Annual
Report Archives
MSBA New Lawyers Section
Back to Section Home Page
2006-07 | 2005-06 | 2004-05
| 2002-03
NEW LAWYERS SECTION
Annual Report for 2006-2007
The MSBA New Lawyers Section has accomplished quite a lot over the course of the past bar year. Here are a few highlights:
Toys for Tots
The New Lawyers Sections of the Minnesota State and Hennepin County Bar Associations conducted a joint fundraising event to benefit Toys for Tots at the Graves 601 Hotel on December 7, 2006.
The event raised over $3,000, and generated 125 toys for disadvantaged kids throughout the Twin Cities. The checks, cash, and toys were presented to Toys for Tots at the KARE 11 studio during a news telecast the day after the event. HCBA and MSBA New Lawyers Section members solicited support from the bar in two ways. First, a group of members called dozens of local law firms to encourage donations, and several law firms donated $250 to the cause. Additionally, each of the guests at the event brought a new toy or made a $10 donation. We arranged for airtime and a trip to the KARE 11 studios, where several of our fully-loaded SUVs and vans met with Toys for Tots officials, who were on hand to accept the donations.
Toys for Tots, which is operated by the United States Marine Corps Reserves, began in Los Angeles in 1947, and became a nationwide program in 1996. Since its inception, the program has distributed more than 332.5 million toys to 158.7 million needy children, and received countless accolades as a leading philanthropic organization. Accordingly, as the MSBA New Lawyers Section did last year, both the County and State New Lawyers Sections made Toys for Tots the object of their charity this year at their holiday social events.
CLEs
Under the leadership of our CLE committee chair Jennifer Lurken, we were able to offer several free hour-long CLEs just before our monthly section meetings. These CLEs were designed to cover topics most relevant new lawyers. So far, we have offered CLEs on “Ethics and Professionalism in the Law,” “The New Rule 26 and E‑Discovery,” and “Clerks: Dos and Don’ts for New Lawyers,” featuring a panel of state and federal law clerks who provided useful tips and information for lawyers appearing before their respective judges.
Hands on Twin Cities – Spring Yard Cleanup for Seniors
Just a few weeks ago, several NLS members participated in the Hands On Twin Cities Spring Yard Cleanup for Seniors. Working with the Neighborhood Involvement Program, the Spring Yard Cleanup is just another way that the Hands On Twin Cities organization provides assistance to seniors so they can continue to live independently. Volunteers from the NLS spent a morning trimming bushes, cleaning the garden, raking and washing windows at the home of a senior, who greatly appreciated our time and effort.
Spring Social at Nami
The MSBA New Lawyer’s Section and the HCBA New Lawyer’s Section teamed up to host the annual Spring Social Event in April at Nami. The MSBA NLS and local businesses contributed approximately $1,200 in gift cards, which were given away as door prizes to some of the approximately 130 lawyers in attendance. Nami dedicated its new back bar room to the event, which included free drinks and Japanese food courtesy of Robert Half Legal and Pat Carl & Associates.
MSBA Annual Convention
The NLS is sponsoring an entertainment and hospitality suite at the Convention, and awarded two $250 scholarships to NLS members who are interested in attending the Convention.
Election of New Officers
The new officers for the 2007-08 bar year:
Chair: Dan Gilchrist
Vice Chair: Erika Donner
Secretary: Lacee Anderson
Treasurer: Christina Webber
S. Jamal Faleel
2006-07 Chair
MSBA New Lawers Section
2005-2006 Annual Report
Rebecca Rhoda Fisher, Chair
The NLS had a great year. The officers were myself, Jamal Faleel- Vice
Chair, Dan Gilchrist-Secretary, and Erika Donner-Treasurer. The section
created three subcommittees: 1) CLE, chaired by Jennifer Daugherty; 2)
Community Service, chaired by Deanne Dailey; and 3) Social and Membership,
chaired by Lacee Anderson. The subcommittees were very active and really
helped get members involved in various aspects of the section. I attempted
to encourage involvement in the section and recruit new members. That
being said, we have many new members who I believe will continue to be
an asset to the section.
