ACC Focus on the New Jersey Chapter - April 4, 2008 (Print All Articles)NJCCA President's Message
by Lee Bream Important recent changes at NJCC. To the Membership, Chapter Priorities for 2008: We are a membership-based organization and driven by your needs - or what we perceive as your needs. At our last Board meeting, I presented my list of priorities for the year for how we can best serve member interests. These include in no particular order the following:
Save the Date: Our Spring Cocktail reception is scheduled for May 13 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange (the location for last Fall's membership dinner). I encourage all members to have some fun networking with your colleagues and our sponsors, enjoy some jazz, good food, a walking tour of the grounds and a special wine tasting of some Spanish wines (at 5:00 pm, limited to 40 people). If there is new attorney in your office, I encourage you to invite them to attend this event. I encourage those new to in-house or those in transition to use this unique networking opportunity. You can even sign-up online! Updating Your Contact Info: If you have recently changed jobs, moved or in-transition, remember to update your contact information at the ACC website. In that way, you can continue to receive our newsletters and announcements. Go to the Member link of the ACC website: http://www.acc.com/php/cms/index.php?id=12 If anyone has comments or questions (especially on our Chapter Priorities) please contact me at lee.braem@evonik.com. Lee Braem
NJCCA Supports Pro Bono Service
Voluntary pro bono opportunities expanded for in house lawyers. NJCCA recently submitted comments to the NJ Supreme Court Rules Committee asking it to expand the number of organizations through which in-house limited license attorneys can provide voluntary pro bono services. NJCCA's March 25, 2008 submittal to the Court is attached. Many limited license attorneys are interested in providing pro bono services individually or through their law department programs. Unfortunately, in the Court's Supplemental Administrative Determinations regarding the scope of practice under a limited license, including pro bono practice, the Court appeared to limit free legal services through only one organization, Legal Services of New Jersey. NJCCA's recent request to the Court was to allow pro bono services through any legal service organization approved by the Court. This includes the Pro Bono Partnership, Partners for Women and Justice and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, to name a few, which have all had continued relations with NJCCA.
NJCCA Updates Financial Aid Policy for CLE EventsNJCCA updates its policy for fee waivers or discounts at CLE events. NJCCA recently updated its policy for providing fee waivers or discounts for CLE events. The amount of discount is based on employment status, amount of annualized income, or employment for a public service/governmental agency. Requests for fee discount must be made at the time of registration or prior to the event. Anyone having further questions may contact Gail Girard, NJCCA's Executive Director. Lee Braem receives Pro Bono Partnership distinguished service awardLee Braem receives a distinguished service award. Lee Braem, Evonik Degussa Corporation’s senior corporate counsel and deputy compliance officer, received a distinguished service award at the Pro Bono Partnership 10th anniversary dinner on March 13, 2008 held at Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom, Times Square, New York City. The Pro Bono Partnership is a program that engages in-house corporate attorneys in pro bono work on behalf of local nonprofit organizations. Lee has been one of the partnership’s most active volunteers since the inception of its New Jersey office in 2000. Utilizing his expertise in environmental and real estate law and regulatory compliance, he has provided counsel to more than 20 organizations, including the Hoboken Clergy Coalition Shelter, Family and Children’s Agency and AIDS Resource Foundation, which provide emergency shelter, affordable housing and healthcare services. Among his accomplishments, Lee advised the Hoboken North Hudson YMCA on environmental regulations that threatened to bar a much needed renovation of a 96-room residence for low-income individuals. Such services are greatly needed. Even though the State of New Jersey has the second highest household income in the nation, poverty rates in cities such as Camden and Newark are also ranked among the nation’s highest.
ProBono Partnership celebrates 10 years of servicePro Bono Partnership celebrates a decade of legal service to nonprofits in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Pro Bono Partnership, which provides free business legal assistance to nonprofit organizations in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, celebrated a decade of legal service to nonprofits on March 13, 2008, at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York City, at an event attended by nearly 300 attorneys, clients and funders. Guest speaker for the evening was Ben W. Heineman, former Senior Vice President–General Counsel of General Electric, who is currently Distinguished Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Program on the Legal Profession. Mr. Heineman spoke on “Pro Bono as a Pillar of Professional Development: Inside and Outside.” In recognition of the important contribution made by participants in its pro bono program, the Partnership presented several “1st Decade Awards” at this anniversary celebration. General Electric Company and Toni Anne Nichels, Employment and HR Counsel, Xerox Corporation were presented with “Extraordinary Service Awards.” Honeywell International, Prudential Financial and Schering-Plough were recognized for distinguished service, as was Leonard D. Andrew, Retired Associate General Counsel of IBM; Lee Braem, Senior Corporate Counsel & Deputy Compliance Officer, Evonik Degussa, and NJCCA President; Susan Corcoran, Partner, Jackson Lewis; and Anahaita Kotval, Managing Director and General Counsel, RBS Greenwich Capital. The Partnership was founded in 1997 by members of the corporate bar of Westchester County, NY, and Fairfield County, CT, to provide pro bono business legal services for nonprofit organizations serving the poor and disadvantaged and volunteer opportunities for in-house counsel. “Responding to the call to provide free legal assistance to local nonprofits, many leaders in the corporate legal community, quickly embraced the Partnership’s mission and encouraged their legal staffs to take on pro bono projects,” says Executive Director Rick Hobish. “Soon we also had the support of law firms, and our initial success was so impressive that, in 2000, we opened a second office in New Jersey.” Since 1997, 1,400 attorneys have volunteered through the Partnership. The Partnership addresses as many as 500 business legal matters for nonprofits each year, provides a resource hotline for brief legal questions, and offers an ongoing series of workshops on important legal topics for nonprofits. The Partnership was instrumental in creating the Hartford, CT, Nonprofit Pro Bono Initiative, which merged with the Partnership in February, and the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta. The Pro Bono Partnership has received many awards, including the American Corporate Counsel Association Corporate Pro Bono Award for outstanding commitment to the provision of pro bono service; and the American Bar Association/West Group Public Service Award for the most outstanding bar association program in the country providing direct service to the public. Most recently, the Partnership was inducted into the 2007 Thirteen/WNET New York and WLIW21 Community Hall of Fame. The celebration on March 13th was sponsored by Citi; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Goldman Sachs Group; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; and the host of the event, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Visit www.probonopartnership.org for more information on the Partnership. Upcoming NJCCA EventsRegister today for these relevant and insightful events.
APRIL Diving Damages in the Employer Liability Case
Saks Fifth Avenue Fashion Presentation of Executive Women's Attire
Sponsors: Sedgewick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, LLP MAY ProBono Day
Annual Spring Cocktail Reception
JUNE Third Annual Golf Outing
SEPTEMBER Sixth Annual All-Day Conference
OVERRULED! by Aronds
As far as we know, still the only Chapter Newsletter with its own in-house cartoonist!
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