April 2018 Newsletter

DEAR MEMBERS:

Thank you to Cameron Mary for his CLE presentation last month. Our next CLE is April 20th at Dakota Restaurant. Lunch is at 12 and the cost is $28. The CLE begins at 12:30; the cost is $15 for members and $30 for non-members. Our guest speaker is Jesse Wimberly who will speak on “Ethical Considerations in Legal Malpractice”. This CLE has been approved for one hour of Ethics credit. Please RSVP to Judy at judy@22ndjdcbar.org if you plan to attend, or click on the link below to register and pay online:

Eventbrite link:
PAY ONLINE

Please visit our calendar to see all of our upcoming events and ways to participate. If you have not signed up for the on-line directory, please take a minute to fill out the form. You are not included unless you fill out the form below. Contact Judy if you have any questions.

Tammy Karas-Griggs
President

MEMBERSHIP

If you have not already done so, it is time to renew your membership for 2018! To continue to be a member in good standing and receive our newsletter and other bar information you must pay your dues by April 13th. Please contact Judy if you have any questions at judy@22ndjdcbar.org. Click on the link below to pay your dues.

2018 22nd JDC Bar Membership
MEMBERSHIP

BAR MEMBER PHOTOS-Don’t be left out!

Heidi Bowers Photography will be taking the 22nd JDC Bar Association Member Photos on April 5th and April 10th at the Justice Center in Covington in the Bar Association Library. The photos will be taken of all current Members, Officers and Judges of the 22nd JDC. Please make arrangements to attend one of the dates.

The cost is $25 per person. Your ticket will include 1 image that will be used on the Bar Association Display. You will also have the rights to use your images for your personal use; website, business cards, etc. Full res files of your images will be sent to you via email.

Business attire is recommended. Click on the link below to prepay and make an appointment. Appointments are necessary to prevent wasting your time as well as the photographer. If you have questions, please contact Judy at judy@22ndjdcbar.org.

FAMILY LAW

We interrupt this newsletter to bring you late breaking news from the FCTV, your Family Court Committee broadcasting channel! The All Day CLE tentatively scheduled for May 11th HAS BEEN CHANGED! I repeat, the date has been changed! Please tune in on May 25, 2018 for the ALL DAY CLE to be held at Southern Hotel in downtown Covington. Clear your calendars for an all day binge watching series of Family Law related topics, starring exciting guest star speakers and some of your favorite “oldies but goodies!” An agenda will be broadcast in the upcoming weeks, but the date and location are firm (baring an alien invasion or technical difficulties)! In order to prepare for food and seating at this LIVE event, it is extremely important to register prior to May 18th so watch your local FCTV emails for registration information.

FCTV (your local broadcast for all things Family Court) is also excited to announce there will be a happy hour/social on Wednesday, May 2nd from 5:00-7:00 at the Southern Hotel. Come meet your favorite stars of Family Court and discover the new talent that has taken the Family Court by storm! Bring a colleague and bring a business card, a door prize will be drawn and you could be the lucky winner of A BRAND NEW CAR!! Just kidding, but I got your attention didn’t I?!!! There will be door prizes (as seen on tv) and you pay only the cost of shipping and handling (just kidding again), hors d’oeuvres will be provided, all you have to pay for is your own liquid libations and consumables — the door prizes are free, FREE, FREE!

Also set your DVR’s (or calendars) for the season premier of the 22nd JDC Family Court Improvement Day which is scheduled for August 28, 2018. You don’t want to miss this spine-tingling thriller as it returns with the latest and greatest our Family Court has to offer!

Thank you for watching FCTV! There’s no time like the present to show your appreciation for the wonderful broadcasting coming up this season by becoming a member of the Family Court Committee! FCTV wouldn’t be possible without viewers like you! Attached is the bar membership form, please check the Family Court section if you wish to join this section and receive more exciting information about our upcoming programming, events and notices. There’s never been a better time to binge watch with FCTV!

Membership Dues Link:
MEMBERSHIP

Deanna J. Hamilton-Lamz
Family Law Chair

WOMEN IN LAW

Please join the Women in Law section for a CLE with Judge Dawn Amacker tomorrow April 4th at 9:00 a.m. at the Coatney Conference Center in the Northshore Community Foundation building, 807 N. Columbia Street, Covington. The cost is $30 for the CLE and light breakfast.

Please RSVP to Judy at judy@22ndjdcbar.org if you plan to attend or click on the link below to register and pay online.