CLE (Chair Jennifer Daugherty)
The Section sponsored several CLE's this year starting in October with and elimination of bias CLE titled "Chronic Stress, mental Illness and Chemical Dependency in the Practice of Law" with Joan Biblehausen from the Life and Law Committee and Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers as the speaker. In January there was an ethics CLE titled "Professional Responsibility" with Craig Klausing from the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility as the speaker. In February we co-sponsored an elimination of bias CLE with the Employment Law section titled "North Country" where we viewed the movie and then there was a great panel discussion including one of the plaintiff's attorneys, Judge Lay, and other employment law attorneys. In March there was CLE titled "Discovery in a Digital World."
Overall, the Section sponsored 4 CLE's at no cost to members. This serves
the section membership in three ways: 1) it provides quality continuing
legal education at no cost as a member benefit; 2) helps to recruit new
members; and 2) it provides an opportunity for new lawyers to get together
and develop contacts throughout the state.
ABA involvement
As is traditionally the case, the Minnesota NLS strives to have a large presence within the ABA-YLD. Starting in the fall several members were funded to attend the ABA-YLD conference in Louisville, KY. They came back with some great ideas for community service projects after participating in the public service opportunity at the conference.
The ABA-YLD midyear meeting was in Chicago in February. The section again
sent several delegates including myself. Most notable for me at the meeting
was the outpouring of gratification the Minnesota Bar received from the
bar leaders of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana for the Katrina Relief
efforts at the Minnesota reception.
The ABA-YLD Spring Conference was in Portland and again several members
were funded to attend this meeting. As on previous occasions, those members
brought back great ideas for future community service projects.
The section also provided scholarships to members for the MSBA Annual Convention at Maddens. The annual was well attended by NLS members and fun was had by all in the NLS hospitality suite.
The section has also funded three members to attend the ABA-YLD annual conference in Honolulu in August. I am confident that they will bring back some excellent ideas for community service projects for next year. I understand the YLD theme for the 2006-2007 year is going to be promoting the legal profession to younger people at the high school or college level. I believe this will play well with the MSBA mock trial program and the "We the Jury" program the NLS participated in this past year.
Funding the NLS delegates to the ABA-YLD conferences and the MSBA annual is a really works as a springboard to foster future involvement of new lawyers within the MSBA.
Newsletter (Co-Editors Lacee Anderson and Jennifer Daughterty)
The Hearsay is the newsletter of the NLS and is one of the most visible things the Section does. We sent out four issues this past year to the entire section via e-mail. The Hearsay is a great way to promote the section and MSBA and attract new members. The articles are substantive and well written and foster involvement in the section.
By Law Revision
The By Laws were amended at the June 2006assembly meeting. The basic changes were to update the language from the old governing structure to the new one. In addition, we added the three standing committees: 1) CLE; 2) community service; and 3) social/membership.
Social Events (Chair Lacee Anderson)
In addition to having the annual joint Spring Social with HCBA and RCBA we had a joint Fall Social with HCBA at the beginning of December at the Graves 601 Hotel in Minneapolis. The event was well attended. In conjunction with the Fall Social we did a Toys-for-Tots drive. We ended up with several cars full of toys that we brought to the KARE 11 studio to donate. Deanne Dailey, our community service chair, arranged for us to be on the evening newscast where we were interviewed and plugged MSBA and HCBA new lawyers.
The joint Spring Social with HCBA and RCBA was a hit as usual and attendance was great.
The late night social at the MSBA Annual Convention at Madden's was a
ton of fun. The band played and everyone was dancing. After that several
folks retired to the NLS hospitality suite for more fun.
The socials are a great was to recruit new members and network with NLS
members from other NLS sections.
Community Projects (Chair Deanne Dailey)
In the fall we did the Toys-For-Tots drive as discussed above. In early 2006 we encouraged participation in the MSBA mock trial program. In spring we participated in the We the Jury program where attorneys went in to the schools and conducted mock voir dire on a criminal or civil case, the students then got to watch a video of a short trial and deliberate. In May for Law Day we spoke to four classes at Stillwater High School on this year's theme, separation of powers.
I hope that the progress made this year in the area of law related community
service projects will continue. I also feel that the ABA-YLD theme for
the coming year will be able to be easily integrated with the MSBA programs
in the coming year based on the types of programs we participated in last
year and expect to continue.
