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NBA-CLS - National Bar Association Commercial Law Section
Reception
COMMERCIAL LAW SECTIONNational Bar Association "Section of the Year" 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010!The Commercial Law Section is one of twenty-one sections of the National Bar Association ("NBA"). Among other things, the Section is committed to bringing its members together with in-house counsel at major corporations who seek to increase the diversity of their outside counsel ranks. |
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online event registration
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87th Annual NBA Convention & Exhibits
Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, NV
July 14-19, 2012 We look forward to seeing you at all our future events.
PAST EVENTS
Judicial Council/Small Firms & Solo Practitioners/Young Lawyers Division Mid-Winter Meeting
Sonesto Maho Beach Resort & Casino
St. Maarten - January 18-22, 2012
Congressional Black Caucus Reception
Washington, DC - September 22, 2011
NBA 86th Annual Convention & Exhibits
July 31-
The Hilton - Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland
NBA 29th Annual Mid-Year Conference &
Gertrude E. Rush Award Dinner
April 7-9, 2011
Berkeley, California
CLS 24th Annual Corporate Counsel Conference
Orlando, Florida
February 24 - 26, 2011
Judicial Council & Board of Governors Mid-Winter Meeting
January 26-30, 2011
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Vickie E. Turner - Honored by Lawyers Club of San Diego
Vickie E. Turner, a partner with Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP, a San Diego-based litigation law firm, has been awarded the Belva Lockwood Award by the Lawyers Club of San Diego. The award recognizes Lawyers Club members for outstanding contributions to the organization. The award is named for Belva Anne Lockwood (1830-1917), who devoted her life to improving the social, economic and political status of women and advocating equality for all. At the Lawyers Club annual dinner on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, San Diego Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sontag gave Ms. Turner a warm introduction, touching upon Turner’s dedication to family, career and public service.
Ms. Turner has devoted her life to improving the status of women and advocating opportunity and equality for all. She has advanced to the pinnacle of her profession, raised a family with her husband and has donated substantial time to the community with an emphasis on helping children. Ms. Turner joined Lawyers Club as a young attorney. She went on to serve on several committees and served as the organization’s president from 1996 to 1997. Ms. Turner was instrumental in establishing Lawyers Club Fund for Justice, which provides local organizations with charitable gifts, and she continues to serve on the organization’s Advisory Board.
LaTanya Langley - Honored as "Woman of the Year" by the State of Connecticut
LaTanya Langley, the Director and Senior Counsel at Diageo North America, was named “Woman of the Year” by the African-American Affairs Commission for the State of Connecticut. African-American Affairs Commission’s goal is to improve and promote the economic development, education, health and political well-being of the African-American community in the State of Connecticut. Ms. Langley, a NBA-CLS Executive Committee member was presented with the award on May 20, 2011 at the Twelfth Annual Classic Awards in Hartford, Connecticut for her contributions to her community.
Gregory M. Wesley - Named One of Milwaukee's Most Influential
Gregory M. Wesley, Partner of Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP, was recently recognized by the Milwaukee Business Journal as one of Milwaukee’s Most Influential People. The Milwaukee Business Journal is a local business journal publication providing coverage of local business news and sales lead data in print, online and mobile formats. The local publication also hosts numerous networking and award events throughout the year. Mr. Wesley’s practice includes Labor and Employment, Government Relations, and Indian law. He can be reached at (414) 277-8500 or greg_wesley@gshllp.com.
Executive Committee Member DeMonica D. Gladney, Counsel for Exxon Mobil Corporation and Chair of the NBA Women Lawyers Division (WLD), has been appointed as NBA Liaison to the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Women in the Profession for a one-year term. The Commission has served as a national voice for women lawyers and has led the efforts to overcome the obstacles impeding the advancement of women in the profession. It develops programs, policies and publications to assist women in public and private practice, the judiciary and academia. As Liaison, Ms. Gladney will be responsible for helping to build a working relationship between the WLD and the Commission and to foster collaborative projects between the groups. In addition, Ms. Gladney recently released her new book, Identity Theft: Discovering The Real You. In a unique, thought-provoking approach in the book, she merges natural and spiritual identity theft together to give you a step-by-step roadmap to recovering your stolen identity.
Lafayette & Kumagai LLP successfully represented a Fortune 100 wireless communications company in an eleven-week trial against three plaintiffs, who alleged sexual harassment and retaliation and sought punitive damages plus over $5.6 million in damages and fees. Plaintiffs alleged that their manager and assistant manager sexually harassed them and, in collaboration with others, retaliated against them for complaining to upper management by among other things, denying them promotional job opportunities, terminating one and forcing the others to terminate their employment. During trial, the three plaintiffs corroborated each other’s allegations and sought indirect damages for having to witness sexual harassment allegedly committed against others. On March 30, 2011, the jury deliberated for just under thirty minutes before delivering a defense verdict on all claims.
Lafayette & Kumagai also successfully represented an energy company in a three-and-a-half week trial against a plaintiff who alleged age discrimination and breach of contract against his former employer of 46 years. Plaintiff asked for $1.8 million, not including punitive damages and attorney’s fees. On May 11, 2011, the jury found that Plaintiff’s age discrimination claim had no merit, thus eliminating the prospect of costly attorney’s fees and punitive and emotional distress damages. For the breach of contract claim, the jury awarded Plaintiff $180,000, an amount less than what Defendant had previously offered in order to settle the matter. Gary Lafayette is a partner at Lafayette & Kumagai LLP, located in San Francisco, California. His practice includes employment litigation, general business litigation and civil trial practice. He can be reached at glafayette@lkclaw.com.
