Event Archive

It’s Not a Disease and You Are Not in Denial (CLE Substance Abuse)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Brown bag lunch from noon until 1 PM at 1330 Broadway, 4th Floor in Oakland (above the 12th Street BART Station). Detection/Prevention of Substance Abuse or Mental Illness - California CLE - One Hour. $35 for public service and low income attorneys; $65 regular rate. RSVP to carlos@nlgsf.org.

Presented by Annie Fahy, LMSW, RN.

Annie co-founded the Recovery Café a consulting counseling and training business in 2001. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Master’s program in Social Work, though her counseling career began over 15 years earlier as a registered nurse in mental health and addiction settings. Annie designed and managed the Women’s Services program, which provides intensive outpatient and residential addiction treatment services to women and their children. Since 2001 she has consulted and offered various training to a number of different entities. She is an experienced consultant and trainer for the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Family and Children’s Services, Metro Atlanta Recovery Residences, the Department of Corrections and Pardons and Paroles, State Drug Court, Georgia Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Georgia Council For Substance Abuse and Georgia department of Children and Family Services and several Health organizations.

Annie is a behavior change specialist with expertise in substance abuse, high-risk lifestyle behaviors, harm reduction, trauma, compassion fatigue, and mind body disorders. Most recently she offers training in Motivational Interviewing; an evidenced based interviewing method that motivates people toward health behavior change. She is affiliated with The MINT (Motivational Network of Trainers); She was recently published in The Clinical Social Work concerning her work with Compassionate Fatigue. She is currently a Therapist/Trainer for The Harm reduction Therapy Center in San Francisco.

Testimonial Dinner Committee Meeting
Monday, November 17, 2008

Our Dinner Committee will meet at 6:30 on November 17 to plan our 2009 Testimonial Dinner. For more information contact David Borgen at borgen@gdblegal.com or Jody LeWitter at jlewitter@sl-employmentlaw.com.

Mentorship Cocktail Party
Friday, November 14, 2008

Come and meet attorneys and legal workers practicing in a variety of fields! Food and libations will be provided.

This event will give law student members a chance to meet students from neighboring law schools who are committed to working on the same issues and attorneys who’ve built careers in progressive lawyering. Oh, and did we mention
the margaritas?

Friday, November 14, 2008
6 - 9 PM
Annual Mentorship Cocktail Party at David Weintraub’s home, 5582 Lawton Avenue in Oakland

To get there, take BART to Rockridge Station, walk two blocks south on College Avenue (towards the restaurants Cactus and Oliveto), and at the Pasta Pomodoro make a left on Lawton.

Students, if you have a mentor, please personally invite him or her!

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The next mentorship meeting will take place on November 12th at 6pm at Van der Haut Brigagliano & Nightingale, 180 Sutter Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco; Phone: 415-981-3000. Please RSVP to jody.santiago@gmail.com.

NLG Fundraiser at the Berkeley Rep: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Click here to buy your tickets now.

Join your friends at the National Lawyers Guild for dinner at Downtown Restaurant in Berkeley followed by Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre - at $100 with proceeds benefiting the NLGSF it’s a bargain. We will meet at Downtown Restaurant at 6 PM for dinner and drinks.

“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is an intoxicatingly hopeful blend of history, mystery, myth, ribald humor, music, dance, and enduring faith.”

—Chicago Reader

“Wilson gives haunting voice to the souls of the American dispossessed…The clash between the American and the African shakes white and black theatergoers as violently as it has shaken the history we’ve all shared.”

—New York Times

Renowned actor Delroy Lindo returns to Berkeley Rep with the play that netted him a nomination for the Tony Award—but this time, he’s in the director’s chair. Following last year’s triumph with Tanya Barfield’s Blue Door, Lindo takes on August Wilson’s African-American epic, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Haunted by seven years on a chain gang, Herald Loomis appears in Pittsburgh to reunite his family. Surrounded by the vibrant tenants of a black boarding house, he fights for his soul and his song in the dawning days of a century without slavery.

Delroy Lindo came to prominence with his Broadway performance in Master Harold…and the Boys, and he reinforced his reputation with major roles in films such as The Cider House Rules, Get Shorty and Malcolm X. In his third outing as a director, Lindo works on a bigger stage: Berkeley Rep’s state-of-the art Roda Theatre.

August Wilson’s countless accolades include two Pulitzer Prizes, the Tony Award for Best Play, two Drama Desk Awards, an Olivier Award and eight prizes for Best Play from the New York Drama Critics Circle—including one for Joe Turner’s.

For more information contact Raul at raul@nlgsf.org, Carlos at carlos@nlgsf.org or call 415.285.5067.

Legal Observer Training (Sacramento)
Friday, November 7, 2008

The Legal Observer program has been critical in defending free speech rights, the right to dissent, and against police abuse. Our next legal observer training will be Friday, November 7 at 12:30 PM at McGeorge School of Law, 3200 Fifth Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95817.

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The Executive Board of the NLGSF generally meets every first Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm, alternating between the East Bay and San Francisco. Meetings are open to all Bay Area chapter members in good standing. For details contact Carlos at carlos@nlgsf.org.

Justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange Victims (San Francisco)
Thursday, October 30, 2008

Join us in welcoming Vietnamese Agent Orange victims during this 4th Vietnam Agent Orange Justice Tour.

We will educate our friends and neighbors about the suffering caused by Agent Orange in Vietnam and in other wars our government waged; build friendship between U.S., Vietnamese American and Vietnamese Agent Orange victims; hold the U.S. chemical manufacturers responsible by supporting the Agent Orange victims’ lawsuit and a corporate campaign to demand Dow and Monsanto compensate the victims; hold the U.S. government responsible for providing significant and meaningful compensation to Vietnamese victims and additional coverage to affected U.S. veterans; and support the work of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA).

Guests will include Dang Hong Nhut who suffers from cancer and has had multiple miscarriages due to Agent Orange exposure, and Tran Thi Hoan who is a 21 year old college student born without legs due to her mother’s exposure to Agent Orange.

Oakland, Tuesday, October 28, 7 PM, EastSide Arts Alliance, 2277 International Blvd (@23rd Avenue).

Santa Rosa, Wednesday, October 29, 7 PM, Glaser Center, 547 Mendocino (@10th).

San Francisco, Thursday, October 30, 7 PM, Veterans’ Building, Room 223, 401 Van Ness (@McAllister).

For more information contact call 510-418-3436 or email coxschueler@igc.org.

Justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange Victims (Oakland)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Join us in welcoming Vietnamese Agent Orange victims during this 4th Vietnam Agent Orange Justice Tour.

Oakland, Tuesday, October 28, 7 PM, EastSide Arts Alliance, 2277 International Blvd (@23rd Avenue).

Santa Rosa, Wednesday, October 29, 7 PM, Glaser Center, 547 Mendocino (@10th).

San Francisco, Thursday, October 30, 7 PM, Veterans’ Building, Room 223, 401 Van Ness (@McAllister).

For more information contact call 510-418-3436 or email coxschueler@igc.org.

Military Law Task Force Meeting: Service Women’s Action Network Presentation
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The next Bay Area Military Law Task Force meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at 7 p.m at the Law Offices of Jane R. Kaplan, 3050 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705, 510/848-4752, x4. The office is 2 blocks from the Ashby BART.

We are pleased to have a presentation by the co-founder of Service Women’s Action Network, Tina McCauley. She will speak about how and why SWAN was founded, their programs, and her experience in the military and as a veteran as a woman of color.

Legal Observer Training (San Francisco)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The Legal Observer program has been critical in defending free speech rights, the right to dissent, and against police abuse. Our next legal observer training will be Tuesday, October 28 at 5 - 6:15 PM in room 3203 at Golden Gate University, 536 Mission Street, San Francisco.

Justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange Victims (Oakland)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Join us in welcoming Vietnamese Agent Orange victims during this 4th Vietnam Agent Orange Justice Tour.

Oakland, Tuesday, October 28, 7 PM, EastSide Arts Alliance, 2277 International Blvd (@23rd Avenue).

Santa Rosa, Wednesday, October 29, 7 PM, Glaser Center, 547 Mendocino (@10th).

San Francisco, Thursday, October 30, 7 PM, Veterans’ Building, Room 223, 401 Van Ness (@McAllister).

For more information contact call 510-418-3436 or email coxschueler@igc.org.

Torture: U.S. Law & Policy (Ethics CLE Credit)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Tuesday, October 28, 2008
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall), Booth Auditorium, 2778 Bancroft Way in Berkeley
CLE 1.25 Ethics Credits Available: $35 for public service and low income attorneys; $65 regular rate; FREE if no credit required.

Please join us for a rigorous panel discussion with Boalt professors and practitioner experts on the ethics and legality of torture. Panelists will include:

Chris Kutz, Professor of Law in the Jurisprudence & Social Policy Program at Boalt, has written about complicity, torture, emergency power, and the moral foundations of the laws of war.
Oona Hathaway, Professor of Law at Boalt, is a scholar of international law, former recipient of the Carnegie Scholars Award, and current member of the Advisory Committee on International Law for the Legal Advisor of the U.S. Department of State.
Ben Wizner has been a staff attorney at the ACLU since 2001. He specializes in national security, human rights, and first amendment issues. He has been involved in numerous post-9/11 civil liberties cases, including a challenge to the CIA’s abduction, detention, and torture of an innocent German citizen (El-Masri v. Tenet) and a suit against a private company for facilitating extraordinary rendition by the CIA (Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.).
Moderator John Steele is Special Counsel and Director of Ethics & Conflicts for Fish & Richardson P.C., and Lecturer in Legal Ethics at Boalt.

LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED

Sponsored by the Boalt Hall National Lawyers Guild chapter
Co-sponsored: The Henderson Center for Social Justice; Middle Eastern Law Students Association; American Constitution Society.

Committee Against Torture Meeting
Monday, October 27, 2008

Our Committee Against Torture will meet on Monday, October 27 at 6 PM. We will meet at 2140 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley CA, Suite 601. Please RSVP to Carlos at carlos@nlgsf.org.

We will discuss Professor John Yoo, Chevron Attorney William Haynes, and an upcoming event at UC Berkeley.

Anti Racism Committee Meeting
Monday, October 27, 2008

What: AntiRacism Committee meeting
Where: at Al Hamra (on 16th Street near BART, between Valencia and Mission) in SF,
When: Monday, Oct 27 6pm.
RSVP to Mike at rmflynn79@gmail.com.

This meeting will be an opportunity for those of us that went to the Convention to share what we learned and participated in. We will report back on the powerful anti-racism training at the Convention led by Catalyst Project. We will discuss collaborative plans made while meeting with co-chairs of TUPOCC, the Anti-Sexism Committee, the Queer Caucus, and the NextGen Committee.

Proposed Agenda:
1. Convention & Anti-Racist Training Reportback
2. Collaboration with other NLG committees
3. Reportback from October 2 Anti-Bias/ AntiRacism CLE
4. Future AntiRacist Trainings in the Bay and in our region
5. ?

