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Week of July 13, 2009
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AYLA Docket Call, July 16
Date: Thursday, July 16
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Manuel's, 310 Congress Ave.
Serving up award-winning Mexican cuisine and Austin's best margaritas, Manuel's is the site of this month's AYLA Docket Call. Escape the summer heat with a cool drink and catch up with old and new friends. Don't miss out on this once-a-month celebration of another work week behind us!
This month's Docket Call is sponsored by Datascope and LexisNexis.
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2009 Legal Build Update: Build Schedule to Begin Despite Fundraising Shortage
Every other year, Austin Habitat for Humanity and the Austin Bar Association team up to bring the legal community together to create opportunity, inspire hope, and make an important dream come true through the power of home ownership.
Although actual building of Tamika Nobles' family's home is scheduled to begin July 18, Legal Build is far from our fund-raising goals. To date, the committee has raised barely half of the $65,000 necessary to sponsor the Nobles' home. Tamika has already completed the 400 volunteer hours of sweat-equity by helping build other Habitat homes and has completed the 24 homebuyer-education classes required under the Habitat for Humanity program. Tamika has done her part; now the Austin legal community must do ours.
Tamika has been a medical assistant for the past 10 years, is the mother of three teenagers, and has just taken in her 6-month-old great niece. After work, Tamika helps care for her elderly parents who live in Austin. Tamika and her family have lived in federally-assisted housing for the past 5 years and look forward to having a permanent place that they can call home.
The Legal Build Committee recognizes that these are tough economic times but consider this: If each member of the Austin Bar clicks here and gives $25, they will exceed their goal. So please give as much as you can give, even if it's less than $25.
The Legal Build Committee would be delighted to discuss options for promoting generosity within your firm in person, over the phone, or via e-mail. To schedule a visit or obtain more information, contact Mishell Kneeland at mishell.kneeland@gmail.com.
Thanks for your consideration, and thanks in advance for anything you can give to help change the lives of Tamika and her three children.
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FTC "Red Flags" Rule to Go in Affect August 1
The Federal Trade Commission has established a Red Flags Rule under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. The Rule, originally set to go into effect May 1, 2009, requires creditors to develop programs identifying, detecting, and responding to the warning signs ("red flags") of identity theft. The FTC considers lawyers, among other professionals, to be creditors and thus subject to the Rule.
The American Bar Association requested the FTC to postpone enforcement of the Rule in order to assess the implications of the Rule on lawyers and law firms. On April 30, 2009, the FTC delayed enforcement of the Rule until August 1, 2009.
On June 13, 2009, the ABA Board of Governors passed policy urging the FTC and Congress to exempt lawyers from the Red Flags Rule. The Governmental Affairs Office is advocating the exemption of lawyers from the Rule before the August 1 enforcement date.
However, at this date, lawyers are included in the Rule and should prepare accordingly. For more information, please visit either the ABA Web site or FTC Web site.
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Enough About Me ... What Do You Think About Me?
That's right, the Austin Bar Association wants your opinion on how we're doing. To launch this new Bar year, we want to know what you — our members — think about the Austin Bar programs, benefits, services, etc. This is YOUR association, and to best serve you, we need to know what you like, what you don't like, what's working for you, and what's not.
Later today, the Austin Bar will be sending out notices for an electronic survey through the Ballot Box software. Please set your spam filter to accept e-mails from BallotBox@BallotBoxOline.com. Participation in the survey should only take about 5 minutes, and the pay-off is an association that better serves our members.
Contact Carol Tobias at Carol@austinbar.org or Kat Hinson at Kat@austinbar.org with any questions about the survey.
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CLE for Your Staff, August 6 - September 23
Invest in your staff by sending them to the upcoming Advanced Legal Career Enhancement Seminar offered annually by Austin LSA, the association for legal professionals. The course will cover ethics, civil litigation, citations and research, courts and jurisdictions, real estate, estate planning, probate, family law, criminal law, office procedures, and written communications. Where else can you get a bargain like this for only $50?
For more information, please contact Fay Jordan at 495-1426 or fjordan@georgeandbrothers.com.
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Congrats to Finishers in First Fit Bar Challenge
Hats off to those who completed the Austin Bar's first Fit Bar Challenge! If you registered and walked, biked, or swam your way to the required 100 points, please fax your point log along with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address to 473-2136; Attention: Brad Houston. You will be notified shortly about the details of the Fit Bar t-shirt.
Also, continue to keep track of your points. The second Challenge will start in the upcoming months but points earned over the summer will carry forward.
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Hays County District Clerk Approves E-Filing for Civil Documents
Hays and surrounding counties now have the ability to file civil documents in the Hays County District Courts electronically through eFiling for Courts, a service developed by TexasOnline, the official Web site of the State of Texas and offered through the Hays County District Clerk’s Office.
Electronic filing enables filers to submit civil documents via the Internet without printing, standing in line at the Justice Center or hiring a courier. Filers can send documents through a secure website 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week from any location with Internet access. The electronic filing rules in Texas allow filers to submit most documents up to 11:59 p.m. and still meet the filing deadline. An added bonus for attorneys is the ability to electronically “serve” copies of documents to other parties in the case, with or without a filing.
To eFile in Hays County, an attorney must register with one of TexasOnline’s certified Electronic Filing Service Providers. The current providers are American LegalNet, CaseFileXpress, Court File America, eLawServices, My File Runner, OneLegal, and ProDoc. Once registered, attorneys can eFile into any participating court in the state.
For more information, visit www.TexasOnline.com/eFiling or www.distclerk.co.hays.tx.us.
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Featured Member Benefit: Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. has partnered with the Austin Bar to offer our members the opportunity to take advantage of a Business Account. Click here to view how a business account works for your company. To set up a business account, log on to www.business.tiffany.com and click on "Apply for an Account." You can also call 1-800-770-0800 and press 1 to speak with a Business Development Specialist.
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Upcoming Meetings
SECTIONS:
Monday, July 20 - Civil Litigation Section Meeting
COMMITTEES:
The following Austin Bar Committees are meeting at the Austin Bar office, 816 Congress, Suite 700.
Parking is available in the adjacent garage, accessible from 9th Street. Please feel free to attend any that interest you.
Since lunch is provided, please RSVP by noon the previous day to Mollie@austinbar.org or call 472-0279 with your name and the name of the committee.
Thursday, July 23 - People's Law School Committee Meeting
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Proud corporate sponsors of the Austin Bar Association
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