Register online at www.NBLSA.org !
Thursday, August 31, 2006
COMPETITIONS !!!
Please check your membership status with your chapter. Participants must be members as of Fall 2005 in order to participate in all competitions.
Monday, August 28, 2006
An Epic Katrina Documentary by Spike Lee
Dear Law Students,
One year ago, hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As the natural and man-made disasters engulfed the region, the nation turned its attention to the storm’s immediate aftermath. However, a year later, the crisis continues.
Today, lass than half of pre-Katrina New Orleans residents have been able to return home; over 70,000 of them are living in 240-square foot FEMA trailers (which are particularly vulnerable during the hurricane season) and many people are still waiting for trailers to be delivered; the state’s charity hospital system is in shambles and psychiatric care is non-existent; most of the Lower 9th Ward is still without potable water; 6,000 criminal defendants await trial, many of whom do not have attorneys; 60 percent of the businesses within the city limits have probably not reopened; federal officials have doled out only about 40 percent of the $110 billion promised to the Gulf Coast; not a single dollar of federal funds to rebuild houses has made it to Louisiana homeowners; and renters have been virtually left to fend for themselves.
But the numbers do not tell the whole story. The pain, the frustration, the anger, the desperation and the anguish are still as real today as they were in the days after the tragedy first unfolded. The Gulf Coast residents have not forgotten – they are still living the tragedy. And we cannot forget, either.
We are calling on students at every law school in the country to watch Spike Lee’s epic Katrina documentary, “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.” Spike Lee’s film captures the uncertainty in the region that is felt deeply in people’s lives. The documentary explores the range of emotions, even a bit of humor. Many of the scenes are painful to watch, but as a country we must bear witness to the ongoing crisis that faces our fellow Americans.
Law students possess a unique set of skills that are in dire need throughout the hurricane-affected region. The Student Hurricane Network (SHN) was created to link these skills with the pressing need that persists. Since last fall, over 1,000 law students have been involved in pro bono trips to the region, research projects, and educational efforts, but the legal needs are so massive that we are calling upon others to join us. Your work can immediately address the pressing legal challenges faced in the Gulf Coast region.
SHN is working on four program areas: 1) coordinating pro bono trips to the region, 2) drafting research to address the present novel legal issues in the region, 3) planning a federal lobbying effort, and 4) matching law students with displaced residents on a one-on-one basis. We are calling on law students to get involved in each of these projects, and we are also eager to support any hurricane-related work that you are planning or coordinating at your school.
Please watch the film “When the Levees Broke” on HBO on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 starting at 8:00 pm EDST. If you are not able to watch the documentary at this time, consider finding someone with HBO “On Demand,” and watch it at will. Then please visit www.StudentHurrianceNetwork.org to learn how you can bring your skills to bear on the ongoing crisis, and contact StudentHurricaneNetwork@gmail.com to get involved.
Looking forward to working with you,
Joseph M. Bruno, Bruno & Bruno, LLP
Louella Givens, J.D., member of LA Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education
Vanita Gupta, civil and human rights attorney
Damon Hewitt, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
Morgan Williams, Tulane University Law School class of 2007
One year ago, hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As the natural and man-made disasters engulfed the region, the nation turned its attention to the storm’s immediate aftermath. However, a year later, the crisis continues.
Today, lass than half of pre-Katrina New Orleans residents have been able to return home; over 70,000 of them are living in 240-square foot FEMA trailers (which are particularly vulnerable during the hurricane season) and many people are still waiting for trailers to be delivered; the state’s charity hospital system is in shambles and psychiatric care is non-existent; most of the Lower 9th Ward is still without potable water; 6,000 criminal defendants await trial, many of whom do not have attorneys; 60 percent of the businesses within the city limits have probably not reopened; federal officials have doled out only about 40 percent of the $110 billion promised to the Gulf Coast; not a single dollar of federal funds to rebuild houses has made it to Louisiana homeowners; and renters have been virtually left to fend for themselves.
But the numbers do not tell the whole story. The pain, the frustration, the anger, the desperation and the anguish are still as real today as they were in the days after the tragedy first unfolded. The Gulf Coast residents have not forgotten – they are still living the tragedy. And we cannot forget, either.
We are calling on students at every law school in the country to watch Spike Lee’s epic Katrina documentary, “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.” Spike Lee’s film captures the uncertainty in the region that is felt deeply in people’s lives. The documentary explores the range of emotions, even a bit of humor. Many of the scenes are painful to watch, but as a country we must bear witness to the ongoing crisis that faces our fellow Americans.
Law students possess a unique set of skills that are in dire need throughout the hurricane-affected region. The Student Hurricane Network (SHN) was created to link these skills with the pressing need that persists. Since last fall, over 1,000 law students have been involved in pro bono trips to the region, research projects, and educational efforts, but the legal needs are so massive that we are calling upon others to join us. Your work can immediately address the pressing legal challenges faced in the Gulf Coast region.
SHN is working on four program areas: 1) coordinating pro bono trips to the region, 2) drafting research to address the present novel legal issues in the region, 3) planning a federal lobbying effort, and 4) matching law students with displaced residents on a one-on-one basis. We are calling on law students to get involved in each of these projects, and we are also eager to support any hurricane-related work that you are planning or coordinating at your school.
Please watch the film “When the Levees Broke” on HBO on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 starting at 8:00 pm EDST. If you are not able to watch the documentary at this time, consider finding someone with HBO “On Demand,” and watch it at will. Then please visit www.StudentHurrianceNetwork.org to learn how you can bring your skills to bear on the ongoing crisis, and contact StudentHurricaneNetwork@gmail.com to get involved.