Law and Justice in Haiti: Accountability and Reparations
Thursday, October 23, 2008

Symposium with Reception - Law and Justice in Haiti: Accountability and Reparations

DATE: Thursday, October 23, 2008
TIME: 4:30-7:30pm
LOCATION: Alumni Reception Center, 200 McAllister

DETAILS: The Keynote Address will be provided by Father Jomanas, the Dean and founder of Hastings’ sister law school, who will speak about the importance of law and justice in a country like Haiti.

Professor Naomi Roht Arriaza will moderate a panel on Accountability and Reparations in Haiti in light of several recent judgments.

Brian Concannon Jr., Director and founder of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti will speak about the recent Inter-American Court judgment in the case of Yvonne Neptune, Haiti’s former Prime Minister;
Mario Joseph, Haitian Human Rights Lawyer, Director and founder of the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux will speak about the Raboteau Massacre reparations and recent dispersal in Haiti; and
Moira Feeney, Hastings alumna and former staff attorney at the Center for Justice & Accountability will speak about the victories in the U.S. lawsuits against Toto Constant and Jean Dorélien.

Reception to follow in the ARC co-hosted by the Office of the Academic Dean

Co-sponsored by the Black Law Students Association, Hastings International & Comparative Law Review, Hastings International & Comparative Law Society, Hastings International Human Rights Organization, Hastings Public Interest Law Foundation, Hastings for Race and Poverty Law Journal, National Lawyers Guild, La Raza

Immigration Committee Meeting
Thursday, October 23, 2008

Join our Immigration Committee to discuss raids response, countering media misinformation, and more.

New date and time: We will meet on October 23rd, 5:30 PM at Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale, 180 Sutter Street,
5th Floor.

Demonstrations Committee Meeting
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Join our demonstrations committee for our monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 21 at 6 PM. We will meet at 558 Capp Street in San Francisco. For more information contact Carlos at carlos@nlgsf.org.

Mentorship Project Committee Meeting
Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Mentorship Project Committee will meet at 6 PM on Wednesday, October 6 at 1404 Franklin St., 5th Floor in Oakland. Please RSVP to David Weintraub by emailing DWeintraub@beesontayer.com.

This is a critical meeting as we will be reviewing and adopting our Committee’s Policies and Procedures AND volunteering for the positions we create, AND planning for the Cocktail Party which is only about 6 weeks away.

PROPOSED AGENDA:

DISCUSSION/ADOPTION OF PROPOSED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
a) Committee’s Structure and Roles
b) Student Coordinator Responsibilities
c) Matching Policies and Practices
d) Party Procedures
VOLUNTEERS FOR THE ROLES (Facilitators/Recorder/Reminder, Publicity, Student Liaison)
PARTY
Reports and Discussion
a) Food (Derek H)
b) Beverages (Lisa/Jose Luis)
c) Program (David W)
Mentor of the Year (Derek McD)
d) Sign Up Table (Teague/Shauna)
e) Set -Up/Clean -up (Darin/Layla)
f) Paper Products (Derek H)
STUDENT REPORTS
STATUS OF PROPOSAL TO EB/EC RE 5 HOURS FOR STAFF LIAISON TO COMMITTEE

Anti-Racism for Effective Legal & Social Justice Work (CLE)
Monday, October 6, 2008

Anti-Racism for Effective Legal & Social Justice Work—Theory and Practice,
1.5 hour CLE (anti-bias)

When: Monday, 6 October 2008, 12:00-1:30 pm

Where: Mexicali Rose Restaurant meeting room, 701 Clay St, Downtown Oakland (at 7th st, across from Alameda County Courthouse, 4 blocks from 12th St BART [11th st exit])

CLE Charge: $25-40 for attorneys. Law students and legal workers, donations suggested. (Proceeds will help pay for anti-racist trainings to be held in the future for NLG members.)

Note: Mexicali Rose Restaurant requires that each person using the meeting room purchase food with a value of at least $6.50. Upon registration, we will send you a menu to choose an item, so we can submit orders ahead of time.

RSVP to Michael Flynn, NLG Anti-Racism Committee Chair, rmflynn79@gmail.com.

Lawyers and legal workers in the U.S. live and work within a society and a system that was founded in and remains shaped by racism. More legal practitioners, legal scholars, and legal activists are recognizing that anti-racism is essential for effective legal work in the twenty-first century. The NLG Bay Area Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) is presenting this opportunity to discuss and promote anti-racist legal work and anti-racist organizing.

The State Bar of California requires that some CLE credits cover “anti-bias” or anti-discrimination. Presenters will discuss the legal analysis that underlies effective anti-racist work, how to develop an anti-racist legal organization, and how anti-racism is important for community-based legal activists, lawyers and legal workers to work together in solidarity.

MCLE Rule 2.1.3 requires anti-bias CLE, and California Rule of Professional Conduct Rule, 2-600 prohibits discrimination or allowing discrimination.

MCLE Rule 2.1.3 At least one [CLE class/ term] shall relate to elimination of bias in the legal profession based on any of, but not limited to the following characteristics: sex, color, race, religion, ancestry, national origin, blindness or other physical disability, age, and sexual orientation.

Topics to Be Presented:

Latina & Latino Critical Legal (LatCrit) Theory, Multi-dimensional Analysis, Critical Race Praxis & the Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession
The role of anti-racism in a legal organization
The role of anti-racism while working with a community-based social justice organization and working with communities of color.

Presenters:

Marc-Tizoc González is a staff attorney at the Alameda County Homeless Action Center and teaches for U.C. Berkeley’s Chicano Studies Program and San Francisco State University’s Raza Studies Department. He graduated from Boalt Hall in 2005 and earned a M.A. in Interdisciplinary Social Science from SF State in 2002. He is a director of the Berkeley Law Foundation, LatCrit, Inc. and the NLG-SF Bay Area Chapter. He serves as treasurer for the East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association and helped found the National Latina/o Law Student Association. The grandchild of Mexican immigrants, Marc-Tizoc was born and raised in Sacramento, CA to Chicana/o activists who raised him to engage the intergenerational struggle for social justice. He lives in Oakland, CA with his wife of ten years.

Rose Braz is the National Campaign Director for Critical Resistance, a national grassroots organization working to end society’s use of prisons and policing as an “answer” to social problems. Prior to coming to CR, Rose worked as a criminal defense attorney and also has experience working on police misconduct and prisoner civil rights litigation. She was a member of the original organizing committee for the 1998 Critical Resistance Conference and has been active in prison and criminal justice issues since graduating from U.C. Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law in 1992. Rose is on the board of Justice Now and the advisory board of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. She helped restart the National Lawyers Guild Prison Law Project in the early 1990’s.

The Bay Area Chapter of the Anti-Racism Committee works to create an anti-racist culture within the National Lawyers Guild by supporting the efforts of The United People of Color Caucus (TUPOCC) and spearheading anti-racist policies and projects locally and nationally. The ARC seeks to work in coalition with partner organizations on issues of racial and economic justice and to create mechanisms of accountability to the movements and communities we serve.

The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Friday, October 3, 2008

Crime Magazine Editor J Patrick O’Connor discusses his new book, “The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal,” in a tour of the SF Bay Area.

The NLGSF is sponsoring Friday evenings event: October 3rd, 5:30 pm: Room 3214, Golden Gate University, Mission St between 1st and 2nd, San Francisco. Sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and the Mobilization To Free Mumia (info 510 268-9429).

Efficiently and Methodically Framed—Mumia is innocent! — that is the conclusion of a new book on the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. The book is, THE FRAMING OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL, by J Patrick O’Connor (Lawrence Hill Books 2008). The author is a former UPI reporter who took an interest in Mumia’s case, and who is now the editor of Crime Magazine crimemagazine.com. He offers a fresh perspective, and delivers a clear and convincing breakdown on perhaps the most notorius frame-up since Sacco and Vanzetti.

“This book is the first to convincingly show how the Philadelphia Police Department and District Attorney’s Office efficiently and methodically framed [Mumia Abu-Jamal].” (from the book jacket)

This is a case not just of police corruption, or a racist lynching, though it is both. The courts are in this just as deep as the cops, and it reaches to the top of the equally corrupt political system, in both the Democratic and Republican parties—something to keep in mind in this election season.

In the first week of October, J Patrick O’Connor will tour SF Bay Area to discuss the conclusions of his investigation of Mumia’s case. The Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (LAC) is working with the Mobilization To Free Mumia to organize and promote this tour.

O’Connor will be featured in interviews on KPFA’s Flashpoints, Africa Today, Living Room and the Morning Show in the days prior to, and during the tour (94.1 FM).

Here is the tour schedule (some details still to be filled in):

Thursday October 2nd, 12 Noon: Golden Gate University Law School, Mission St between 1st and 2nd streets, San Francisco.

Friday October 3rd, 5:30 pm: Room 3214, Golden Gate University, Mission St between 1st and 2nd, San Francisco. Sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and the Mobilization To Free Mumia (info 510 268-9429).

Friday October 3rd, 7:30 pm: Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library for Social Research, 6501 Telegraph Ave, in Oakland, between Alcatraz Ave and 66th St. Sponsored by the Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia abu-Jamal (info 510 763-2347).

Saturday October 4th, 2 to 5 pm: wine and cheese with O’Connor, Lynne Stewart, and KPFA programmers—at the home of Jeff Mackler, 33 Mandana Circle (cross st Mandana Blvd), Oakland (info 510 268-9429)

Sunday October 5th, 4 to 6 pm: O’Connor and Lynne Stewart, College of Marin, 835 College Avenue, Kentfield (room to be announced). Sponsored by Marin Peace and Justice Coaliton.

Tuesday October 7th, 7 pm: event sponsored by Peninsula Peace and Justice Coalition. Details to be announced.

Wednesday October 8th, 7 pm: Santa Rosa Peace and Justice Center, 467 Sebastopol Ave, Santa Rosa, CA. info: 707 575-8902.

General Tour Information, call 510 268-9429.

South Bay Meeting/Mixer
Thursday, October 2, 2008

NLG members who live or work in San Jose, Santa Clara, Fremont, Mountain View or anywhere in the South Bay are invited to a meeting and mixer at the Law Office of Carpenter & Mayfield, 730 North First Street in San Jose, on October 2 at 6 PM. Food and drink provided.

Documentary and Discussion on the Jena 6
Thursday, October 2, 2008

A benefit for the SF Bay Area NLG Anti Racism Committee.

6-8 PM (film at 7 PM)
El Rio
3158 Mission Street
Suggested donation $20 (no one turned away for lack of funds)
Dress warmly. The film will be shown outdoors.

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The Executive Board of the NLGSF generally meets every first Wednesday of the month, alternating between the East Bay and San Francisco. This month’s meeting will start earlier than usual and be abbreviated to leave time for our membership meeting. We will begin at 5:30 PM at the Women’s Building, 3543 18th St., Audre Lorde room, in San Francisco.

