The Halloween/Parade Weekend

There’s supposedly a bunch of things going on this weekend.  Something about a parade.  Oh yeah, and it’s Halloween too. 

Hey, how often is it Halloween, a parade, and Friday night all at the same time?  For those that do not have the free tickets to the Citizens Bank Park or Lincoln Financial Field Phillies celebrations, there’s a few other things you can do:

Parade – Friday, 12-3 p.m., 20^th and Market to South Broad Street

The parade starts in Center City during lunch hour.  I can’t even imagine how crowded it’s gonna be to walk anywhere tomorrow.  As I was discussing with someone last night on Broad Street, most people there either were too young to remember that last parade and celebration or weren’t born yet.  So a lot of people don’t really have a frame of reference for how these things work.  I have a feeling that billable hours Friday will take a precipitous drop.  Oh, and I think the unwritten rule of alcohol being allowed during parades applies. 

Terror Behind the Walls – Through Sunday, Eastern State Penitentiary, Fairmount Ave.

“Terror Behind the Walls” is the standard bearer for annual, wide-reaching Halloween events in the city.  It’s a great opportunity to check out a true Philadelphia landmark: Eastern State Penitentiary, which actually has been used as a model for many other prisons throughout the country.  There’s high tech lighting, digital sound, special effects and just some general freakiness.  Tickets are $20-30.  It’s good to do at least once. 

Tricks, Treats, and Tributes – Friday, 8 p.m., Verizon Hall at Kimmel Center

 

The Kimmel Center will be transformed into a Halloween spectacular.  There will be costume contests, food, drinks, dancing, bands, etc. Performers include Bjorn Again (the official ABBA tribute band) and Peter Conte playing organ accompaniment to a spooky silent film.  It’s $40.  The funny thing is that I will be an event there at Kimmel earlier during the parade, so with any luck, all the revelers will be cleared by the time the show starts.  Either that, or I hope that people passed out aren’t mistakenly awarded costume prizes. 

2008 Andrew Hamilton Gala - Saturday, 7 p.m., 23^rd Street Armory

The big gala this Saturday is the 30th Annual Andrew Hamilton Gala, which is the big fundraiser for the Philadelphia Bar Foundation.  I’ve never been, so I’m looking forward to going this year. It’s the “social event of the season in the legal community.”  That’s funny, I always thought that discovery court was.  Tickets for young lawyers are $175.  A little pricy but lack tie events don’t come cheap.

Running for Election – to the YLD Executive Committee

There’s two weeks left until Election Day – but it’s not too late for young lawyers to run for election.  The Philadelphia Bar Association elections take place on December 8, 2008.  Every year, seven new young lawyers are elected to three year terms to the Young Lawyers Division Executive Committee.  Typically, there are about ten or so candidates for the EC, so the odds of election are in a candidate’s favor.  

For those wondering about time commitments, fear not.  There’s monthly meetings and some tim spent in helping organize our events, but it’s not too consuming.  The benefits of involvement far outweigh the burden.  For more information in running, check out the Bar Association webpage.  Nomination materials are due October 29, 2008.  Feel free to ask current EC members if you have any questions.

Young Lawyer Entrepreneurs

3muchapparel, LLC

Founded by three law students from Temple University School of Law, 3muchapparel was designed to educate, inspire, and creatively clothe individuals.  Each of the founders had a passion to bring a creative and fresh brand of expression to the legal community.

According to the website:

The legal community often gets a bad reputation with some pretty strong generalizations — conservative, money-hungry, boring, dishonest, conniving, etc.  We beg to differ. The legal profession, as we know it, has many hidden talents.  By creating this company and our innovative designs, the founders of 3muchapparel aim to highlight the hidden talent and change this oversimplified view of the legal community.  We have done so by using 3muchapparel as a vehicle to educate, inspire, and creatively clothe people who are interested in law.  

Some of their t-shirts are cute: “I heart dicta” and “Marry Me. I’m a lawyer.  Prenuptual Agreement Required.”  Check out their facebook page here.

If you know of any other young lawyer entrepreneurs in Philadelphia, please let us know! 

Past reports –  Young Lawyer Entrepreneurs.

Pro Bono Opportunities Day 2008

All attorneys are invited to attend Philadelphia VIP’s signature training seminar on Wednesday October 22, 2008 from 8:30 am to 12:15 pm at Montgomery McCracken Walker and Rhoads, LLP.  From first year associates new to the practice of law to those with many years of experience, attorneys will learn how to use their legal experience to help those most in need in our community. 

Training sessions for the day are available to professionals from all areas of practice and include probate procedures, name change and birth certificate amendments, consumer cases and legal wills.  Following the training event, VIP offers each participant the opportunity to take a pro bono case, and each attorney who attends the seminar and accepts a case will earn two (2) substantice CLE credits.  The cost of the training is $45 per attendee with breakfast and educational materials provided.  The deadline for registration is Monday, October 13, 2008.

Through the efforts of pro bono volunteers, Philadelphia VIP is able to provide equal access to the legal system for low-income Philadelphians and serve more than 1100 individuals and families every year who are unable to afford legal representation.

Contact Andrew Keating at 215-523-9550 or akeating@phillyvip.org to register.

The Effect of These Uncertain Economic Times

It’s fair to say that the economy is having some issues.  That’s certainly an understatement.  Where Osama Bin Laden failed in his stated goal of destabilizing the U.S. economy, subprime lenders have seemingly succeeded.  Even with the recent rescue bill signed into law, economic stability is far from certain.  There’s reports that bank failures will only continue into the next year. 

So how does the current economic reality affect young lawyers.  The answer: a multitude of ways.  Those who perform work in the corporate and finance industry are probably most affected.  Companies that may be longstanding clients may all of a sudden be in the midst of a bankruptcy filing.  Workloads could then possibly decline (and not in a good way).  Those who work in-house for various companies are also ”at risk.”  In-house counsel merely provide services and could be deemed expendable if layoffs are necessary. 

For those of us in “unrelated” litigation fields, like products liability or health care, we too are not immune.  We may find ourselves with clients paying bills late, requesting reductions in rates or switching to “cheaper” firms. 

On the flip side, for those young lawyers just starting out, it may be a good time to start boning up on your creditors rights and bankruptcy law and see if you can switch to that practice area.  Suffice it to say, we can expect a probable rise in bankruptcy work in the immediate future.

These are uncertain times in which we live.  We must prepare for all eventualities while at the same time maintaining our optimism.

More on the legal gender gap

The New York Times is giving attention to the issue (or struggle depending on how you look at it) in Marci Alboher’s article Law Firms Get Rated on Female Friendliness.

Alboher noted, “[i]n an era where law students freely ask firms questions about the number of women being promoted to partner, policies on flexible work schedules, diversity, and general quality of life, surveys like this hold a lot of power.”

However, she concluded with the following anecdote:

On a less hopeful note, Mr. Revsesz, the N.Y.U. Law School dean told a story about trying to persuade the chairman of a big law firm that as long as lawyers were available to work on client matters late into the evening, it shouldn’t matter whether they are still at their office desks or whether they are working from home after having dinner with their families. Apparently, Mr. Revsesz was unable to make any headway with the law firm partner, even with an example that involved working a 13-hour day.

Progress?

But there are also skeptics of the survey.  Some think it is just a law firm PR ploy.  Find more on the fight over the survey here.