April 2009
By Kathryn Alfisi

Columbia’s Alvarez Offers Keynote Address at Investment Treaty Event
Juris Conferences LLC and the American Society of International Law will hold their Third Annual Investment Treaty Arbitration Conference on April 30 at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue NW.

The conference will focus on four of the most pressing issues before counsel—consent and jurisdiction of investment arbitrations, public policy and the interpretation of substantive standards and protections, interpretation and remedies in international investment arbitration, and legitimacy and inconsistency of investment arbitration.

Eight up-and-comers in the field will prepare papers on these topics and defend their positions before a panel of arbitrators and arbitration specialists.

José E. Alvarez, a professor at Columbia University School of Law and chief executive director of the school’s Center on Global Legal Problems, will be the keynote luncheon speaker.

For more information, contact Juris Conferences at 631-351-5430, or events@jurisconferences.com, or visit www.jurisconferences.com.

Series Outlines What Every Lawyer Should Know About Immigration Law
Starting in April, the D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program will hold a five-part immigration law series focusing on areas of immigration law that many attorneys will encounter regardless of their practice areas.

The series kicks off April 14 with “Overview of What Every Lawyer Should Know About Immigration Law,” which will look at the various federal agencies involved in the administration of immigration law. This session includes a discussion of key concepts and terminology; the immigration statutory and regulatory scheme; and important issues affecting those seeking to enter, work, or reside in the United States.

Maggio & Kattar, P.C. managing partner Jim Alexander; Deputy Bar Counsel Elizabeth A. Herman, and The Haynes Immigration Law Firm of counsel Amy R. Novick will lead this class.

Session two, “Family-Based Immigration Law and Domestic Relations” on April 21, will tackle issues such as the adoption of foreign children, separation and divorce, and special immigration options for battered spouses. This session will feature faculty Melissa Frisk and Elizabeth Quinn, senior attorney and shareholder, respectively, at Maggio & Kattar.

The third session, “Business Immigration Law for Business Lawyers: Nonimmigrant Visas,” will take place on April 28. Faculty will explore temporary nonimmigrant visas, as well as the increasing relationship between corporate and immigration law, including mergers and acquisitions and corporate immigration liabilities. The unique immigration avenues available to foreign investors also will be discussed.

Session four, “Business Immigration Law for Business Lawyers: U.S. Permanent Residence” on May 5, will focus on the various avenues by which a foreign national may secure permanent residence through employment. Participants will learn more about employment-based categories, including Permanent Labor Certification or PERM, as well as labor certification-exempt categories such as outstanding researchers and multinational managers/executives.

Maggio & Kattar’s Noel Adams, Haesung Han, and John Nahajzer will teach both the third and fourth sessions of the series.

The final session, “Immigration Implications of Criminal Convictions” on May 12, is essential for attorneys working with foreign nationals who become involved with the criminal justice system, even for seemingly insignificant criminal offenses.

Immigration law experts Alexander and Frisk will be joined by Dree Collopy, also of Maggio & Kattar, as course instructors.

This series is cosponsored by the D.C. Bar Administrative Law and Agency Practice Section; Corporation, Finance and Securities Law Section; Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section; Family Law Section; International Law Section; and Labor and Employment Law Section.

All sessions will take place from 6 to 9:15 p.m. at the D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 level. For more information, contact the Continuing Legal Education Program at 202-626-3488 or visit www.dcbar.org/cle.

District of Columbia Judicial Conference
The 34th Annual District of Columbia Judicial Conference, themed “The CSI Effect: Computers, Science, and the Internet—Impact on the Administration of Justice,” will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, June 19, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Course Offers Practical Look at How to Manage Lawyer Trust Accounts
The D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program’s “Ethics and Lawyer Trust Accounts” course makes a return on April 23.

Course instructors include Gene Shipp Jr., bar counsel for the District of Columbia; Reid Trautz, director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Practice and Professionalism Center; and Daniel M. Mills, manager of the D.C. Bar Practice Management Advisory Service.

The class will learn about the proper maintenance of a lawyer trust account, including the purpose of lawyer trust accounting, when to deposit, how to deposit, the duty to keep tangible property safe, Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts or IOLTA, consequences of improper management, ethical obligations under the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct, the duty to account, and how trust accounts are controlled.

The course, cosponsored by all 21 sections of the D.C. Bar, will take place from 6 to 9:15 p.m. at the D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 level.

For more information, contact the Continuing Legal Education Program at 202-626-3488 or visit www.dcbar.org/cle.

D.C. Courts Celebrate Law Day 2009
On May 1 the District of Columbia Courts will host an open house in observance of Law Day 2009. For more information, visit www.dccourts.gov.

Women’s Bar Association Holds Women of Distinction Luncheon
On April 30 the Communications Law Forum of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia (WBA) will hold a Women of Distinction Luncheon featuring Diane Cornell, vice president of Inmarsat, Inc.

Inmarsat is a leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services with maritime, aeronautical, and land mobile users in more than 80 countries. Cornell will discuss current hot topics in the satellite industry.

The luncheon takes place from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at Hogan & Hartson LLP, 555 13th Street NW. Attendees must register before 10 a.m. on April 28.

For more information, contact the WBA at 202-639-8880, or admin@wbadc.org, or visit www.wbadc.org.

Energy Bar Gears Up
for 63rd Annual Meeting
The Energy Bar Association will hold its 63rd Annual Meeting on April 23 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. For more information, visit www.eba-net.org.

Learn How to Run a Law Office
Lawyers who want to learn how to run a solo or small firm might want to attend a basic training session being offered by the D.C. Bar Practice Management Advisory Service.

The small, interactive program will cover topics such as business plans, client issues, employees, fees and agreements, office operations, marketing, planning for the unexpected, where to find help, and thinking and productivity tools.

Faculty also will discuss communications and problem solving, file creation, hiring and firing, selection and intake, types of fee arrangements, retention, marketing on a shoestring budget, and smart marketing.

The next sessions take place June 12, July 10, August 8, September 11, October 8, November 13, and December 11 at the Bar’s new headquarters, 1101 K Street NW.

For times, more information, or to register, contact Daniel M. Mills, Practice Management Advisory Service manager, at dmills@dcbar.org or 202-626-1312.

Reach Kathryn Alfisi at kalfisi@dcbar.org.