Meetings are open to all Bay Area chapter members in good standing. For details contact Carlos at carlos@nlgsf.org.

Membership Meeting & Board Elections: Defending & Promoting Sanctuary Cities
Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Our election and membership meeting - including a presentation on Defending and Promoting Sanctuary Cities - will be the evening of October 1st.

Polls will open at 5:30 PM and the presentation will begin at 6:30 PM at the Women’s Building, 3543 18th St., Audre Lorde room, in San Francisco. Presenters include attorneys Angela Chan of the Asian Law Caucus, Laura Sánchez of CARECEN, and Francisco Ugarte of Dolores Street Community Services.

Angela F. Chan, staff attorney in the Juvenile Justice and Education Project at the Asian Law Caucus. She represents immigrant families with youth caught in the juvenile justice system and youth who are harassed or discriminated in the education system.

Laura Sánchez, Staff Attorney, CARECEN. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Laura holds a Juris Doctor from the University of California Hastings and a BA in political science from Loyola University New Orleans. She has a long-standing commitment to serving the immigrant community.

Francisco Ugarte, Staff Attorney for Dolores Street Community Servies. Francisco has been actively working against the ICE raids with the NLG Immigration Committee and SFILEN.

Immigration Court Observation Project TRAINING
Monday, September 29, 2008

SF Bay Area National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Chapter Immigration Court Observation Project (ICOP) Training

Monday, September 29
6:00 pm in room 5224
Golden Gate University School of Law

NLG GGU and the San Francisco Bay Area NLG Immigration Committee invite all interested in immigration law and immigrant rights to participate in the NLG Immigration Committee’s Immigration Court Observation Project (“ICOP”).

What is ICOP? In 2006, the SF Bay Area NLG Immigration Committee kicked off a pilot program, based in part on other NLG chapters’ work, to conduct observations of the Master Calendar hearings for detained clients in San Francisco’s Immigration Court. Students will go to Master Calendar proceedings in immigration court about once a month and fill out NLG-prepared forms to document the immigration court process. Other NLG groups have done similar projects and written publications that expose the systematic lack of due process available to deportation defendants under the current immigration law framework. The training will be led by immigration attorney Ilyce Shugall to get familiar with the way the court works, and to hear from past student observers about their experiences with the pilot program.

Please e-mail GGU 3L Jody Santiago Jsan@VBlaw.com with questions.

Progressive Lawyering Day
Saturday, September 27, 2008

The Students of the National Lawyers Guild present:
40th Annual Progressive Lawyering Day
Saturday, September 27, 2008, 10 am - 6 pm
University of San Francisco School of Law, Kendrick Hall
2199 Fulton St at Parker Ave, San Francisco, CA
(Accessible by buses 5 Fulton and 21 Hayes)

Panel topics will include immigration, sex workers’ rights and organizing efforts, international womens’ rights, and juvenile justice.

Our keynote speaker is San Francisco Chief Deputy City Attorney Terry Stewart. Ms. Stewart successfully argued before the California Supreme Court on behalf of the city and county of San Francisco for the legalization of same sex marriage.

Free breakfast, lunch, and reception.

CLE credit offered - suggested donation $20-$60 to be used toward student travel stipends for the national NLG convention in Detroit.

Progressive Lawyering Day – Sat, Sept 27 at USF

Schedule:
10 am Registration/breakfast

10:30-12 pm
International women’s rights panel
Sophie Clavier, Professor of International Relations San Francisco State; Zakia Afrin, Amnesty International; Mona Cadena, Deputy Director, Amnesty International USA Western Region

Immigration panel
Francisco Ugarte, San Francisco Immigrant Legal Education Network; Diana Rashid, Workplace Immigrant & Civil Rights Organizer

12-1 pm Lunch

1-2:30 pm
Juvenile justice panel
Cassandra James, Center for Young Women’s Development; Roger Chan, San Francisco Public Defender’s office

Sex workers rights panel
Maxine Doogan and Starchild, Erotic Service Providers Union

3-4:30 pm Keynote speaker
San Francisco Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart

4:30-6 pm Reception

Contact Tina at studentorganizer@nlgsf.org for more information.

Immigration Committee Meeting
Friday, September 26, 2008

Our next immigration committee meeting will be September 26 at 12:30. We will meet at the ACLU office, 39 Drumm Street, San Francisco.

Military Law Task Force Meeting
Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 7 p.m. at the Law Office of Jane Kaplan, 3050 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley. We will discuss plans for a military law training and case updates. Contact Jane at jkaplan@att.net for more information.

Annual Fall Auction and Cocktail Party
Friday, September 19, 2008

Our annual Fall Auction and Cocktail Party will be on Friday, September 19, 6-9 PM at the LGBT Center in San Francisco, 1800 Market by Octavia.

Anti Racism Committee Meeting
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The next Anti Racism Committee meeting will be at Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant, 326 Frank H Ogawa Plz in Oakland at 6pm.

Proposed Agenda:
1. National Convention Anti-Racist Training
2. Bay Area Anti-Racist training
3. Fundraising
4. CLE week of October 6-10
5. Multipart CLE for winter/spring
6. ?

For more information or to add agenda items, please contact Mike Flynn at rmflynn79@gmail.com.

Demonstrations Committee Meeting
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Our Demonstrations Committee provides legal support to protests, free speech actions, and civil disobedience. Our meetings are every third Tuesday, 6 PM at the NLG Office, 558 Capp Street in San Francisco.

Please RSVP to Carlos by emailing carlos@nlgsf.org.

Committee Against Torture Meeting
Monday, September 15, 2008

Our next Committee Against Torture meeting will be on Monday, September 15 at 6 PM, 2140 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley CA, Suite 601. Please RSVP to Carlos at carlos@nlgsf.org.

Torture as an acceptable interrogation technique is increasingly defended by political and legal figures in positions of power. The NLG maintains what most scholars and human rights activists maintain, that torture is immoral and illegal. Join us for our next committee meeting to organize against torture and its defenders.

Queer Committee Meeting (postponed)
Thursday, September 11, 2008

Our Queer Committee Meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 11 has been postponed. Stay tuned for updates.

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Get involved in organizing the mentorship project, which connects law students and new lawyers with more experienced progressive attorneys.

The next meeting will be at 6 pm at Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale, 180 Sutter Street, Fifth Floor, San Francisco.

RSVP to Jody Santiago Jody.santiago@gmail.com or David Weintraub DWeintraub@beesontayer.com.

Testimonial Dinner Committee Meeting
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The 2009 Champion of Justice will be longtime Guild member Steven Bingham. Our Testimonial Dinner Committee will meet on Tuesday, September 9 at 6:30 PM at the home of board member David Weintraub, 5582 Lawton Ave in Rockridge Oakland. Contact David Borgen at borgen@gdblegal.com or Jody LeWitter at jlewitter@sl-employmentlaw.com to RSVP or for more information.

PLD Planning Meeting
Sunday, September 7, 2008

Progressive Lawyering Day Planning Meeting
Sunday, September 7 at 11 am at Liz’s apt in SF

Join students from bay area nlg chapters to prepare for Progressive Lawyering Day to be held at USF on Sat, Sept 27 2008.

email Tina at studentorganizer@nlgsf.org for details & directions.

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting
Friday, August 29, 2008

Our next immigration committee meeting will be August 29 at 12:30. We will meet at the ACLU office, 39 Drumm Street, San Francisco.

Post-Bar Exam Party
Friday, August 22, 2008

Post-Bar Party and Student Attorney Mixer
Fri, August 22, 6-8 pm
Jupiter - 2181 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley
Celebrate our recent graduates’ completion of the bar exam and welcome everyone back for another school year by joining us at Jupiter Bar in Berkeley. right next to downtown Berkeley BART!
http://www.jupiterbeer.com/

Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting
Friday, August 22, 2008

Friday, August 22 at 5 pm at Jupiter in Berkeley (jupiterbeer.com)

Please join us to help organize Progressive Lawyering Day set for Sat, September 27 at USF.

email Tina Valkanoff (studentorganizer@nlgsf.org) for more details.

Demonstrations Committee Meeting (Canceled)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Our Demonstrations Committee meeting is canceled for August. We will meet next on September 16 at 6 PM.

Anti Racism Committee Meeting
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Our Anti Racism Committee will meet at 6pm at Mission Creek Cafe, 968 Valencia St (between 21st St & Liberty St) in San Francisco. We will discuss Anti-Racism Training among other things. Please contact Mike Flynn for more information at rmflynn79@gmail.com.

Queer Committee Meet-Up
Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Queer Committee of the NLGSF will meet-up on August 14, 6 PM at The Bench & Bar, 2111 Franklin Street in Oakland, near the 19th Street BART stop. This is a mostly social meeting, with only casual political discussions. Contact Carlos at carlos@nlgsf.org for more information.

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Please join us for our monthly mentorship committee meeting on Wednesday August 13, 2008 at 6 pm, at David Weintraub’s office in Oakland.

For more info please contact Derek at dtmcdonald@usfca.edu

Committee Against Torture Meeting
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Our next Committee Against Torture meeting will be on Tuesday, August 12 at 6 PM, 2140 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley CA, Suite 601. Please RSVP to Carlos at carlos@nlgsf.org.

Committing Poetry in Times of War
Monday, August 11, 2008

Come watch Committing Poetry in Times of War with Special Appearances by Filmmaker Eric Sirotkin and Poet Shahid Buttar. At El Rio bar, 3158 Mission at Cesar Chavez at 7pm on August 11, 2008. $8-$20 sliding scale donation, no one turned away for lack of costs.

Find out more about the film at committingpoetry.com.

Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting
Sunday, August 10, 2008

Sun, Aug 10, 11 am at Matt’s apartment in SF

Please join us to help organize Progressive Lawyering Day set for Sat, September 27 at USF.

email Tina Valkanoff (studentorganizer@nlgsf.org) for more details. please RSVP - lunch will be provided

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Bay Area Military Law Panel Meeting
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Tuesday, July 29th at 7 p.m. Chris Wilson will discuss the best strategy for getting a hardship discharge. Location TBA. For more information contact Jane Kaplan at jkaplan@att.net.

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Monday, July 28, 2008

Get involved in organizing the mentorship project, which connects law students and new lawyers with more experienced progressive attorneys.

The next meeting will be at Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale, 180 Sutter Street, Fifth Floor, San Francisco.

The Meeting will start at 6 pm, please call 415-981-3015, as the elevator stops running on its own after 6.

Immigration Committee Meeting
Friday, July 25, 2008

Join our immigration committee Friday, July 25 at 12:30 PM. We will meet at the ACLU office, 39 Drumm Street, San Francisco. Contact Carrie crosenbaumimmigrationlaw@gmail.com if you have questions or suggestions for agenda items.