Awards
The Nominating Committee met and submitted 3 names, 2 of which were selected, to Minnesota Lawyer and named as Up and Coming Attorneys for 2006. This was done by soliciting nominations from the entire section and made up of persons who have previously received the award. It should be noted that the Section's Secretary, Daniel Gilchrist and one of the Section's Hearsay co-editors, Jennifer Daugherty, were honorees.
We also presented Deanna Dailey and Kim Maki with plaques to recognize the work they did for the section. Deanna was a great leader in the community service project area by helping set up the We the Jury project among other things. Kim did a great job of collecting furniture and items from attorneys in Duluth that were then sent down to the Gulf as part of the Katrina Relief effort.
Finances
In the past, the Section has been running a deficit of approximately $1,000. Starting last year we actually ended up with a small surplus. I expect that we will do so again this year.
Annual Meeting and Election of Officers
The annual meeting was held on the patio of the NLS hospitality suite at Maddens on a glorious sunny morning. The officers for next year are: Chair - Jamal Faleel, Vice Chair - Daniel Gilchrist, Secretary - Erika Donner, and Treasurer - Lacee Anderson.
Respectfully submitted,
Rebecca Rhoda Fisher, Chair MSBA-NLS 2005-2006
MSBA New Lawers Section
2004-2005 Annual Report
The NLS had, in my humble opinion, a fantastic year. The officers were myself,
Rebecca Fisher-Vice Chair, Jamal Faleel- Secretary, and Dan Gilchrist-Treasurer.
One of the big items this yeas was my initiative to change the focus of the
NLS by focusing creating involvement with the Section, fostering the growth
of new lawyer networks and minimizing non-law related community service projects.
In years past the NLS would often donate dresses to needy high schools, money
to Habitat for Humanity, as well as other noble, but non-law related causes.
I attempted to stop that this year and was in large part successful.
CLE
The Section sponsored several CLE's this year starting in January with "Marketing and the New lawyer" with Mike Bryant from St. Cloud as the speaker. In March there was an ethics CLE titled "Satisfying Clients. In April there was a co-sponsored CLE with Hennepin County NLS and Judge Perez focusing on administrative law and trial tips. In May the trial consulting firm, DecisionQuest gave a CLE on technology and trial tactics which was well attended.
Overall, the Section sponsored 4 CLE's at no cost to members, which helps to serve the section membership twofold; 1) by providing quality continuing legal education at no cost as a member benefit and 2) by providing the opportunity for new lawyers to get together and develop contacts throughout the state.
ABA involvement
As is traditionally the case, the Minnesota NLS strives to have a large presence within the ABA-YLD. Starting in the fall Josh Root, a first time attendee, was sent to Des Moines for a regional YLD meeting. Josh brought back some good ideas for the section to implement.
The YLD Fall meeting was held in Austin, Texas with the Secretary, Dan Gilchrist, attending for the primary purpose of pitching the idea of having a YLD national conference in Minneapolis-St. Paul. As of this writing there is no indication if the Twin Cities will get the opportunity to host a meeting in 2007/2008, however the sentiment is that Montreal and Las Vegas will beat us out.
The NLS sent several delegates to the ABA Mid-Year meeting in Salt Lake city. The Spring meeting in Miami, was well attended by 5 first time attendees. This was especially notable as the primary reason for using YLD conventions is to act as a springboard to foster future involvement of new lawyers within the MSBA.
Newsletter
The Hearsay is the newsletter of the NLS and is one of the most visible things the Section does. The original newsletter editor had some personal problems and was ineffective, she was removed and I acted as the editor and in Nov/Dec we put out the 2004 edition of the Hearsay. Later in 2005 we attracted two co-editors, Lacee Anderson and Jennifer Daugherty who picked up the pieces and have completed the spring, 2005 Hearsay which will be sent via email to all 3,500+ members on June 13th to coincide with the annual meeting. This Hearsay, in my opinion, is one of the finest we've ever produced. The articles are substantive, well written and should attract more interest in the Section. The co-editors deserve to be commended for their hard work and dedication.
Projects
The KSTP Lawline project is still going strong. The Vice-Chair, Becky Fisher, headed the effort and has managed to attract 6-10 people the last Tuesday of every month to man the phones and appear on KSTP.
