News

At a recent BALIF networking event, I had the following exchange with a young lawyer ("YL"):

YL: I was told to come to this networking event. Who are you?

oN: My name is On Lu. Pleased to meet you.

YL: Do you do anything with this group? What does it do any way?

oN: Sure. I try to stay involved. BALIF represents the interest of LGBT legal professionals in the Bay Area, and...

YL: Well, since this is a networking event, is your firm hiring?

oN: Yes, we are for...

YL: How much do you pay?

oN: Well...

YL: So what does your firm do any way?

oN: We're an IP litigation boutique...

YL: Can I give you my resume to give to your boss?

I put down my martini and pulled YL aside. We had a nice chat about the right ways (and the wrong ways) to network. YL explained that he came from a top tiered law school that didn't teach its students how to network. This made me think about the job process that so many of our members are undergoing right now, and whether there was anything BALIF could do to better equip them. What resulted is BALIF's 2013 Career and Networking Expo - scheduled for Saturday, April 6. Our goal is simple - to help our members GET JOBS. More than anything, the Expo is designed to be practical. We want our members to walk-away from this event with information they can put to use immediately. Read more about the Expo below, and how this event will empower your job search. As of this morning, TEN employers (and counting) will be hiring for laterals, young attorneys, and law students at the Expo. For those on the job search, there is no wiser use of four hours on a Saturday afternoon.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Chelsea HaleyNelson & On Lu
BALIF Co-Chairs

Wow...what a party! This past Friday, BALIF hosted our 33rd Annual Dinner and Awards Gala at the Bentley Reserve. Nearly 700 attended, including BALIF's 2013 sponsors, judges, elected officials, BALIF members and our community allies. Congratulations again to BALIF's 2013 Awardees: the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund (Community Service Award), AIDS Legal Referral Panel (Legal Service Award), and Stanford Law School's OUTlaw (Law Student Association of the Year).
After the Gala, the celebration continued with more than 100 people at the BALIF After Party at the Lookout. Thank you to BALIF's Gala Co-Chairs, Jamie Dupree and John Unruh, the Gala Committee, and BALIF's administrator, Katie Carlson, for their considerable hard work in making this year's Gala Simply Fabulous! And thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate. You looked amazing! See photos from BALIF's Red Carpet, the VIP reception and the Gala here!

Did you have a great time at the Gala? Then consider joining the BALIF Board that makes the magic happen.
BALIF will be electing new Board members at our annual meeting on April 16, 2013 at the Sausage Factory. Nominations are due by March 29, 2013. Complete details regarding BALIF elections can be found below, or feel free to contact BALIF's Secretary, Laura Maechtlen with any questions.

We look forward to seeing you all again very soon!

Chelsea HaleyNelson & On Lu
BALIF Co-Chairs

Hello BALIF Members and Friends,

Perkins Coie's David Tsai has been recognized by the Daily Journal
as one of the top "Five Associates to Watch" in California. David's profile, which appeared in the February 27 special section that included the Top 20 Under 40 attorneys in California, focused on his intellectual property experience and his work in the Taipei office.

David is a great asset to the Perkins Coie San Francisco office and we are extremely pleased that his hard work, dedication to community service and extraordinary business development skills have been recognized.

Please join Perkins Coie in congratulating David on this prestigious and well deserved recognition!

Hello BALIF Members and Friends,

Its tax time - typically a dreaded time of year, but now even more so for California domestic partners and married same-sex couples. That is why you do not want to miss tomorrow's FREE Tax Seminar specifically for Registered Domestic Partners & Same-Sex Married Couples presented by California State Controller John Chiang, and cosponsored by BALIF and San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener. Details for this event are below, and on BALIF's website. RSVP here.

And when you're done learning all you can about taxes, join us in the South Bay for this month's Happy Hour - Friday, March 8th at the Patio in Palo Alto. RSVP here.

We hope to see you soon!

Chelsea HaleyNelson & On Lu
BALIF Co-Chairs

Today, BALIF filed its amicus brief in the Proposition 8 case currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. BALIF brought together nearly 60 organizations as amici, including minority bar associations in California, non-LGBT local bar associations throughout the country, and national and local non-profit organizations. Among the list of amici are various LGBT-bar associations nationwide, including from Florida, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, and Tennessee, non-LGBT bar associations, and organizations such as BASF, NAPABA, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, TLC, and the Marin County Bar Association.

Hello BALIF Members and Friends,

Here's a historic opportunity that doesn't come along often...

Come to an intimate meet & greet this Wednesday night with recently appointed Justice Jim Humes - the First Openly Gay Justice on the California Court of Appeal.