Committee on Torture Meeting
Monday, July 21, 2008

Join our Committee on Torture to counter the promotion of torture as a legitimate tactic against prisoners held by the U.S. military. We will discuss our call to take action against Professor John Yoo among other things. Please RSVP to Carlos by emailing carlos@nlgsf.org.

Committee on Torture of the NLGSF
Monday, July 21, 2008 6PM
Law Office of Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian
300 Lakeside Drive, Suite 1000
Oakland

PLD Planning Meeting
Sunday, July 20, 2008

PLD Planning meeting
Sunday, July 20 at 2 pm
at Darin’s house in Oakland
(please email Tina at studentorganizer@nlgsf.org for more details)

Please join us to help prepare for the Bay Area-wide student organized Progressive Lawyering Day conference to be held on Sat, September 27 at USF.

New Immigration Court Rules MCLE
Thursday, July 17, 2008

Thursday, July 17, 2008, 12:00 - 1:30 PM
MCLE credit 1 hour
Free to all

RSVP to Silvia Contreras at scontreras@lccr.com

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
405 Howard Street, San Francisco
(BART/Muni Montgomery)
Check in with reception, 10th Floor
Brownbag held in Cafeteria, 8th Floor

New Nationwide Rules For Practice in Immigration Court

The new Immigration Court Practice Manual becomes the nationwide guide to the court’s rules and procedures July 2, 2008. What does this mean for your pending or new case?

Presentation by Shahpour (Shawn) Matloob, Ilyce Shugall and Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Stephen S. Griswold

Attorneys in the practice of immigration law and members of the Lawyers’ Committee pro bono mentor attorney panel

with Asst. Chief judge of San Francisco Immigration Court

Sponsored by NorCal AILA, National Lawyers Guild SF Bay Area Chapter and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights

Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story
Monday, July 14, 2008

Come watch Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story under the stars at El Rio bar, 3158 Mission at Cesar Chavez at 8pm on July 14, 2008.

Download our Summer Film Series Flyer here.

Queer Committee Meeting
Thursday, July 10, 2008

We are having our NLGSF Queer Committee meeting on Thursday, July 10, from 6-8 PM. It will take place at The LGBT Center, 1800 Market St in San Francisco, Room 305. Food will be provided!!

Among other agenda items, we will be discussing this summer’s launch of the transgender know your rights project. Please come to hear what we are up to, discuss current issues that we can focus on, and enjoy good company! If you have any questions, please contact Alicia Virani at (415) 285-5067 x10.

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Monday, July 7, 2008

Please join us for our monthly mentorship committee meeting on Monday, July 7, 2008 at 6 pm, location TBA.

For more info please contact Derek at dtmcdonald@usfca.edu

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting
Friday, June 27, 2008

Please join us at 12:30 on Friday, June 27th at the ACLU building, 39 Drumm Street, 2nd floor for our monthly NLG Immigration Committee meeting. The primary topic will be the continuing raids response work including motions to redetermine, individual representation, motions to suppress, and time permitting, strategy for responding to future raids.

Please email Carrie Rosenbaum at crosenbaumimmigrationlaw@gmail.com if you have questions or additional agenda items.

Criminal Justice and the “War on Terror:” Defending Individuals Accused of Terrorism
Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society and the NLGSF present:

Criminal Justice and the “War on Terror:” Defending Individuals Accused of Terrorism

Featuring:

Wazhma Mojaddidi
Criminal Defense Attorney, Law Office of Wazhma Mojaddidi and Attorney for Defendant in United States v. Hamid Hayat

and

Steven T. Wax
Author of Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror, Federal Public Defender for the District of Oregon (1983-present) and Attorney for Portland lawyer Brandon Mayfield and seven Guantanamo Bay detainees

Thursday, June 26, 2008
12:00 pm
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
Embarcadero Center West
275 Battery Street, Suite 3000
San Francisco, California

This is a brownbag lunch event.

The American Constitution Society is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. This activity has been approved for 1.0 hours of MCLE credit.

RSVP here.

Come hear these criminal defense attorneys share compelling tales from the trenches of the so-called “War on Terror” and discuss how prosecutions threaten essential liberties.

Bay Area Military Law Task Force meeting
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The next Bay Area Military Law Task Force meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 7 p.m. at the Law Offices of Jane R. Kaplan, 3050 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705, 510/848-4752, x4. for more info please contact Jane Kaplan, jkaplan@att.net

The office is 2 blocks from the Ashby BART.

Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting
Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Progressive Lawyering Day (PLD) planning meeting
Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 7 pm at USF, Kendrick Hall Room 104 (2199 Fulton at Shrader)
directions here: http://www.usfca.edu/law/about/shared-content/VisitingCampus/VisitingCampus.html

Please join us for a PLD planning meeting to discuss keynote speaker options, panel topic ideas, and work on the logistics of the day’s event. This is a great opportunity to meet other NLG student activists and collaborate on the largest student-run NLG event of the year in the Bay Area.

For more info contact: Tina Valkanoff, Law Student Organizer at studentorganizer@nlgsf.org

Anti Racism Committee Meeting
Monday, June 23, 2008

Our next Anti Racism Committee meeting will be on Monday, June 23rd at 6:30 PM in Oakland. Please RSVP to Heather hmmills@gmail.com for location information.

Squeeze Box Benefit
Saturday, June 21, 2008

The NLGSF is co-sponsoring a Benefit Performance of Squeeze Box in support of the San Francisco International Program

5:00pm
Saturday, June 21st, 2008

The Marsh
1062 Valencia Street, San Francisco
Map & Directions

About Squeeze Box

Produced by Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, Squeeze Box won the Theater Award (2002) & Ovation Award (2002) for Best Solo Performance (L.A. Weekly) and is now touring North America!

Ann Randolph skillfully weaves together stories about working in a women’s homeless shelter and the pursuit of true love. Her painfully funny portraits of the shelter’s residents, and hilarious account of her romances, are beautifully drawn in this poignant tale about finding dignity and grace in unusual places.

Purchase Tickets

To purchase tickets or sponsor the event, mail a check payable to
San Francisco International Program. Please include your return mailing address and email, along with the name of the person who refered you. You will receive tickets in the mail in a few days!

ATTN: Squeeze Box Tickets OR Gold/Silver Sponsorship
San Francisco International Program
660 4th Street, #129
San Francisco, CA 94107

Tickets
$35 for advanced purchase tickets

Sponsorship
Platinum Circle ($1,000), sponsor a Core Program fellow in your name, plus two complementary front row seats
Gold Circle ($500), sponsorship includes two complementary front row seats
Silver Circle ($150), sponsorship includes two complementary tickets

In addition to complementary tickets to the show, sponsors will be recognized at the event reception following the performance, on our website, and in the newsletter and Annual Report.

Thank you for your contribution!

A portion of your ticket is tax-deductable and you will receive a donation receipt in the mail. All proceeds will support San Francisco International Program’s cultural exchange and professional training programs in 2008:

Bridging Leaders Program will support training for three delegations including Ethiopian women in business, Turkish youth workers, and Italian environmental and human rights lawyers.

Core Program will bring two Caribbean youth leaders to train at the Red Cross Bay Area Chapter and one German social worker to train at Edgewood.

Contact
Amourence Lee, Executive Director
Email: director@sfip.org
Mobile: (415) 896-0127

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Monday, June 9, 2008

Please join us for our monthly mentorship committee meeting on Wed, June 9, 2008 at 6 pm at Siegel & Yee: 499 14th Street, Suite 220 Oakland, CA.

For more info please contact Derek at dtmcdonald@usfca.edu

The People’s Advocate at the San Francisco Black Film Festival
Thursday, June 5, 2008

The National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter copresents The People’s Advocate: The Life & Times of Charles R. Garry with the San Francisco Black Film Festival

The National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter is pleased to co-present The People’s Advocate: The Life & Times of Charles R. Garry
directed by Hrag Yedalian at the 10th Annual San Francisco Black Film Festival, June 4-6 and June 11-15, 2008.

One of the most influential criminal defense attorneys of the 20th century, Charles R. Garry (1909-
1991) became a household name during the 1960s with his defense of a host of revolutionary political icons, including Huey Newton and Bobby Seale of the Black Panther Party. Garry’s career came to an unexpected and tragic halt in 1978, when his client, the Reverend Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple, led over 900 of his followers in mass suicide at Jonestown. This documentary recounts Garry’s
life through the voices of those who knew him best—family, fellow attorneys and former clients.

The film screens Thursday, June 5 at 6:30 p.m. the Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission Street San Francisco, CA.

For tickets and schedule log on www.sfbff.org or call 415.771.9271

Black Power to Green Scare: The Criminalization of Dissent in the U.S.
Thursday, June 5, 2008

The Center for Constitutional Rights and NLGSF present…

BLACK POWER TO GREEN SCARE:
The Criminalization of Dissent in the United States
Thursday, June 5, 2008
6:30 PM
Women’s Building
3543 18th St #8
San Francisco, CA 94110

Join the Center for Constitutional Rights for an engaging and important discussion exploring the criminalization of dissent historically and in the era of the so-called “war on terror.” Hear from directly impacted communities and the attorneys and grassroots organizers struggling against repression.

Featuring speakers:

Shayana Kadidal, Center for Constitutional Rights – Managing attorney of the Guantanamo Global Justice Initiative.

Richard Brown, one of the “San Francisco 8,” former Black Panthers facing renewed charges based on torture evidence

Michel Shehadeh, one of the “Los Angeles 8”, Palestinian and Kenyan immigrants targeted for their political activity who won a historic victory after a 20-year struggle in November 2007

And a spokesperson involved in the struggle against the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and the suppression of environmental activism in California

Moderated by Annette Warren Dickerson, Director of Education and Outreach, CCR

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, June 4, 2008

First Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting
Tuesday, June 3, 2008

First Progressive Lawyering Day (PLD) planning meeting for 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 7 pm at USF - Kendrick Hall Room 104

Please join us for the first PLD planning meeting of the year to discuss keynote speaker and panel topic ideas and also check out USF which will be hosting the event this year.

For more info contact: Tina Valkanoff, Law Student Organizer at studentorganizer@nlgsf.org

East Bay La Raza Mixer
Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Join the East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association for it’s Monthly Membership Mixer on Tuesday, June 3, at 6pm.

Latina/o lawyers, law students, legal workers, and our friends, will gather at The Bench & Bar, a queer Latin bar and nightclub, at 2111 Franklin Street in Oakland.

Military Law Task Force Meeting
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The next Bay Area Military Law Task Force meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 27th at 7 p.m., at the office of Jane Kaplan, 3050 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA (near Ashby BART station).

Demonstrations Committee Meeting
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The next Demonstrations Committee meeting will be on Tuesday May 20 at 6pm at the Guild office. We will be discussing recent anti-war demonstrations and future actions planned for later this month. Please RSVP to Mel at mel@nlgsf.org.

