February 2020 Newsletter
DEAR MEMBERS:
Thank you to Major Hudson and Captain Weary who spoke on behalf of Sheriff Randy Smith at the January CLE. Our next CLE will be the on Friday, February 21st at the Dakota Restaurant. Our guest speaker will be Kelly Rabalais and Mary Burkell who will speak on “Safe Haven: A Mental Health Discussion.” This discussion will hopefully help you navigate some of the mental health issues your clients may have and how we can better serve them. This CLE will be informative for the General practitioner, Family Law practitioner and Criminal Law practitioner. We will be giving away two tickets to the Chef Soiree at this CLE. Please rsvp by clicking on the link below to register and prepay or contact Judy at judy@22ndjdcbar.org.
Eventbrite Link:
Register & Pay Online
Please mark your calendars for the CLE’s for the year:
March 20th
April 17th
May 15th
June 19th
July 17th
August 21st
September 18th
October 16th
November 13th All Day CLE at the Southern Hotel
If you have any question, concerns or ideas regarding the Bar Association, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Rachael Catalanotto
President
CHEF SOIREE
Help support the Youth Service Bureau at the biggest and best fundraiser on the Northshore – Chef’s Soiree! Sponsorship opportunities are still available and tickets to the event can be purchased online or at YSB’s office next to the Covington Trailhead.
This year’s event is sure to be the best yet with entertainment from Zita, The Dominos Band, and Supercharger. Sample delicious bites from over fifty of the Northshore’s best restaurants. Also, don’t miss the opportunity to meet and greet with our guest bartender – Deuce McAllister!
Already purchased your event tickets? Well, don’t forget to purchase your raffle tickets as well. Banner Ford is helping YSB raffle a 2020 Ford Mustang or 2020 Ford Escape. Only 3,500 tickets will be sold, so don’t miss out on your opportunity to walk away with a new ride!
For more information regarding sponsorships and tickets, please visit https://www.ysbworks.com/chef-soiree. The YSB has always enjoyed a wonderful working relationship with the 22nd JDC Bar Association and we want to say thank you for all of your support.
MEMBERSHIP
Your 2020 membership is now due, the cost is only $70, if paid before February 29th (look for ways to get a discount price on your membership form). Please click on the link below to pay on-line or print out the form and mail it in with payment. Remember to check any of the sub-sections you would like to participate in or receive notices regarding upcoming events. You will be mailed a yellow membership card once payment is received; the blue membership card will no longer be good after this Friday, February 7th.
WEBSITE LISTING
The Bar Association has a really great website: ; if you have not had a chance to look at this, please check it out and let us know your views. This is not only the place to quickly look up everything going on in our Association, but is also our attorney referral source. The Bar Association receives many calls from the public and this is where we send them to find an attorney; as well as other attorneys who may be looking for you. So, please fill out the on-line form to be included; this must be done every year to keep it current.
Basic Listing: Lists your name, phone number and address and is free with your current membership dues.
Premium Listing: Lists your name, phone, address, link to website and area of practice, and is only $50 per year. (look for ways to get a discount price on your membership form).
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The Community Outreach section is about Attorneys reaching out to the public. I have made a few tentative plans and more information will follow soon; we are of course staying with the annual Court Chase, which is set for October 10th. Please watch for notices as plans are finalized.
Josh Allison
Community Outreach Chair
CRIMINAL LAW
The All Day Criminal Law CLE is tentatively set for August 28th at the Southern Hotel. I have some other plans/ideas, so please watch for notices from the Criminal Section.
Lam Tran
Criminal Law Chair
FAMILY LAW
The family law section is off to a rapid start. Please put a couple of dates on your calendar:
- The All Day CLE will be on Friday, June 12th at the Southern Hotel.
- Court Improvement Day will be on Thursday, September 10th.
More information will follow on these events as time gets closer.
Also, if anyone has ideas for topics or speakers, please let me know. I am looking forward to an interesting and informative CLE.
Shandy Arguelles
Family Law Chair
FAMILY LAW SPECIALIZATION
The Louisiana Board of Specialization has approved significant changes to the Family Law Specialization exam. Anyone interested in taking the exam is encouraged to do so this year as the exam has been modified to be more user friendly in many aspects along with the specialization requirements modified to include attorneys that may have been precluded previously. The revised LBLS Family Law Standards can be found at: https://www.lsba.org/Specialization/FamilyLaw.aspx?Area=Standards. The two major changes are the reduction from two to one board certified references required to apply and the reduction from 18 to 15 hours of approved Family Law CLE per year. Additionally, the exam is being modified to a two part examination. The first part is a take home examination that will be emailed to the applicant in mid-July. The first part is to be returned by email to the Specialization Director before the second part of the examination is administered. The second part is an in person examination that will be administered the first Saturday in August at the Louisiana Bar Center in New Orleans. The in person exam may also be administered at other locations around the state, if requested, and at the discretion of the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. The deadline for an application is at the end of February. Further questions can be directed to Angela Cox Williams at lawoffice@angelacoxwilliams.com or Mary Ann Wegmann at maryann.wegmann@lsba.org.
WOMEN IN LAW
I have several plans in motion for the Women in Law Section this year. I will let you know the details as soon as I finalize them. In the meantime, if any of you have any ideas or concerns for the Women In Law Section, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Angela Cox Williams
Women In Law Chair
YOUNG LAWYERS
This year I plan to do one social and one CLE. Please watch for notices sent out as to the date and time of the Young Lawyer vents. Please mark your membership form if you would like to receive information regarding Young Lawyer Section.
Chandler McCoy
Young Lawyer Chair
Dear Solace Members,
A third year single mother Loyola law student needs our help. A drunk driver in a truck plowed through the wall of the bedroom where the law student’s 2 month old baby was sleeping. Miraculously, just prior, the law student had picked up the baby; the truck passed right in front of them and destroyed the entire bedroom including the baby’s bassinet and changing table. Mother and baby are physically unharmed and our law student is grateful that something much worse did not occur. The near death experience has taken its toll. The student’s parents will be coming into New Orleans on the weekends to provide support during the law student’s final semester of school.
If anyone has access to an apartment they can use for a few weekends, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone is able to provide gift cards to stores with baby items that will help replace what was lost (e.g. Target, Babies r Us, Amazon), please email Loyola Clinical Law Professor Davida Finger, dfinger@loyno.edu who will ensure that the student receives these generous gifts. Thank you.
Judy Walz
Executive Director
985-867-4833