Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Uniting the Great Divide



Friends and Members of NAPABA-MN

As many of you know, NAPABA-MN will be hosting the first Central Region Conference. Our theme - Uniting the Great Divide - is aimed at bringing Central Region issues to the attention of the national NAPABA organization in Washington D.C.

The Central Region Conference will be on June 13-14, 2008 at Minneapolis Hilton Hotel and Convention Center

Schedule

Friday, June 13

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Conference Opening Reception & Cocktails: Sponsored by Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Saturday, June 14

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Registration

9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Continuing Legal Education I

Option 1 Recent Developments in Patent Law

Professor R. Carl Moy, William Mitchell College of Law

Former patent examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C., attorney at Merchant & Gould (Minneapolis, MN), patent agent for Parkhurst & Oliff (Alexandria, VA), and guest researcher for the Max Planck Institute for Patent, Copyright, and Unfair Competition Law, Munich, Germany. Prof. Moy authored Moy’s Walker on Patents.

**1.0 standard Minnesota CLE credit applied for**

Option 2 Republican National Convention and the limits of the First Amendment

The Honorable Kathleen Gearin, Chief Judge of the Second Judicial District
John Choi, City Attorney for the City of Saint Paul
Professor Raleigh H. Levine, William Mitchell College of Law

Saint Paul, Minnesota will be the proud host of 2008 Republican National Convention. Public officials, academics, activists and ordinary citizens will have to grapple with the possibilities and the boundaries to the First Amendment, and the distinguished panelists will illuminate the issues.

**1.0 standard Minnesota CLE credit applied for**

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Continuing Legal Education II

Option 1 Getting to Know your Muslim Client

Imani Jaafar-Mohammad, Mohammad & Jaafar-Mohammad
Murad Mohammad, Mohammad & Jaafar-Mohammad

This presentation designed to teach legal practitioners basic information about Islam and Muslims. This presentation is intended to help practitioners better serve their clients by providing a deeper understanding of their religious practice. Legal practitioners and others need to understand the issues facing the Muslim community in order to be effective advocates. Speakers will provide background information on Islam, legal issues facing the Muslim community, and practice tips for advocates.

**1.0 Elimination of Bias Minnesota CLE credit applied for**

Option 2 So you want to be a…Career paths and mentoring with in API communities

Vice Dean Ann Iijima, William Mitchell College of Law
Lawrence G. Almeda, Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione
Dan Lew, Office of the Public Defender, Sixth Judicial District

In a competitive career field, how have successful Asian American attorneys designed their own career paths? How can we as an API community work to create opportunities for other members of the community to succeed? Come hear successful attorneys with diverse careers discuss how they got there and how you can too.

**1.0 standard Minnesota CLE credit applied for**

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch

Keynote Speakers Steven Kohn & Jonathan Smith

Chai Vang, a Hmong hunter, was found guilty, by an all Caucasian jury, of killing six Caucasian hunters in the woods of northwest Wisconsin in November 2004 as well as the attempted murder of two others. Did race play a role in this verdict? Did an injustice occur? Steven Kohn and Jonathan Smith, Mr. Vang's defense team, discuss the racial and cultural climate and obstacles surrounding this nationally publicized case.

**1.0 Elimination of Bias Minnesota CLE credit applied for**

1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Continuing Legal Education III

Option 1 Dealing with the Media in High Profile Cases

Steven Kohn, Kohn and Smith
Colleen Henry, Esq.

Representing a client in a high-profile case presents unique challenges. Steven Kohn, who was involved in many high-profile cases, and his wife Colleen Henry, an investigative reporter, share their experiences from legal and media perspectives.

**1.0 standard Minnesota CLE credit applied for**

Option 2 Crossing Oceans: Practical and Ethical Issues of Legal Outsourcing

J.R. Maddox, Esq., Director of Intellectual Property Services for Lexadigm Solutions, LLC. In a global market, legal outsourcing has become a cost effective way to meet clients’ needs. The ethical attorney must be aware of ethical obligations such as conflicts of interest, privileged and confidentiality, notice to clients, fees and billing and a host of other potential pitfalls.