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Monday, May 19, 2008

Please join us for our monthly mentorship committee meeting on Wed, May 19, 2008 at 6 pm at Siegel & Yee: 499 14th Street, Suite 220 Oakland, CA.

For more info please contact Derek at dtmcdonald@usfca.edu

Immigration Committee Raid Response Meeting
Friday, May 9, 2008

Stacy Tolchin, former SF Bay Area NLG board member, will be in San Francisco to discuss her recent experience dealing with ICE raids in the LA area. Please join us at 12:30 on Friday, May 9th at the ACLU building, 39 Drumm Street, 2nd floor! Bring questions and ideas for ways we can tailor the LA ICE raid response experience to the specific challenges in the Bay Area.

Please rsvp to Heather Robert Coffman at hcof@vblaw.com.

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

May Day Marches for Workers and Immigrant Rights
Thursday, May 1, 2008

The NLG is looking for legal observers for the following May Day actions, please email mel@nlgsf.org to sign up:

10:30 AM: March with the Longshore Workers
Longshore (ILWU) Hall, Mason and Beach St. (Take Muni F-Market.)
March down Embarcadero

12 noon: Rally at Justin Herman Plaza

12:30 PM: Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW) March/protest at military recruitment center & ICE. Depart from Justin Herman Plaza (Embarcadero BART)

2 PM: Amnesty rally at Dolores Park and then march to Civic Center

3 PM: March for Immigrant rights in Oakland.
Assemble at Fruitvale BART and march to city hall.

5 PM: Rally and music at SF Civic Center

6 PM: Rally and community celebration at Oakland City Hall.

Through a peaceful, organized march in San Francisco and in several other major U.S. cities we seek to resurrect the historical significance of May 1st in the international labor/worker struggle and to reignite the labor movement by integrating the current undocumented worker struggle of obtaining amnesty. We believe this struggle is about worker rights, and should be incorporated into other social justice issues if we are to strive for a fairer and much more peaceful world.

Under the broad theme of “Workers Uniting without Borders –Amnesty for All” we invite all individuals and organizations interested in fighting for social justice and upholding the rights of all workers to join us to collectively demand for:

• Stop the War at Home and Abroad
• Stop the Persecution and Repression of Immigrants
• Stop the Violation of Labor, Human and Civil Rights of All Workers
• Stop the Gentrification of our San Francisco Neighborhoods
• Unconditional Amnesty-Papers for All

Anti-Racism is Essential for Effective Legal & Social Justice Work
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Theory and Practice, 1.5 hour CLE

When: Tuesday, 29 April 2008, 12-1:30 pm

Where: Golden Gate University School of Law, 536 Mission St (b/ 1st & 2nd st, Montgomery BART) room 3203

CLE Charge: $20-40, Law students and Legal workers free/donations requested

PLEASE RSVP to Michael Flynn, NLG Anti-Racism Committee Chair, rmflynn79@gmail.com

Lawyers and legal workers work within a society and a system that is often racist. More legal practitioners, legal scholars, and legal activists are recognizing that anti-racism is essential for effective legal work. This CLE has been organized and sponsored by the NLG Bay Area Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) to present an opportunity to discuss and promote anti-racist legal work and anti-racist organizing. The State Bar of California requires that some CLE credits cover “anti-bias” or anti-discrimination. Presenters will discuss the legal analysis that underlies effective anti-racist work, developing an anti-racist legal organization, and how anti-racism is important for community-based legal activists, lawyers and legal workers to work together in solidarity.

MCLE rule 2.1.3 requires anti-bias CLE, and California Rule of Professional Conduct Rule, 2-600 prohibits discrimination or allowing discrimination.

Topics to Be Presented:

· Latina & Latino Critical Legal (LatCrit) Theory, Multi-dimensional Analysis & the Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession

· The role of anti-racism in a legal organization

· The role of anti-racism while working with a community-based social justice organization and working with communities of color.

Presenters:

Marc-Tizoc González is a staff attorney at the Alameda County Homeless Action Center and teaches “Latinas/os & the Law” for U.C. Berkeley’s Chicano Studies Program. He graduated from Boalt Hall in 2005 and earned a M.A. in Interdisciplinary Social Science from San Francisco State University in 2002. Before that he worked in mental health with youth in Los Angeles, San Mateo, San Francisco and Alameda counties. He is a director of the Berkeley Law Foundation, the NLG-SF Bay Area Chapter, and LatCrit, Inc. and serves as treasurer for the East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association. He was the inaugural Attorney General of the Nat’l Latina/o Law Student Association and co-founded the NLLSA Alumni Association. Marc-Tizoc was born and raised in Sacramento, CA to Chicana/o activists who raised him to engage the intergenerational struggle for social justice. He lives in Oakland, CA with his wife of ten years.

Anne Befu sits on the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NLG as co-chair of the The United People of Color Caucus (TUPOCC). She is also a board member of the SF Bay Area Chapter of the NLG, and has also served on the NEC as co-chair of the Queer Committee. Anne has a B.A. in Comparative Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley, and graduated from the New College of California School of Law in 2006.

The Bay Area Chapter of the Anti-Racism Committee works to create an anti-racist culture within the National Lawyers Guild by supporting the efforts of The United People of Color Caucus (TUPOCC) and spearheading anti-racist policies and projects locally and nationally. The ARC seeks to work in coalition with partner organizations on issues of racial and economic justice and to create mechanisms of accountability to the movements and communities we serve.

Bay Area Military Law Panel Meeting
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Bay Area Military Law Panel Meeting (BALMP), April 29, Tuesday, 7:00 p.m., Jane Kaplan’s office, 3050 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA. [Between Ashby and Alcatraz, Kitty corner to Starry Plough & La Pena] - Discussion on the Okinawa cases, reports, Article 9 in Japan and various statewide cases.

Hearing on U.S. Military Rules of Engagement in Iraq
Monday, April 28, 2008

There will be a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) hearing involving the release of the US military’s Rules of Engagement in Iraq this coming Monday, April 28, at 2:00 pm at the Federal Courthouse in San Francisco before Judge Marilyn Hall Patel.

NLG members Colleen Flynn, Chris Ford, and Gordon Kaupp filed a motion asking the federal court to compel disclosure of documentation concerning the U.S. military’s attack on the city of Fallujah and assault on a car carrying Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena. The disclosure requested is of military Rules of Engagement as well as other documentation.

The hope is that the release of this documentation will clear-up ambiguities generated by the widely differing accounts of the military Rules of Engagement, and will allow the public to better consider its military’s legal justification for the destruction of Fallujah.

Protest Against Cuts to G.A.
Monday, April 28, 2008

Legal Observers needed for Monday April 28 at 9:30-10:30AM at 1221 Oak Street, in Oakland at the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. The action will take place outside the building. Email mel@nlgsf.org to sign up.

Over 35 CBO’s and hundreds of people will be present for a press conference and public hearing regarding the cuts to General Assistance (welfare) in Alameda County. These cuts will affect thousands of Alameda County recipients.

Oakland, California, April 28, 2008 – The Alameda County Board of Supervisors Social Services Committee will hold a public hearing on the county Social Services Agency’s proposed six-month time limit to General Assistance (“GA”). Community-based organizations and community members plan oppose the proposal with a rally and march scheduled for 9:30AM, before attending the 10:30AM hearing in the Board of Supervisors chambers at 1221 Oak Street.

“Leaving people with nothing to live on for half the year is wrong,” said Patricia Wall, Executive Director of the Alameda County Homeless Action Center. “You have to be at the end of your last rope to even qualify for GA. But, Alameda County has decided that they’ll limit GA to six months. If you don’t get a job by then, you’re off the rolls for six months—with nothing.”

GA is the social safety-net of last resort for people who don’t qualify for any other public benefit. It provides a loan that people use to buy food and pay rent. (The maximum that a single person can receive on GA is $336 in one month.)

“Last quarter’s report shows that nearly 6,000 jobs have left the East Bay. The jobs that remain are as scarce as they have ever been,” said Wall. “With the economy continuing to worsen, now is not the time to dismantle the safety net that keeps people from starving.”

In 1997, Alameda County implemented a time-limit on GA. The county also commissioned UC Berkeley to study the effects of the time limit. The study showed that the time-limit increased homelessness, hunger and crime. It also showed that the health of GA recipients deteriorated. The Board of Supervisors rescinded the time-limit after just one year.

“Total deprivation is morally unacceptable,” said attorney Edward Barnes of the East Bay Community Law Center. “This proposed cut will increase crime, disease, hunger, and homelessness.”

ABOUT – Since 1990, the Homeless Action Center (“HAC”) has been advocating for poor and disabled people in Alameda County. HAC attorneys and legal advocates help people prove their disability before the Social Security Administration and apply for and retain other public benefits. Founded in 1988 by law students at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law, the
East Bay Community Law Center (“EBCLC”) has become a nationally-recognized poverty law clinic and is the largest provider of free legal services in the East Bay. EBCLC’s work makes the lives of East Bay community members more healthy, secure, productive, and hopeful.

Hearing on NSA Spying in San Francisco District Court
Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Does FISA trump State Secrets? This is the big question that may have an enormous impact on the future of privacy. Guild attorneys Ashlee Albies, Steven Goldberg, Lisa Jaskol, Zaha Hassan, Tom Nelson and others will ask District Court Judge Vaughn to rule on this at a hearing set for next Wednesday, April 23rd at 10:00 a.m. The courtroom is at 450 Golden Gate Ave., 17th Floor, Courtroom 6 in San Francisco.

Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. George W. Bush has already been to the Ninth Circuit, which ruled against the Al-Haramain side on the state secrets privilege, holding that the privilege prevented reliance on a classified document that proves standing. However, the Ninth Circuit left open the question of whether the provision in FISA allowing for the use of such documents preempts the state secrets privilege. If Walker rules in favor of Al-Haramain and Goldberg, the case goes on.

Veterans for Common Sense Hearing
Monday, April 21, 2008

April 21, Monday, 9:00 a.m., Federal Court House, Veterans for Common Sense vs. Peake, Judge Conti, Disability Rights Advocates representing Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans for Truth.

Rally & Court Hearing for the SF8
Monday, April 21, 2008

Rally for the SF8! Drop all the charges!
Monday, April 21, 8:00 a.m.
Court at 9:30 a.m.
850 Bryant Street, SF, Dept. 23

Announcement from Free the SF8:

While the preliminary hearing will likely be set for September, this hearing is an important time to show support. All of the brothers are expected to be in court with us. Some motions will be heard and possible examinations of some witnesses may take place or be scheduled.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO freethesf8.org.

Sacramento Valley Region NLG Meeting
Monday, April 21, 2008

Please join us for the Sacramento area regional NLG Meeting on Monday, April 21 at 6 pm at the Law Office of Mark Merin, 2001 P St, Suite 100, in Sacramento. The agenda includes: a speaker, report from Regional meeting in L.A.: Jose Luis Fuentes, report from Blue Diamond protest: Gary Fitzgerald, reports from Davis and McGeorge student chapters, and a report from Gang-Injunctions: Joshua Kaizuka.