Looking forward to working with you,
Joseph M. Bruno, Bruno & Bruno, LLP
Louella Givens, J.D., member of LA Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education
Vanita Gupta, civil and human rights attorney
Damon Hewitt, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
Morgan Williams, Tulane University Law School class of 2007
Sunday, August 27, 2006
** 2007 CONVENTION REGISTRATION **
***Don't forget to book your
Hotel Reservations Early also...Rooms will go fast.
Call the New Radisson Miami 1601 Biscayne Blvd,
Miami Fl. 33132 at 305-374-000
and ask for SRBLSA!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!!
Academic Retreat for Florida and Puerto Rico (Sept. 8-9, 2006):
Please sign up for the Academic Retreat as this will allow for proper planning for breakfast and lunch. The location for the retreat will be on the campus of the University of Miami School of Law, 1311 Miller Rd., Coral Gables, FL. 33124).
*Registration is free for all attendees!*
Please continue to check back for a posted itinerary of retreat events.
***********************************************
JOBFAIR NEWS--
All students who receive interviews will be notified via the nblsa job fair website. Please check your profile and click the link that says "view my interview schedule"...This will take you to the firms who have selected you for an interview.
Here you will have until Friday August 25th, 12:00 pm to decline interviews. Check the website daily, because firms are turning in their selections continuously. Final schedules will be available by Tuesday, August 29th by 6:00 pm.
Mu'min IslamCumberland School of Law, 2L
Southern Region Black Law Students Association
Corporate Relations Co-ChairJob Fair Coordinator
Please sign up for the Academic Retreat as this will allow for proper planning for breakfast and lunch. The location for the retreat will be on the campus of the University of Miami School of Law, 1311 Miller Rd., Coral Gables, FL. 33124).
*Registration is free for all attendees!*
Please continue to check back for a posted itinerary of retreat events.
***********************************************
JOBFAIR NEWS--
All students who receive interviews will be notified via the nblsa job fair website. Please check your profile and click the link that says "view my interview schedule"...This will take you to the firms who have selected you for an interview.
Here you will have until Friday August 25th, 12:00 pm to decline interviews. Check the website daily, because firms are turning in their selections continuously. Final schedules will be available by Tuesday, August 29th by 6:00 pm.
Mu'min IslamCumberland School of Law, 2L
Southern Region Black Law Students Association
Corporate Relations Co-ChairJob Fair Coordinator
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Dallas Bar AssociationMinority Attorney Business Development Initiative
The Dallas Bar Association has worked with the major law firms in Dallas over the last several years to enhance recruiting of minority law students to the Dallas area. This Minority Attorney Business Development Initiative (MABDI Project) was established to assist the participating law firms in recruiting from a larger pool of minority candidates and to do so in a systematic way.
In the traditional recruitment model, students often take the initial steps to try to obtain an interview for a summer associate position. Students sometimes decide whether or not to seek an interview with a given firm based on location. This project is designed to provide a more direct link between top law students and Dallas area firms during the students’ decision-making process
Eligible students (top 50% of 2L class) who have an interest in the project and willingness to consider coming to Dallas following graduation are invited to send resumes and transcripts, preferably via email, by August 31, 2006. Early applications are encouraged and will be processed prior to August 31. The student’s class standing/rank should be included in the resume if available. Along with their resumes and transcripts, students should send a cover letter explaining their ties to Dallas and/or their reasons for considering Dallas as a place to practice law following graduation from law school.
Student information received by August 31, 2006 will be sent to the participating law firms during the first week of September for review and consideration. Students should adhere to the deadline if possible since the firms will be receiving a large volume of resumes from students and may already be in the interviewing process by that date. The law firms will identify and contact the students they wish to interview. The firms will work together with the students to coordinate interview schedules.
Those students who receive and accept offers from firms to work as summer associates in Dallas in 2007 may contact a MABDI committee member to discuss what is expected of summer associates in larger firms and to discuss standards for success in a large firm environment. It is our hope that the MABDI committee will be able to assist the students who participate in this program following law school graduation to help them grow professionally and flourish in the Dallas legal community.
Please contact your Career Planning Office to see if your school participates in this program.
In the traditional recruitment model, students often take the initial steps to try to obtain an interview for a summer associate position. Students sometimes decide whether or not to seek an interview with a given firm based on location. This project is designed to provide a more direct link between top law students and Dallas area firms during the students’ decision-making process
Eligible students (top 50% of 2L class) who have an interest in the project and willingness to consider coming to Dallas following graduation are invited to send resumes and transcripts, preferably via email, by August 31, 2006. Early applications are encouraged and will be processed prior to August 31. The student’s class standing/rank should be included in the resume if available. Along with their resumes and transcripts, students should send a cover letter explaining their ties to Dallas and/or their reasons for considering Dallas as a place to practice law following graduation from law school.
Student information received by August 31, 2006 will be sent to the participating law firms during the first week of September for review and consideration. Students should adhere to the deadline if possible since the firms will be receiving a large volume of resumes from students and may already be in the interviewing process by that date. The law firms will identify and contact the students they wish to interview. The firms will work together with the students to coordinate interview schedules.
Those students who receive and accept offers from firms to work as summer associates in Dallas in 2007 may contact a MABDI committee member to discuss what is expected of summer associates in larger firms and to discuss standards for success in a large firm environment. It is our hope that the MABDI committee will be able to assist the students who participate in this program following law school graduation to help them grow professionally and flourish in the Dallas legal community.
Please contact your Career Planning Office to see if your school participates in this program.
~~!! ACADEMIC RETREAT !!~~
Please register for the Academic Retreat. Check with your local BLSA for an email version or just shoot me an email.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
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