**1.0 Ethics Minnesota CLE credit applied for**

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Plenary: Uniting the Great Divide

Bar leaders from the NAPABA Central Region Affiliates will lead a discussion with conference attendees. The topic will be “Uniting the Great Divide- what YOU want to tell NAPABA about the practice of law in the Central Region.” The purpose of this discussion will be to identify and summarize issues faced by APA attorneys in the Central Region. The Bar Leaders will put this information into a document to be delivered to the NAPABA Board of Directors in Washington D.C. We look forward to your input!

6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Welcome Reception & Cocktails: Sponsored by Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Gala Dinner & 2008 Annual Meeting of NAPABA-MN

Keynote Speaker - Sandra Leung
Senior VP/General Counsel, Divisional at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, New York, NY

9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Entertainment (Casino Night!)

Sponsorship

NAPABA-MN will be looking for corporate, law firm and individual sponsors as follows:

• $10,000 – Premier Level Sponsor (includes first choice hosting of Keynote Speaker and priority placement in all printed materials)
• $5,000 – Jade Level Sponsor (includes hosting of Keynote Speaker and priority placement in all printed materials)
• $2,000 – Platinum Level Sponsor (includes group hosting of second Keynote Speaker and priority placement in all printed materials)
• $1,000 – Gold Level Sponsor (includes mention in all printed materials)
• $500 – Silk Level Sponsor (includes mention in all printed materials)


If you or your employer is interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact Steven Reeves, Conference Co-Chair, directly at 612-766-8859 or at sreeves@faegre.com. Please note that we are looking for sponsors that are willing to be contacted again in connection with our effort to host the NAPABA National Convention within the next 3-4 years.

Accommodations

NAPABA-MN has secured a special room rate at the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel and Convention Center of $149 per night on Friday and Saturday night, June 13 and June 14, 2008 (single occupancy etc.).

More details are available directly from the Hilton.

If you (or a friend coming in from out of town to attend the Conference) are interested in reserving one of these rooms, please call the Minneapolis Hilton directly at (612) 376-1000 and mention your attendance at the Conference. Please note- these rates are good through the end of May, 2008.

Conference Fees

NAPABA-MN will hold its annual meeting in connection with the Closing Dinner on Saturday, June 14, 6:00-9:00 p.m., with entertainment to follow. As a special incentive to NAPABA-MN members to encourage a strong turnout, the Conference fee also includes NAPABA-MN membership dues which will be good through the 2009 Annual Meeting(!).

The fee structure is as follows:

• $165 conference fee for private sector attorneys
• $125 conference fee for public sector attorneys, retired attorney and solo practitioners
• $95 conference fee for law students and recent graduates not yet admitted to practice law.
• $30/$50 for guests to attend the lunch ($30) or the dinner ($50) (or both for $70)

The conference fee includes attendance at all seminars, CLEs, and all hosted cocktails and meals. In other words, one fee gets you access to everything!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Get Involved!

The Conference will bring attorneys and law students from the states in the NAPABA-Central Region (Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio), as well as high profile members of the NAPABA national organization. This is a great business development opportunity for senior attorneys, a great networking event for newer attorneys and a fantastic learning experience for law students. We need help staffing and organizing. Please follow up with a board member if you are interested in helping with the Seminar, Sponsorship, Social or Operations committees as follows:

Sponsorship
Steven Reeves
612-766.8856
sreeves@faegre.com

Operations
Alex Kim
612-455.3813
akim@hsml.com

Seminar Planning
Nicole Kubista
612-757.7643
nicole.kubista@state.mn.us

Social
Rebecca Chaffee
612-339.7121
rchaffee@bestlaw.com