Location:
Law Office of Mark E. Merin
2001 P Street, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95814
Telephone: 916/443-6911

Immigration Committee Meeting
Friday, April 18, 2008

The Committee will meet at 12:30 pm at the ACLU building, 39 Drumm Street, 2nd floor. Please RSVP to Heather Robert Coffman at HCof@vblaw.com.

The agenda will include an update on Bay Area raids; discussion of CLE topics for Spring 2008; and an update on the Immigration Court Observation Pilot program.

TUPOCC Meeting
Thursday, April 17, 2008

Bay Area members of The United People of Color Caucus (TUPOCC) will gather to break bread on Thursday, April 17 at 7:00pm following the UC Hasting SOL’s Race and Poverty Law Journal’s Annual Symposium. Meet at farmer brown’s
in San Francisco on 25 Mason Street (@ Market Street).

farmer brown’s is located a short walk from hastings and is located one block from the powell bart/muni station.

POSTPONED: Military Law Task Force FOIA Hearing
Monday, April 14, 2008

The hearing has been postponed, further details tba.

April 14th, Monday, 2:00 p.m. Judge Patel, Federal Courthouse, Marguerite Hiken and the MLTF vs. the Department of Defense and CENTCOM, FOIA Hearing, MLTF lawyers, Colleen Flynn, Gordon Kaupp, and Chris Ford representing the NLG/MLTF.

Far West Regional
Friday, April 11, 2008

Save the Date!
NLG Far West Regional
April 11-13, 2008
Los Angeles, California
The Loyola Law School

Action-Oriented (MCLE) Workshops
•State-wide Tenant Union Organizing
•Fighting Back Against Homelessness
•Counter-Military Recruitment Strategies that Work
•Employment Is sues /Wage Claims , Workers ’ Comp, etc.
• International Trade & Immigration Policy

Special Presentation by S.F. 8 Defendants !
Law Student Organizing!
Socializing and Networking!

For More Info Contact Jim Lafferty at 323/653-4510 or Rebecca Thornton at 310/393-3055, rebecca@humanrightsesq.com

Student Retreat and Law Student VP Elections
Thursday, April 10, 2008

Student Retreat and Law Student VP Elections
Thursday, April 10, 2008 6-8 pm
at New College in San Francisco

For more info please contact Tina Valkanoff, Law Student Organizer studentorganizer@nlgsf.org

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Please join us for our monthly mentorship committee meeting on Wed, April 10, 2008 at 6 pm at Beeson, Tayer, & Bodine: 1404 Franklin Street 5th Floor Oakland, CA.

For more info please contact Derek at dtmcdonald@usfca.edu

Olympic Torch Protest for Burma & Tibet
Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Multiple groups are planning direct actions along the route of the Olympic torch, to protest China’s policies towards Tibet and Burma, in downtown San Francisco and along the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Burma protest on the Bridge walk is permitted and will take place from 10am-12pm. The exact location and time of marches and rallies in the city is still being determined. If you can legal observe for any part of the day, please email mel@nlgsf.org.

Anti Racism Committee Meeting
Monday, April 7, 2008

The next Anti Racism Committee Meeting will be April 7 at 7 pm at Mission Creek Cafe, 968 Valencia St, between 20th and 21st Streets, in San Francisco.

Possible agenda items include anti-racist trainings; national convention workshop/panel ideas; prep and planning for NLG Regional gethering in LA Apr 11-13; and planning an Anti-Bias CLE. For more information contact Michael Flynn at rmflynn79@gmail.com.

Annual Testimonial Dinner
Saturday, April 5, 2008

The 2008 NLGSF Annual Testimonial Dinner will honor distinguished member David Borgen with the Champion of Justice award and Renée Quintero Sánchez as our Unsung Hero. Join us at the Oakland Marriott City Center, Jewett Banquet Room at 1001 Broadway, between 10th and 11th Streets in Downtown Oakland (Above 12th Street BART Station) on Saturday, April 5.

5:30 pm Reception
7:30 pm Dinner
RSVP Required
The deadline to RSVP has passed.

Convergence Actions for AFSCME Local 3299
Thursday, April 3, 2008

AFSCME Local 3299 represents 20,000 workers employed at the University of California, on April 3, we will converge at the San Francisco and Los Angeles Medical Centers to turn up the heat on UC and demand a fair contract NOW!

Hundreds of members will travel hundreds of miles to attend marches and picket lines to show UC that we are dead serious about winning a fair contract that will help our patients, students and families!

Join us to legal observe at Parnassus (UCSF Medical Center) in San Francisco at 3:30pm. Email mel@nlgsf.org to sign up.

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Legal Support Meeting
Sunday, March 30, 2008

There will be two meetings for all arrestees from March 15th and March 19th. This will be a chance for you to talk to lawyers and organize your legal defense.

Monday, March 24th
7:00pm - 9:00pm
AK Press
674 23rd St #A
Oakland, CA

Sunday, March 30th
2:00pm - 4:00pm
St. Martin de Porres
225 Potrero Ave.
SF, CA

For additional information, visit the legal website. Here are some things to keep in mind regarding your cases:

Hold on to all your jail paperwork - especially your citation!
Think before you talk (blog, email, etc.) about any potentially illegal activities that happened around your arrest - you could get you or other folks in trouble
Keep an eye on the legal website for updates - http://midnightspecial.net/dasw
Try to make one of the arrestees meetings
There will be an announcement email list for updates - if you haven’t given Legal your contact info, please download an outtake form from their website (http://midnightspecial.net/dasw/arrestees.html) and email it to dasw-legal (at) unsealed.net.
Attorneys will be organized attorneys through the National Lawyers Guild to represent you at your arraignments

Bay Area Military Law Panel Meeting
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Discussion: Kasey Corbit of Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), one of the Plaintiffs’ attorneys in Veterans for Common Sense vs. Peake

Tuesday March 25th, 7:00 p.m.
California Appellate Office,
101 2nd Street, Ste. 600 (6th Floor)
San Francisco, CA
(corner of Mission of Mission and 2nd, enter at the atrium on 2nd street, go through the glass doors to the front desk, and take the elevator to the 6th floor — BART - Montgomery Street Exit)

For more information on the Military Law Task Force see:
www.nlgmltf.org
www.militarylawtaskforce.org
www.myspace.com/nlgmltf

Direct Actions on Anniversary Of the Iraq War
Wednesday, March 19, 2008

We need legal observers for the Direct Actions on the Fifth Anniversary Of The Iraq War in Downtown San Francisco. To sign up to legal observe, please email contact@nlgsf.org

There will be multiple actions at multiple locations beginning at Market and Sansome at 7:30 am. The Demonstrations Committee will be staffing the NLG legal hotline for arrestees and legal observers 415-285-1011.

War machine tours of shame leaving from Market and Sansome throughout the day.

Join the March 19 DASW Text Mob to stay updated through the day: Send a text to 40404 with the words “follow dasw” (case sensitive, no quotation marks). Standard rates apply.

On March 19, 2008 - the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq - Direct Action to Stop the War will be organizing a day of decentralized, multiple-target direct action against government offices and war profiteers in downtown San Francisco. We have created a list of San Francisco offices of federal agencies, corporations with military contracts or contracts in Iraq, politicians who have failed to stop the war, and foreign embassies of countries linked to the war in Iraq.

We are focusing primarily on corporations with military or Iraqi contracts, because we want to focus attention on the prominent role played by war-profiteering corporations in the U.S. occupation of Iraq. We will take direct action on March 19th against as many of these locations as possible, in order to send a clear message to the economic and political elites that control this country: No business as usual until all U.S. troops are withdrawn from Iraq!

Prison Law Symposium at UC Davis Sunday
Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Opening Address will be given by Craig W. Haney, at 8:50am, a professor at UC Santa Cruz and a leading researcher in the field of psychology and the effects of incarceration on psychology, as well as the psychology of communities regarding criminals and justice.

The panels are as follows:

Panel 1 [9:30am-10:30] (Health issues)
-Carter White (supervising attorney at the UC Davis civil rights clinic)
-Cynthia Chandler (Justice Now Co-director)
-Steve Fama (attorney at the Prison Law Office who worked on the Plata v. Davis case, the largest ever prison class action lawsuit, settled in 2002)

Panel 2 [11:00am-12:00] (Race, sex, capital punishment)
-Ron Tabak (Skadden, Arps)
-Natasha Minsker (Death Penalty Policy Director of the Northern CA ACLU)
-Floyd Feeney (Professor at UC Davis)

Panel 3 [1:00pm-2:00] (re-entry and recidivism)
-Kimberly Wong (Public Defender in LA, currently working on two projects expanding prison alternatives for women charged with felonies)
-Edith Guillen-Nunez (CA Endowment Post-Release Wellness Project)
-Elder Freeman (All of Us or None)
-Representative from Delancey Street Foundation (the country’s leading residential self-help organization for former substance abusers, ex-convicts and homeless)

Panel 4 [2:30pm-3:30] (advocacy)
-Russ Turner (crime prevention specialist)
-Claude Marks (Freedom Archives- a project directed towards compiling over 8000 hours of social justice movements since the 1960ï¿½s)
-Vanessa Nelson (the State Family Council)
-Paul Wright (former prisoner and Editor of Prison Legal News)

Flyer and blog:
http://behindthewallspls.blogspot.com/
For more info contact: Deborah Gettleman dgettleman@yahoo.com

Direct Action at the Chevron Refinery
Saturday, March 15, 2008

We need legal observers for the Direct Action & Rally at the Chevron Richmond Refinery on March 15. Please email contact@nlgsf.org to sign up to legal observe.

11am Rally at Judge G. Carroll Park
W. Cutting Blvd & S. Garrard Blvd, Richmond map

1pm Nonviolent Direct Action at Chevron Refinery
841 Chevron Way, Richmond map
(Free shuttle buses will leave from Richmond BART and Point Richmond - 3rd St. and Chesley Ave - at 9:30am, 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM.)

The purpose of this action is shut the Chevron refinery down for the day, and to support community efforts to stop Chevron from expanding its refinery, which will increase pollution and cause asthma, cancer and rising death rates in surrounding communities.

Chevron is driving the war and occupation in Iraq, refining over a million barrels of stolen Iraqi oil in Richmond a month, and actively lobbying for the privatization of Iraq’s oil fields so companies like Chevron can seize control of them. Join Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW), and help send a clear message to Chevron: Stop stealing Iraqi oil, and stop polluting our communities! See DASW’s Chevron fact sheet for more information.

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Please join us for our monthly mentorship committee meeting on Wed, March 12, 2008 at 6 pm at 444 14th St, Suite 220, Oakland, CA.