San Francisco resident Jim Humes was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as an Associate Justice to the First District Court of Appeal, Division Four. Prior to his appointment, he had served as Governor Brown's Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs, Administration and Policy since 2011, and also worked with Governor Brown as Attorney General. (Click here to read his full biography.) Justice Hume's partner, Joseph Quinn, is a partner at Hanson Bridgett and specializes in complex litigation, writs and appeals.

Details for this very special, BALIF Members-Only event are below. Please make sure to RSVP here.

We hope to see you soon,

On Lu & Chelsea HaleyNelson
BALIF Co-Chairs

Hello BALIF Members and Friends,

Our Amicus Committee has been busy. This next week, BALIF will be filing an amicus brief in the Proposition 8 case currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. BALIF has brought together nearly 60 partners in the brief who consist of minority bar associations in California and other non-LGBT local bar associations throughout the country. Among our list of anticipated amici partners are various LGBT-bar associations nationwide, including from Florida, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota and Tennessee, and non-LGBT bar associations and legal groups like BASF, KABANC, TLC and LGLA.

Kudos and thank you to our very hardworking Amicus Committee chair, Nick Kacprowski and the entire BALIF Amicus Committee. What you do makes us proud to be a part of BALIF! We also want to thank Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP for representing BALIF in this important effort.

Come celebrate all of the fantastic work that BALIF does at our Annual Gala on March 15, 2013. Click here to purchase tickets. It is not too late to become a BALIF sponsor and to receive complimentary tickets to the Gala. To find out more, or to become a sponsor, please contact BALIF's Gala Co-Chair, Jamie Dupree.

We hope to see you soon,

Chelsea HaleyNelson and oN Lu
BALIF Co-Chairs

Hello BALIF Members and Friends,

We hope you're as excited as we are about BALIF's 33rd Annual Dinner and Awards Gala - "Simply Fabulous!"

But we also need your help....

BALIF is more than just fabulous happy hours and networking receptions. The money we raise is channeled to significant work in our community, such as law student scholarships, job search assistance and LGBT recruiting, mentoring programs, free CLE classes, Amicus briefs on LGBT issues, and so much more.

Please consider having your firm or organization sponsor BALIF. Sponsorships begin at $1,500. At that level, you get five tickets to the Gala, and some wonderful publicity for your firm, including ¼ page ad and priority recognition in the Gala program. Your firm will also be named as a sponsor in the BALIF newsletter and on the BALIF website for the entire year. And you of course receive an ecstatic "thank you" from our LGBT legal community. Sponsors at higher levels receive even more Gala tickets and additional benefits.

The ad deadline to make the Gala program is Feb. 15 (with a drop-dead date of Feb. 22). To become a BALIF sponsor, or for more information, please contact Gala Co-Chair Jamie Dupree at JDupree@fddcm.com.

As always, we look forward to seeing you soon...

On Lu & Chelsea HaleyNelson
BALIF Co-Chairs

Hello BALIF Members and Friends,

Happy post- Superbowl weekend! No matter who you were cheering for in this game, we can all walk away proud that the winning team has such a strong, vocal Marriage Equality advocate as Baltimore Ravens' linebacker, Brendon Ayanbadejo. "People from all walks of life, including gay and lesbian couples, want their children to be in stable homes and protected under the law. That's why I support marriage for gay and lesbian couples who want to make a lifetime commitment to each other." Thank you, Brendon.

We want you to join us, today, Tuesday, February 5th, at the Lookout for our monthly Happy Hour with a twist - Plus One. This time we are encouraging you to bring someone new. One of BALIF's more ambitious goals is increasing our membership to 1K because the more members we have, the stronger our voice as an organization! We have challenged you, our BALIF members, to refer your friends, colleagues, family members, etc, in the legal field who are LGBT to join BALIF. The person who refers the most new members (10 or more) will receive 4 Gala VIP tickets! Click here for details! Let the competition begin!

Speaking of BALIF's 33rd Annual Dinner and Awards Gala--Simply Fabulous - it is time to start planning your outfits and making sure that you or your firm have your sponsorship finalized. Annual sponsorships include complementary tickets to Gala, BALIF's largest annual event with more than 600 attendees, including lawyers, judges, lawmakers, legal professionals, students, and in-house counsel. Don't miss it! To become a sponsor, or for more information, please contact Jamie Dupree, our Gala Co-Chair at JDupree@fddcm.com.

See you soon,

Chelsea HaleyNelson & On Lu
BALIF Co-Chairs