Tara D. Elliott has been promoted to Principal within Fish & Richardson’s IP Litigation Group in Wilmington, DE. Ms. Elliott focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation and counseling across a range of technologies, including electrical and computer engineering. She also works in government investigations and provides compliance and risk management counseling to her clients. She has clerked in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Ms. Elliott has previous technical experience as an analyst and computer engineer at the Central Intelligence Agency. She received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her Bachelors in computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Ms. Elliott can be reached at tde@fr.com or (302) 778-8416.
DeMonica D. Gladney - Appointed Liaison of ABA Commission on Women in the Profession & Released New Book
Executive Committee Member DeMonica D. Gladney, Counsel for Exxon Mobil Corporation and Chair of the NBA Women Lawyers Division (WLD), has been appointed as NBA Liaison to the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Women in the Profession for a one-year term. The Commission has served as a national voice for women lawyers and has led the efforts to overcome the obstacles impeding the advancement of women in the profession. It develops programs, policies and publications to assist women in public and private practice, the judiciary and academia. As Liaison, Ms. Gladney will be responsible for helping to build a working relationship between the WLD and the Commission and to foster collaborative projects between the groups. In addition, Ms. Gladney recently released her new book, Identity Theft: Discovering The Real You. In a unique, thought-provoking approach in the book, she merges natural and spiritual identity theft together to give you a step-by-step roadmap to recovering your stolen identity.
Gary T. Lafayette - Lafayette & Kumagai LLP Prevails in Back-to-Back Trials
Lafayette & Kumagai LLP successfully represented a Fortune 100 wireless communications company in an eleven-week trial against three plaintiffs, who alleged sexual harassment and retaliation and sought punitive damages plus over $5.6 million in damages and fees. Plaintiffs alleged that their manager and assistant manager sexually harassed them and, in collaboration with others, retaliated against them for complaining to upper management by among other things, denying them promotional job opportunities, terminating one and forcing the others to terminate their employment. During trial, the three plaintiffs corroborated each other’s allegations and sought indirect damages for having to witness sexual harassment allegedly committed against others. On March 30, 2011, the jury deliberated for just under thirty minutes before delivering a defense verdict on all claims.
Lafayette & Kumagai also successfully represented an energy company in a three-and-a-half week trial against a plaintiff who alleged age discrimination and breach of contract against his former employer of 46 years. Plaintiff asked for $1.8 million, not including punitive damages and attorney’s fees. On May 11, 2011, the jury found that Plaintiff’s age discrimination claim had no merit, thus eliminating the prospect of costly attorney’s fees and punitive and emotional distress damages. For the breach of contract claim, the jury awarded Plaintiff $180,000, an amount less than what Defendant had previously offered in order to settle the matter. Gary Lafayette is a partner at Lafayette & Kumagai LLP, located in San Francisco, California. His practice includes employment litigation, general business litigation and civil trial practice. He can be reached at glafayette@lkclaw.com.
Tara D. Elliot - Named Principal of Fish & Richardson
Tara D. Elliott has been promoted to Principal within Fish & Richardson’s IP Litigation Group in Wilmington, DE. Ms. Elliott focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation and counseling across a range of technologies, including electrical and computer engineering. She also works in government investigations and provides compliance and risk management counseling to her clients. She has clerked in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Ms. Elliott has previous technical experience as an analyst and computer engineer at the Central Intelligence Agency. She received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her Bachelors in computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Ms. Elliott can be reached at tde@fr.com or (302) 778-8416.
Maurice A. Bellan - Joins McGuireWoods
Maurice A. Bellan has joined McGuireWoods, LLP’s Government, Regulatory & Criminal Investigations Department (GRCI) as a partner in Washington, D.C. Mr. Bellan will focus his litigation practice on internal and government investigations.As a former trial lawyer for the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Mr. Bellan brings seasoned experience litigating civil and criminal cases in federal, state, and administrative courts. Specifically, he has served as lead trial counsel in cases involving complex civil fraud, false claims act, construction, trademark, class action, and whistleblower litigation. His clients include companies in the petroleum, consumer goods, waste/recycling and government contracting industries. Mr. Bellan joins McGuireWoods after working at Arent Fox in Washington. “We are very excited to welcome Maurice to our group,” said Chuck McIntyre, chair of McGuireWoods’ GRCI Department.
“His experience with the Justice Department, combined with his familiarity in handling a wide variety of litigation matters for his clients, further increases the breadth of experience we can offer our clients.” Mr. Bellan graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1998, where he served as an editor of the Journal of Health Care Law & Policy. He is currently on the board of directors of the National Senior Campuses, Inc., commissioner of the Maryland Aviation Commission, and vice chair of the Howard County Ethics Commission. He is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association Judicial Nomination Committee, the American Bar Association, and the National Bar Association. Mr. Bellan is also active in A Better Chance, Inc., a national organization that recruits and develops leaders among young people of color in the United States.
McGuireWoods LLP is a full-service law firm with approximately 900 lawyers in 19 offices worldwide. The firm’s Washington office is located at 2001 K Street N.W. Suite 400. For more information, visit www.mcguirewoods.com.
“His experience with the Justice Department, combined with his familiarity in handling a wide variety of litigation matters for his clients, further increases the breadth of experience we can offer our clients.” Mr. Bellan graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1998, where he served as an editor of the Journal of Health Care Law & Policy. He is currently on the board of directors of the National Senior Campuses, Inc., commissioner of the Maryland Aviation Commission, and vice chair of the Howard County Ethics Commission. He is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association Judicial Nomination Committee, the American Bar Association, and the National Bar Association. Mr. Bellan is also active in A Better Chance, Inc., a national organization that recruits and develops leaders among young people of color in the United States.
McGuireWoods LLP is a full-service law firm with approximately 900 lawyers in 19 offices worldwide. The firm’s Washington office is located at 2001 K Street N.W. Suite 400. For more information, visit www.mcguirewoods.com.
