

Founded in 1937, the National Lawyers Guild was the nation’s first racially integrated bar association. The Guild’s purpose is to function not only as a legal organization, but as an effective political and social force in the service of the people, to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests. The Oregon chapter has never been more active. In the past year, Guild members won a major victory against the Portland police arising from incidents of brutality at a demonstration against visiting President Bush. An active military counseling project has been established primarily by Guild law student members at Lewis & Clark College. Guild members have also represented an Oregon National Guardsman in his challenge against the military’s stop-loss policy which has involuntarily extended the obligation of thousands of soldiers.

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

Brian Jay Beck of Springfield, OSB #95210, transferred to inactive status in 1999 because he was not practicing law. During the period of his inactive membership status, Beck has raised his children and not been employed outside the home. Beck has no specific employment plans upon reinstatement.

John de la Forest of West Linn, OSB #81016, transferred to inactive status in 1996 because he had recently retired from his position at Nike, Inc., and was not practicing law. While inactive, de la Forest has done some writing and consulting work. He has no specific employment plans upon reinstatement.

David E. Fennell of Newcastle, Wash., OSB #84459, is seeking reinstatement to active status following a one-year reciprocal disciplinary suspension from Washington. Fennell has been reinstated in Washington, and is presently employed by a Bellevue law firm. He will remain in this position upon reinstatement in Oregon.

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 promptly contact the OSB Regulatory Services Division, P.O. Box 1689, Lake Oswego, OR 97035, (503) 620-0222, or (800) 452-8260, ext. 343.

Mock court will put Captain Clark on trial
Two great Oregon Institutions have joined to produce a mock court trial for public viewing as a part of the 2005 Lewis and Clark Bicentennial celebration. The Lewis & Clark Law School and the Oregon Historical Society are pooling their resources to create a mock court trial arising out of the theft by Capt. Lewis of a Clatsop Indian canoe and of the killing of two Blackfoot Indians in the Louisiana Territory.

U.S. District Court Judge Owen Panner will preside at the trials of the federal indictments. Five third-year students from the Lewis & Clark Law School will act as prosecutors and defense attorneys and receive scholarships toward their third-year tuition.

Several people made famous by their participation in the Lewis and Clark Expedition will be expected to testify including: Sacagawea, York (Capt. Clark’s slave; Drouillard, a hired interpreter and expert hunter; Capt. Lewis and others.

The trial will be held twice, Oct. 20 and Oct. 22 in the U.S. Courthouse, 1000 S.W. Third Ave., Portland.

Lewis & Clark College and the Oregon Historical Society have continuing shows, exhibits, speeches, symposiums and celebrations that are available to the public now and throughout the year. To learn more, see their websites; www.lclark.edu and www.ohs.org.