For more info please contact Derek at dtmcdonald@usfca.edu

Demonstrations Committee Meeting
Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The next Demonstrations Committee meeting will be on Tuesday March 11 at 6pm at the Guild office. We will be discussing the anti-war protests and evidence collection and storage. Please RSVP to Mel at mel@nlgsf.org.

Screening of The People’s Advocate
Monday, March 10, 2008

“The People’s Advocate: The Life & Times of Charles R. Garry” will be shown on March 10 at 4:45pm at UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall Room 110.

The documentary features Charles R. Garry—one of the most influential criminal defense attorneys of the 20th century who became a household name during the 1960s with his defense of revolutionary political icons like Huey Newton and Bobby Seale of the Black Panther Party.

This film seeks to fill the gap Seale wrote about nearly thirty years ago in his autobiography Seize the Time: “We don’t know every detail of Charles’ life, but we can see that he is a man who is dedicated to the survival and the existence of the right to self-determination of human beings. We need a lot more history on Charles R. Garry so we can understand what motivates a man to be such a defender of the people’s human rights.” An outspoken advocate for the underdog, Garry’s career came to an unexpected and tragic halt in 1978 when his client, the Reverend Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple, led over 900 of his followers to death at Jonestown. This documentary recounts Garry’s life through the voices of those who knew him best ― family, fellow attorneys, and former clients.

Sponsored by: Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, Law Students of African Descent, National Lawyers Guild, Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law.
For more information: Contact Dylan Nicole de Kervor - dylan@berkeley.edu

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Student Day Against the Death Penalty
Saturday, March 1, 2008

What will you do for the abolition movement this year? On March 1, National Lawyers Guild student chapters across the country will collectively raise our voices to mark NLG Law Student Day Against the Death Penalty (SDADP). Please join us. For more information about Bay Area events, contact Tina at studentorganizer@nlgsf.org.

Leap Year Student/Attorney Mixer
Friday, February 29, 2008

Join us for a student/attorney mixer on Friday, February 29, at 6:30 pm at Luka’s Taproom & Lounge in Oakland (2221 Broadway). Luca’s is near the 19th street BART and close to Lake Merritt. Bring your mentor or mentee and come celebrate the leap year.

Berkeley Rep Event: Wishful Drinking with Carrie Fisher
Thursday, February 28, 2008

Fundraiser for the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.

wishful drinking
written and performed by carrie fisher
directed by tony taccone
in association with jonathan reinis productions
the roda theatre of the Berkeley Rep
february 8–march 30, 2008
$125/person (Price includes dinner from Downtown restaurant in Berkeley).
Buy your ticket and reserve your spot now by clicking here!

the art

Legendary actress Carrie Fisher comes to Berkeley Rep with her hilarious new show—a sobering look at her Hollywood hangover entitled Wishful Drinking. Onstage, Fisher recounts a true and intoxicating story with the strong, wry wit that she poured into bestselling books like Postcards from the Edge. Born to celebrity parents, this Tinseltown toddler lands among the stars when she’s cast as Princess Leia in a little movie called Star Wars. But it isn’t all sweetness and light sabers. As a single mom, she also battles addiction, depression, mental institutions and that awful hyperspace hairdo. Fisher’s uproarious tale is a tabloid vivant—from enduring Elizabeth Taylor as a stepmother, to marrying (and divorcing) Paul Simon, to waking up one morning to find a dear friend dead beside her in bed. Entertainment Weekly declares Drinking “drolly hysterical,” and the Los Angeles Times dubs it a “Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes.” Don’t miss this outrageous chance to see the galaxy get Carried away.

the artists

The daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher became a cultural icon when she starred as Princess Leia in the first Star Wars trilogy. Her star-studded career includes roles in countless films such as Austin Powers, The Blues Brothers, Hannah and her Sisters, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, The Man with One Red Shoe, Romancing the Bride, Shampoo, When Harry Met Sally and Wonderland. Fisher’s first novel, Postcards from the Edge, leapt onto the New York Times’ bestseller list—and she turned it into a screenplay for a hit film starring Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep. Fisher followed this with three more bestsellers: The Best Awful, Delusions of Grandma and Surrender the Pink. Her television credits range all the way from Laverne and Shirley to Jack and Bobby. Fisher hosted her own show on the Oxygen network, Conversations from the Edge, and is currently a celebrity judge for Steven Spielberg’s On the Lot. Her experiences with addiction and mental illness—and her willingness to speak honestly about them—have made her a sought after speaker and respected advocate for this community.

After his Broadway success with a completely different one-woman show—Sarah Jones’ Bridge & Tunnel—Tony Taccone directs another wild ride. Last year, he took two shows from Berkeley Rep to New York City: Brundibar sold out its run and was nominated for two Drama Desk Awards while Bridge & Tunnel extended its Broadway stay for five months and won a Tony Award. Taccone’s other recent hits here at home include Continental Divide, Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell and Honour.

the buzz

“a Hollywood survivor and, as ever, a witty chronicler of its many pitfalls”—New York Times

“hilariously ennobling…she definitely provides humorous theatrical company…and wry ambivalence to keep it getting from sappy…By now you’ve probably heard a good deal about the psychological case study known as Carrie Fisher. To review the basic facts: Hollywood icon parents torn asunder by lavender-eyed Jezebel, early movie stardom marred by laughingstock hairdo, a minor shipwreck on the shoals of Paul Simon, rehab, resurrection via Postcards From the Edge, rehab again, confession of mental illness to Diane Sawyer, bipolar acclaim, fresh scandal involving dead gay Republican operative in bed, more rehab. Prognosis: one-woman show. Wishful Drinking, the Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes, is an L.A. story that would defy credulity were it not for the very credible presence of its narrator. You can call Fisher many things—an unflagging exhibitionist for starters—but she has a candor that makes her a most reliable witness to the far-fetched autobiography that is at once her curse and cure…the sight of the unsinkable daughter of the unsinkable Molly Brown reasserting control never grows old.”—Los Angeles Times

“a drolly hysterical collection of unrelated short-short-short stories…Fisher’s Drinking serves up funny Hollywood stories at a rapid-fire pace…Fisher is so gifted as both a standup comic and actress, and so good at segues between non sequiturs…arrive expecting to be regaled with tidbits about first husband Paul Simon (who dryly replies ‘Maybe not’ after a semi-estranged Fisher tells him he’ll feel bad if her plane crashes), George Lucas (who informs her ‘There are no bras in space’), ultimate bad dad Eddie Fisher (who ‘consoled Elizabeth Taylor with his penis,’ we learn in a finely detailed history of Hollywood affairs and divorces), and cameo players like Bob Dylan (who calls Fisher because he needs a co-writer—to help him name a fragrance he wants to develop).”—Entertainment Weekly

“Carrie Fisher. She is an actress and a writer, daughter, sister, wife, ex-wife, mother, survivor. She’s now created a funny and personal one-woman show, Wishful Drinking…Think of the real-life cast: Elizabeth Taylor as the evil stepmother, OK. And then Paul Simon as the wandering troubadour love interest—they were married for two years. Harrison Ford as the costar pal. Then the alcoholism, the drugs, the bipolar shifts that get her locked up and medicated. And finally true love, a solid romance, a baby—until her guy, Brian, says he’s fallen for someone else—named Scott.”—National Public Radio

“very funny and highly entertaining…Fisher takes us on a hopscotch journey across some of the highlights of her life, her anecdotes exhibiting her trademark wit and wry observations…Yes, the humor of hangover tales, pill-popping escapades, and off-the-chart family drama is great fun…All of it becomes fair game for pithy remarks about a life lived in outlandish excess…Fisher holds nothing safe from being poked with a sharp stick just for laughs.”—Theatermania

“hilarious…the jokes cascade…a gold mine of very funny material…Fisher spells out her life in Wishful Drinking without ascribing blame or, dare we say it, crying in her cocktail glass.”—Variety

“Carrie Fisher’s new one-woman show Wishful Drinking is an imperfect yet poignant rumination on drugs, survival, and the psychological scars left by a certain metal bikini…The way in which Fisher can spin her web of tragedy into one of ironic comedy is what makes her remarkable…her stock-in-trade biting one-liners, which border on the aphoristic, are in abundant supply.”—The Advocate

Death Penalty Discussion with Lance Lindsay and Aundre Herron
Thursday, February 28, 2008

Thursday, February 28th, at 5:30pm, the New College of California School of Law Black Law Students Association and the National Lawyers Guild Chapters are co-sponsoring a panel discussion on the death penalty with:

Executive Director of Death Penalty Focus, Lance Lindsay, and
California Appellate Project Staff Attorney, former ACLU Northern California Board member and stand-up comedienne Aundre Herron.

Please join us in Room 213 at New College of California School of Law, 50 Fell Street, between Van Ness and Market, from 5:30pm - 8pm.

This event is free of charge and wheelchair accessible. Refreshments will be served.

For more information about the death penalty and the organizations involved in this event, please visit:
www.capsf.org
www.nblsa.org
www.deathpenalty.org
www.nlg.org/deathpenalty

Racial & Criminal Injustice: The Case of the Jena 6 and Its Implications
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

A University of San Francisco Law Justice Forum

Co-Sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild, Black Law Students Association, and the Student Bar Association

Panel discussion in Kendrick Hall Room 100 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Reception to follow in the Terrace Room from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The Jena 6 are six young black men – mostly minors – from rural Jena, Louisiana, who in the winter of 2005 found themselves to be the undeserving scapegoats of a community still heavily influenced by the legacies of slavery and Jim Crow. As a result of the social and racial inequities that pervade the criminal legal system throughout the South and nationwide, these young men were effectively persecuted on trumped up battery charges, and faced with the prospect of adult criminal trials without adequate or fair representation. The charges were brought after the Jena 6 allegedly got into a fight with a white youth in the violence-filled weeks following an incident in which a noose was placed underneath a tree designated for whites only on their high school campus. The mishandling of the case by Jena D.A. Reed Walters drew nationwide criticism about the racially disproportionate severity of the charges and sentences for the Jena 6. Professors and practicing attorneys in the fields of juvenile justice, race law and policy, and American studies will discuss the legal status of the case and its social and political implications within larger struggles among black communities and other communities of color.

Panelists include: USF Law Professors Sharon A. Meadows and Rhonda Magee, USF Politics Professor James Taylor, and S.F. Assistant D.A. Eric Flemming. Dr. Joe Marshall from Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers, invited.

USF Law is located at 2130 Fulton Street at Parker Street. Accessible by the MUNI #5 and 21 lines from downtown S.F.

Contact: Aliya Karmali, University of San Francisco Law National Lawyers Guild Co-Chair at aliya.karmali@gmail.com.

Bay Area Military Law Panel Meeting
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The next BAMLTF meeting will be Tuesday, February 26th, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. at Jane Kaplan’s office, 3050 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA. [Between Ashby and Alcatraz, Kitty corner to Starry Plough & La Pena]

The program topic will be “What a Congressmember Can (or Cannot) Do for Your Client.” We are pleased to have Elaine McKellar of Hon. Barbara Lee’s office speak on this subject and answer our questions, subject to her availability.