The Standing Committee on Awards met and submitted 4 names, 3 of which were selected, to Minnesota Lawyer and named as Up and Coming Attorneys for 2005. This was done by soliciting nominations from the entire section and made up of persons who have previously received the award. It should be noted that the Section's Secretary, Jamal Faleel, was one of the honorees.
Finances
For the past 3 years the Section has been running a deficit of approximately $1,000. This generally has not been a problem as the next years' budget was simply reduced by that amount and it did balance out; however this year one of the Section's goals was to balance the budget. As of this writing we will succeed. Due to prudent spending and careful monitoring of the books by the Treasurer, Dan Gilchrist, the section should end the year with approximately a $750 surplus.
Respectfully submitted,
Jason C. Kohlmeyer
Jason Kohlmeyer, Chair MSBA-NLS
MSBA New Lawers Section
2002-2003 Annual Report
1. Election of Officers.
At our annual meeting on Friday, June 20, at noon, we elected new officers for
the 2003-2004 bar year. The new officers are:
Joan Schulkers - Chair
Jason Kohlmeyer - Vice Chair
Rebecca Fisher - Secretary
S. Jamal Faleel - Treasurer
Their contact information is available on the NLS website, at the officers page
or liaisons page. Be sure to update the officers page and remove my name. The
new officers (and old officers) are copied to this email, if you want to confirm
their contact info. I note that Jamal will be moving from his judicial clerkship
to private practice (Fredrikson & Byron?) at some point later this summer.
2. Activities of the New Lawyers Section in 2002-2003.
September 2002: Updated section website, planned year, solicited new liaisons.
Joan Schulkers was funded to attend a regional ABA YLD AOP conference in Indianapolis.
October 2002: GOTV (Get Out The Vote) Social at Kieran's Irish Pub, in collaboration
with the Minnesota Society of CPAs-Young CPAs Section and Mercanti Group, a
local investment bank, with money raised for MN League of Women Voters. Some
of us will never forget meeting Marcia Wellstone at the GOTV, just weeks before
her and her parents' untimely deaths. Jason Kohlmeyer and Jennifer Henderson
were funded to attend a regional ABA YLD conference in Cincinnati. Representatives
at the local law schools attended our business meeting, and we started building
relationships with the local student bar associations
November 2002: Jon Duckstad, MSBA President, attended our business meeting and
joined us for a post-meeting social at Rock Bottom Brewery.
December 2002: Santa Brings a Lawsuit project is coordinated by Jennifer Henderson
and Tamar Gronvall. Pat Boulay and Mark Cohen of Minnesota Lawyer make a presentation
to the NLS business meeting. Mock Trial program promoted to NLS members.
January 2003: NLS newsletter is published, with Heather Griesert and Carl Olson
serving as co-editors. Special thanks to Gretchen Otto, past NLS chair, for
writing an article for the newsletter. A representative of William Mitchell's
Center for Law and Leadership attended our business meeting, to discuss ideas
for programs of interest to New Lawyers.
February 2003: Doug Debner and Tamar Gronvall were funded to attend the ABA
mid-year conference in Seattle. NLS receives grant of $2000.00 to provide training
on asylum appeals to the 8th Circuit. Grant is partnership with Minnesota Advocates
for Human Rights, Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers, Minnesota Hispanic
Bar Association, and the Appellate Practice Section.
March 2003: NLS military families pro bono project initiated by Joe Fittante
and Jim Haase.
April 2003: Habitat for Humanity Day coordinated by Jaren Johnson. Spring Social
at Palomino takes place and is a big success, with planning done by Doug Debner
and HCBA Social Chair, Craig Sandok.
May 2003: Becky Fisher, Jason Kohlmeyer, and Jamal Faleel attended the ABA YLD
conference in New Orleans as MSBA NLS funded delegates. Tamar Gronvall and Sara
Lathrop were approved as funded delegates for the ABA annual meeting in San
Francisco.
June 2003: NLS members Kerry Bundy and Teresa Jones plan the MSBA Convention
Welcome BBQ and hugely successful (perhaps best ever) NLS post-President's Reception
Social.
3. Recognition of Active Members.
During 2002-2003, NLS benefited from the work of many members, including the
following people (in no particular order, and not at all an exhaustive list
of contributors or active members):
And special thanks to Renee Anderson and Kim Basting, our diligent support on MSBA staff.