| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — JUNE 2009 |
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9th Annual Race for Justice to Run June 20
St. Andrew Legal Clinic will host the 9th annual Race for Justice on Saturday, June 20. The 5K run/walk and kids’ fun run will start and finish at the Madeleine Parish in Northeast Portland. Festivities begin at 9 a.m.
More than 400 participants are expected. For early registration and event information, visit www.salcgroup.org.
Entry fees and sponsorships support the clinic’s work of ensuring access to justice for all persons regardless of income. St. Andrew Legal Clinic provides family law services on a sliding scale to low-income families. It is committed to providing security for children, support to women in crisis and access to justice for the working poor.
ABA Lawyers Target One Million Trees by 2014
The ABA Environment, Energy and Resources Section has announced a nationwide public service endeavor, the One Million Trees Project. Spearheaded by the section’s Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Committee, the project calls on America’s lawyers to plant one million trees across the United States in the next five years and to raise awareness of their value.
Lawyers can contribute to the project by planting trees in their communities or by using the project’s dedicated website to purchase trees that will be planted by one of several project partners. Lawyers working with the partnering organizations can designate the areas in which their trees are planted.
Lawyers interested in a more significant contribution can fund the effort of the partner organizations to reforest public lands and rural spaces.
For more information, or to participate in the One Million Trees Project, visit www.abanet.org/environ/projects/million_tress/home.shtml
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New Law Extends Protection to Servicemembers
In early May, several thousand Oregon National Guard Soldiers left for Camp Stewart, Ga., where they will train before heading to Iraq. Those sent to Georgia and their families will be under the protection of a new Oregon law, signed May 8 by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
House Bill 2003 — the first SCRA-rights enforcement legislation in the nation — awards an aggrieved Oregon servicemember damages, attorney fees and possibly punitive damages based on violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). It also contains provisions for jurisdiction and venue, allowing aggrieved servicemembers to enforce their rights in Oregon courts.
The SCRA, enacted by Congress in 2004, “protect(s) those who have been obliged to drop their own affairs to take up the burdens of the nation.” The SCRA expanded and improved the former World War II-era Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act. The SCRA is intended to postpone or suspend certain civil obligations, enabling servicemembers to devote full attention to duty and relieving stress for their families.
The Bulletin will have a full-length article on the SCRA and HB 2303 in the July 2009 issue.
OMLA Sets 10th Annual Summer Social
The Oregon Minority Lawyers Association invites bar members to its 10th annual silent and oral auction on Thursday, July 23. This annual event will be held in the World Trade Center courtyard in downtown Portland.
This year’s special features include a performance by SEI Drumline, as well as a special welcome to new members of the Oregon legal community. Admission is $10 for lawyers and judges, $5 for law
students. To attend, send an RSVP to Heather Weigler at OMLA.auction@gmail.com
Proceeds go toward Oregon bar exam review scholarships and to OLIO, the annual Opportunities for Law In Oregon retreat.
Economic Stimulus Funding Guide Published
Stoel Rives recently announced the publication of a guide to federal clean energy funding opportunities under the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Signed into law by President Obama in February, ARRA contains almost $94 billion in investments and tax incentives for renewable energy, smart grid/transmission, energy efficiency, green vehicles and green job training.
Titled “Show Me The Money,” the guide reviews the various programs and potential sources of federal funding for clean energy companies and projects. The guide separately addresses funding opportunities under ARRA for the following energy industry areas: wind, solar, biofuels, biomass, smart grid, transmission, geothermal, marine and hydrokinetic, green building, energy efficiency, advanced battery and fuel cell technology, clean energy equipment manufacturing, green vehicles and clean coal.
The guide is available on request at www.stoel.com/lawofseries. Additional information is available at www.stoel.com/renewableenergy.
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