Kelly Rabalais
Women In Law Chair

YOUNG LAWYERS

On behalf of the Young Lawyer’s Section, I would to thank Judge Amacker and all those who attended our most recent CLE luncheon at Gallagher’s Restaurant. It was a successful and pleasant event. Our next Quarterly CLE will be on Friday June 22, 2018 at Abita Roasting with Judge Gardner. The topic will be Trial Advocacy Tips for Young Lawyers. We look forward to hosting Judge Gardner for this event and encourage all young lawyers to attend.

Also, we will be working with the Community Outreach Section of our local bar to support the National Suit Drive. The National Suit Drive assists at-risk men and women who want to join the workforce. We can donate our gently used professional attire, which goes to these men and women to help them get a second chance in a professional work environment. We will start collecting the attire now to make the donation in late Summer of this year. Feel free to call my office at 985-302-5630 or Kasi Brannan at 985-892-8700 and arrangements will be made to collect the attire.

Joshua Allison
Young Lawyer Chair

EMPLOYMENT

PUBLIC NOTICE POSTED: MARCH 21, 2018
Full-Time U.S. Magistrate Judge
United States District Court
Eastern District of Louisiana

Subject to the approval of the Committee on the Administration of the Magistrate Judges System and the Fifth Circuit Judicial Council, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana will fill a vacancy in the position of United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The position will be available January 6, 2019. The duties of the position are demanding and wide-ranging:

(1) conduct of most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases;
(2) trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases;
(3) conduct of various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings on delegation from the judges of the district court; and
(4) trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants. The basic jurisdiction of the United States magistrate judge is specified in 28 U.S.C. § 636.

To be qualified for appointment an applicant must:
(1) Be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years (with some substitutes authorized).
(2) Be competent to perform all the duties of the office; be of good moral character; be emotionally stable and mature; be committed to equal justice under the law; be in good health; be patient and courteous; and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness when required to act on own reason and judgment.
(3) Be less than seventy (70) years old.
(4) Not be related to a judge of the district court.

A Merit Selection Panel composed of attorneys and other members of the community will review all applicants and recommend to the judges of the district court in confidence the persons it considers best qualified. The court will make the appointment, following an FBI full-field investigation and an IRS tax check of the appointee. The individual selected must comply with the financial disclosure requirements pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-521, 90 Stat. 1824 (1978) (codified at 5 U.S.C. app. 4 §§ 101-111) as implemented by the Judicial Conference of the United States. An affirmative effort will be made to give due consideration to all qualified candidates, without regard to race, color, age, gender, religion, national origin, or disability. The current annual salary of the position is $191,360. The term of office is eight (8) years. Application forms and more information on the magistrate judge position may be obtained from the court’s website at www.laed.uscourts.gov or at the District Clerk’s office. Applications must be submitted only by potential nominees personally and must be received by May 18, 2018. Applicants are requested to submit thirteen (13) copies of the application.

Applications should be marked CONFIDENTIAL and addressed to:
Merit Selection Panel
c/o William Blevins, Clerk
U.S. District Court
500 Poydras St.
New Orleans, LA 70130

All applications will be kept confidential, unless the applicant consents to disclosure, and all applications will be examined only by members of the Merit Selection Panel and the judges of the district court. The Panel’s deliberations will remain confidential.
THE DISTRICT COURT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

ON-LINE DIRECTORY
The Bar Association receives many calls asking for an Attorney referral. We direct them to our website and let them choose one based on our on-line directory. If you have not submitted your information to our Attorney Directory, you are missing out on potential new clients. But you must fill out the online form. If you have any questions contact Judy at judy@22ndjdcbar.org.

• The directory can be searched by name or practice area.
• The directory not only allows members to find members, but also allows attorneys outside of our area to find your contact information, and allows the general public looking for an attorney based upon practice area.
• The bar association receives many calls looking for an attorney, if you are not on the list you will lose out on this opportunity for new clients.

*The Basic Listing is included in your annual membership dues, but you must be a member in good standing and fill out the online form.

*In addition to the Basic Listing, we are pleased to offer a Premium Listing at the low cost of $50 per year. The Premium Listing includes the same information as the Basic Listing, plus a link to your website, map to your office, and a photo.

Please visit our online attorney directory to see the various possibilities.

Website Premium Directory Listing Link

Judy Walz
Executive Director
985-867-4833