| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — JULY 2010 |
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Legal Profession Prevails in ‘Red Flags’ Rule
Efforts by the American Bar Association, several state bars and legal organizations to squelch new “Red Flags Rules” appear to have paid off. As the Bulletin was going to press in late June, conferees for the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010” adopted ABA-supported language that includes an an “exclusion for the practice of law.”
The rules would have required lawyers, doctors and other professionals to develop written identity theft prevention programs (as described in the June 2010 Bulletin article, “Who’s In Charge? The Creeping Federal Regulation of the Practice of Law”). Without the exclusion, the ABA argued, the bill threatened to undermine the confidential attorney-client relationship, preempt traditional state court regulation of lawyers and deny essential representation to consumers with debt problems.
Under pressure from the ABA and other law-related groups, the Federal Trade Commission postponed enforcement of the rules several times. With Congress’ action in June, the ABA declared victory.
“The American Bar Association … and all practicing lawyers in the United States are gratified that the historic role of state supreme courts’ regulatory authority over the practice of law has been preserved by House and Senate conferees on the financial markets reform legislation,” said ABA President Carolyn B. Lamm.
‘Just Books’ Website Worth a Read
If you’re looking for an interesting book that is relevant to the field of law and the justice system, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law has some suggestions.
The center’s “Just Books” website at http://www.brennancenter.org features book news, reviews and interviews from fiction and non-fiction titles that have an emphasis on law. You can also enter your e-mail address on the site to be notified when updates are added.
Multnomah CourtCare Seeks
Your Support
Multnomah CourtCare, a free drop-in childcare room at the Multnomah County Courthouse, needs more support for the program this year.
Visit http://www.mbabar.org to download a printable donor form. If you have questions about the program, see the CourtCare page on the MBA site or call Guy Walden at (503) 222-3275.
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Survey Says: Legal Hiring to Increase in 3rd Quarter
Legal hiring remains a bright spot in a transitional economic environment, as one-third of lawyers interviewed for the Robert Half Legal Hiring Index said they plan to add legal jobs in the third quarter. Just 2 percent of legal organizations plan staff cutbacks. The net 31 percent hiring increase is up five points from the previous quarter’s survey.
The survey developed by Robert Half Legal was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with 100 lawyers at law firms with 20 or more employees and 100 corporate lawyers at companies with 1,000 or more employees. All of the respondents have hiring authority within their organizations.
More information can be found at http://tinyurl.com/legalhiring/
Lane Powell Releases iPhone Application
Lane Powell and JDSupra have released an iPhone app that delivers legal articles, alerts and briefs into the palm of your hand. The articles are browseable by industry/practice, and the app makes it easy to contact the contributing authors.
The free app is available at the iTunes store. On iTunes, the app can be found by searching with several key words (e.g., Lane Powell, Legal Updates, Law, Pacific Northwest, Seattle, Portland, Attorney and Sustainability.
‘After the JD II’ Tracks New
Lawyers in the 21st Century
“After the JD,” the first national study of lawyer careers.
The results are contained in “After the JD II: Second Results from a National Study of Legal Careers,” which has tracked a national sample of nearly 5,000 lawyers who passed the bar in 2000. The project comprehensively examines key aspects of the life course of young lawyers, investigating the jobs they have taken, the hours they work, their fields of specialty, income, job turnover and patterns of mobility across jobs, dimensions of satisfaction, differences by race and gender, and personal choices such as getting married and having a family.
The study is still under way with the third and final phase expected to be completed in 2012. The completed project is predicted to provide unprecedented information on an entire generation of lawyers.
Copies can be obtained through the NALP online bookstore at www.nalpfoundation.org/bookstore/.
Basic Rights Oregon’s 28th Annual Dinner and Auction
Mark your calendar and get ready for Basic Rights Oregon’s 28th Annual Dinner and Auction Saturday, Oct. 2, at the Oregon Convention Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
This year’s theme is “Glee — Voices for Equality!” This evening will be an opportunity to break new ground for gay and transgender equality through celebration and song.
For more information, visit BRO’s website at www.basicrights.org or contact Juan Martinez at juan@basicrights.org or at (503) 222-6151, ext. 106.
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