We will also discuss Article 138s - when to bring them, their purpose, good and bad points - and individual cases.

Sacramento Valley NLG Meeting
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Mark your calendars. The next Sacramento Valley NLG meeting will be on February 20 at the Law Office of Mark Marin, 2001 P. Street, Suite 100 in Sacramento. More details to come.

Demonstrations Committee Meeting
Tuesday, February 19, 2008

The next Demo Committee meeting will be held at 6pm at the Guild office on Tuesday, February 19. We will be discussing the anniversary of the war protests, collecting legal observer evidence and ongoing cases. If you would like to rsvp to the meeting, or to sign up to legal observe on March 19, please email Mel Campagna at mel@nlgsf.org.

Soul of Justice
Sunday, February 17, 2008

Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson’s American Journey will be broadcast on KQED, Channel 9 on Sunday, Feb. 17th at 6pm.

Guild member and award-winning director Abby Ginzberg’s riveting and thought-provoking new film transports viewers through the inspiring life and work of one of the first African-American federal judges in the United States. We encourage you to tune in. To watch promo go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koT34hdKZBI

Fajitagate Appeal to the 9th Circuit
Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Guild attorney Dennis Cunningham is set to argue the Fajitagate appeal before the Ninth Circuit in a special session at Boalt Hall, on Febraury 13.

The session begins at 9:30. Torture policy architect, Jay Bybee, a Ninth Circuit judge is on the panel. Dennis filed a motion to recuse him on the grounds that as a proponent of torture, he cannot sit impartially in judgment of a case about police brutality. Guild members encouraged to attend what will surely be an interesting session.

NLG Pakistan Delegation Report Back
Monday, February 11, 2008

After Benazir: Eyewitness Accounts of Lawyers on Pakistan’s Constitutional Crisis and the Implications for Global Security

A panel discussion co-sponsored by the Bay Area Association of Muslim Lawyers and the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California on Monday, February 11th at 6 pm.

Hosted by Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP, 101 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.

Join our distinguished panel of speakers as they examine the future of the rule of law in Pakistan and explore connections among the struggle for an independent judiciary, the pro-democracy movement, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the upcoming elections, and the “War on Terror”.

Please RSVP to Khurshid Khoja at kkhoja@thelen.com by no later than Friday, February 8th, 2008.

Our Speakers:

Ali Zahid Rahim is lawyer from Lahore, Pakistan and formerly an Associate Advocate at the law firm Minto & Mirza. Mr. Rahim is a member of the Lahore High Court Bar Association and the Punjab Bar Council, and has been an active participant in the lawyer’s movement that began in March 2007 in support of the ousted Chief Justice of Pakistan and for the independence of the judiciary. He is currently pursuing an LLM at UC Berkeley School of Law.

Radhika Sainath is currently a third year law student at UC Berkeley School of Law and a member of the South Asian Law Students Association. During her law school career, Ms.Sainath has worked at the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights and

National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter

Event Archive

It’s Not a Disease and You Are Not in Denial (CLE Substance Abuse) Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Testimonial Dinner Committee Meeting Monday, November 17, 2008

Mentorship Cocktail Party Friday, November 14, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting Wednesday, November 12, 2008

NLG Fundraiser at the Berkeley Rep: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Legal Observer Training (Sacramento) Friday, November 7, 2008

Executive Board Meeting Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange Victims (San Francisco) Thursday, October 30, 2008

Justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange Victims (Oakland) Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Military Law Task Force Meeting: Service Women’s Action Network Presentation Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Legal Observer Training (San Francisco) Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange Victims (Oakland) Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Torture: U.S. Law & Policy (Ethics CLE Credit) Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Committee Against Torture Meeting Monday, October 27, 2008

Anti Racism Committee Meeting Monday, October 27, 2008

Law and Justice in Haiti: Accountability and Reparations Thursday, October 23, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting Thursday, October 23, 2008

Demonstrations Committee Meeting Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Mentorship Project Committee Meeting Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Anti-Racism for Effective Legal & Social Justice Work (CLE) Monday, October 6, 2008

The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal Friday, October 3, 2008

South Bay Meeting/Mixer Thursday, October 2, 2008

Documentary and Discussion on the Jena 6 Thursday, October 2, 2008

Executive Board Meeting Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Membership Meeting & Board Elections: Defending & Promoting Sanctuary Cities Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Immigration Court Observation Project TRAINING Monday, September 29, 2008

Progressive Lawyering Day Saturday, September 27, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting Friday, September 26, 2008

Military Law Task Force Meeting Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Annual Fall Auction and Cocktail Party Friday, September 19, 2008

Anti Racism Committee Meeting Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Demonstrations Committee Meeting Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Committee Against Torture Meeting Monday, September 15, 2008

Queer Committee Meeting (postponed) Thursday, September 11, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Testimonial Dinner Committee Meeting Tuesday, September 9, 2008

PLD Planning Meeting Sunday, September 7, 2008

Executive Board Meeting Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting Friday, August 29, 2008

Post-Bar Exam Party Friday, August 22, 2008

Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting Friday, August 22, 2008

Demonstrations Committee Meeting (Canceled) Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Anti Racism Committee Meeting Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Queer Committee Meet-Up Thursday, August 14, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Committee Against Torture Meeting Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Committing Poetry in Times of War Monday, August 11, 2008

Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting Sunday, August 10, 2008

Executive Board Meeting Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Bay Area Military Law Panel Meeting Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting Monday, July 28, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting Friday, July 25, 2008

Committee on Torture Meeting Monday, July 21, 2008

PLD Planning Meeting Sunday, July 20, 2008

New Immigration Court Rules MCLE Thursday, July 17, 2008

Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story Monday, July 14, 2008

Queer Committee Meeting Thursday, July 10, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting Monday, July 7, 2008

Executive Board Meeting Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting Friday, June 27, 2008

Criminal Justice and the “War on Terror:” Defending Individuals Accused of Terrorism Thursday, June 26, 2008

Bay Area Military Law Task Force meeting Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Anti Racism Committee Meeting Monday, June 23, 2008

Squeeze Box Benefit Saturday, June 21, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting Monday, June 9, 2008

The People’s Advocate at the San Francisco Black Film Festival Thursday, June 5, 2008

Black Power to Green Scare: The Criminalization of Dissent in the U.S. Thursday, June 5, 2008

Executive Board Meeting Wednesday, June 4, 2008

First Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting Tuesday, June 3, 2008

East Bay La Raza Mixer Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Military Law Task Force Meeting Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Demonstrations Committee Meeting Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting Monday, May 19, 2008

Immigration Committee Raid Response Meeting Friday, May 9, 2008

Executive Board Meeting Wednesday, May 7, 2008

May Day Marches for Workers and Immigrant Rights Thursday, May 1, 2008

Anti-Racism is Essential for Effective Legal & Social Justice Work Tuesday, April 29, 2008

It’s Not a Disease and You Are Not in Denial (CLE Substance Abuse)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Testimonial Dinner Committee Meeting
Monday, November 17, 2008

Mentorship Cocktail Party
Friday, November 14, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Wednesday, November 12, 2008

NLG Fundraiser at the Berkeley Rep: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Legal Observer Training (Sacramento)
Friday, November 7, 2008

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange Victims (San Francisco)
Thursday, October 30, 2008

Justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange Victims (Oakland)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Military Law Task Force Meeting: Service Women’s Action Network Presentation
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Legal Observer Training (San Francisco)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange Victims (Oakland)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Torture: U.S. Law & Policy (Ethics CLE Credit)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Committee Against Torture Meeting
Monday, October 27, 2008

Anti Racism Committee Meeting
Monday, October 27, 2008

Law and Justice in Haiti: Accountability and Reparations
Thursday, October 23, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting
Thursday, October 23, 2008

Demonstrations Committee Meeting
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Mentorship Project Committee Meeting
Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Anti-Racism for Effective Legal & Social Justice Work (CLE)
Monday, October 6, 2008

The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Friday, October 3, 2008

South Bay Meeting/Mixer
Thursday, October 2, 2008

Documentary and Discussion on the Jena 6
Thursday, October 2, 2008

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Membership Meeting & Board Elections: Defending & Promoting Sanctuary Cities
Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Immigration Court Observation Project TRAINING
Monday, September 29, 2008

Progressive Lawyering Day
Saturday, September 27, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting
Friday, September 26, 2008

Military Law Task Force Meeting
Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Annual Fall Auction and Cocktail Party
Friday, September 19, 2008

Anti Racism Committee Meeting
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Demonstrations Committee Meeting
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Committee Against Torture Meeting
Monday, September 15, 2008

Queer Committee Meeting (postponed)
Thursday, September 11, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Testimonial Dinner Committee Meeting
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

PLD Planning Meeting
Sunday, September 7, 2008

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting
Friday, August 29, 2008

Post-Bar Exam Party
Friday, August 22, 2008

Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting
Friday, August 22, 2008

Demonstrations Committee Meeting (Canceled)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Anti Racism Committee Meeting
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Queer Committee Meet-Up
Thursday, August 14, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Committee Against Torture Meeting
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Committing Poetry in Times of War
Monday, August 11, 2008

Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting
Sunday, August 10, 2008

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Bay Area Military Law Panel Meeting
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Monday, July 28, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting
Friday, July 25, 2008

Committee on Torture Meeting
Monday, July 21, 2008

PLD Planning Meeting
Sunday, July 20, 2008

New Immigration Court Rules MCLE
Thursday, July 17, 2008

Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story
Monday, July 14, 2008

Queer Committee Meeting
Thursday, July 10, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Monday, July 7, 2008

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Immigration Committee Meeting
Friday, June 27, 2008

Criminal Justice and the “War on Terror:” Defending Individuals Accused of Terrorism
Thursday, June 26, 2008

Bay Area Military Law Task Force meeting
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting
Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Anti Racism Committee Meeting
Monday, June 23, 2008

Squeeze Box Benefit
Saturday, June 21, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Monday, June 9, 2008

The People’s Advocate at the San Francisco Black Film Festival
Thursday, June 5, 2008

Black Power to Green Scare: The Criminalization of Dissent in the U.S.
Thursday, June 5, 2008

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, June 4, 2008

First Progressive Lawyering Day planning meeting
Tuesday, June 3, 2008

East Bay La Raza Mixer
Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Military Law Task Force Meeting
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Demonstrations Committee Meeting
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Mentorship Committee Meeting
Monday, May 19, 2008

Immigration Committee Raid Response Meeting
Friday, May 9, 2008

Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

May Day Marches for Workers and Immigrant Rights
Thursday, May 1, 2008

Anti-Racism is Essential for Effective Legal & Social Justice Work
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Bay Area Military Law Panel Meeting
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Hearing on U.S. Military Rules of Engagement in Iraq
Monday, April 28, 2008