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Bay Area (San Francisco and Oakland area) Lawyer Chapter

Contact Information
  • Email: BayArea@ACSLaw.org
  • Phone: (202) 393-6181
Location
San Francisco, CA
United States
See map: Google Maps
Chapter Contacts
  • Jahan Sagafi - Chair, jsagafi@lchb.com
  • Yohance Edwards - Vice-Chair, Yohance.Edwards@mto.com
  • BJ Chisholm - Programming Committee Chair, bchisholm@altshulerberzon.com
  • Christine Van Aken - Outreach Committee Co-Chair, christine.van.aken@sfgov.org
  • Angelica Jongco - Outreach Committee Co-Chair, AJongco@lewisfeinberg.com
Recent Stories

UPDATE- Perry: Testimony and Closing Arguments in the Challenge to Proposition 8

UPDATE: On August 4, 2010, Judge Walker struck down Proposition 8 on both equal protection and due process grounds. Concluding that strict scrutiny applies to classifications based on sexual orientation, but that Prop 8 fails even to satisfy rational basis review, the Court concluded: “The evidence shows that, by every available metric, opposite-sex couples are not better than their same-sex counterparts; instead, as partners, parents and citizens, opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples are equal. FF 47-50. Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection Clause because it does not treat them equally.”

On June 23, 2010, the American Constitution Society Bay Area Lawyer Chapter hosted a panel discussion examining the federal constitutional challenge to Proposition 8 in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Alliance for Justice co-sponsored the event.

ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "Quon v. Arch Wireless: The Future of Employee Privacy in the Digital Age"

On March 30, 2010, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society sponsored a well-attended lunch panel on Quon v. Arch Wireless. The timely event explored arguments being made before the Supreme Court about whether public employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy for the text messages that they send on employer-owned devices (a 9-0 decision was handed down by the Supreme Court on June 17 indicating that there is no expectation of privacy).

ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "The Future of the Death Penalty"

On February 23, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of ACS hosted a panel discussion, "The Future of the Death Penalty," featuring Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Office of the California Attorney General; Natasha Minsker, Death Penalty Policy Director, ACLU of Northern California and Jon B. Streeter, Partner, Keker & Van Nest LLP and former Vice Chairman of the California State Senate Commission on the Fair Administration of Criminal Justice (which in 2008 issued a lengthy, and often critical report on the death penalty in California).

ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "The DOJ and LGBT Rights"





On December 4, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of ACS, together with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the ACLU of Northern California, and the Transgender Law Center, hosted a panel discussion with Matt Nosanchuk, Senior Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, examining potential new avenues for advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people's civil rights at the federal, state and local levels. Approximately 50 attendees enjoyed The DOJ and LGBT Rights, a creative and collaborative discussion with leaders in the field, moderated by Tamara Lange, Lead Deputy for the Impact Litigation and Social Justice Section of the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office.

ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter 2010 Gala Reception

The Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society presents

ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter

2010 Gala Reception

Tuesday, February 9, 2010
6:00 p.m.
University of California Hastings College of the Law
Louis B. Mayer Lounge
198 McAllister Street, 1st Floor
San Francisco, CA

Featuring a Keynote Address by:

Kamala D. Harris
District Attorney, City and County of San Francisco

Master of Ceremonies

ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter 2010 Gala Reception

The Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society presents

ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter

2010 Gala Reception

Tuesday, February 9, 2010
6:00 p.m.
University of California Hastings College of the Law
Louis B. Mayer Lounge
198 McAllister Street, 1st Floor
San Francisco, CA

Featuring a Keynote Address by:

Kamala D. Harris
District Attorney, City and County of San Francisco

Master of Ceremonies

ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts a "Screening of 'Tortured Law'"

L to R: George C. Harris, Partner, Morrison & Foester LLP and co-counsel to John Walker Lindh, known as the "American Taliban" and Nan Aron, President, Alliance for Justice.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "Cap and Trade and Social Justice: Can We Have Both?"

L to R: Michelle Friedland, chapter board member and moderator, Loretta Lynch and Michael Wara.


L to R: Michael Wara and Marybelle Nzegwu.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts a Panel Discussion on Ricci v. DeStefano

On October 15, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of ACS, together with the Bar Association of San Francisco, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the San Francisco Bay Area, Equal Justice Society, and The Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center, hosted a panel discussion on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Ricci v. DeStefano.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "Review & Preview: The 2008-09 and 2009-10 Supreme Court Terms"

On September 16, 2009, the ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter hosted a panel discussion examining the most recent Supreme Court Term and looking forward to the next. In the wake of the past Term's conclusion, experts representing both progressive and conservative perspectives analyzed the Court's most noteworthy decisions, identified emerging trends and discussed the new composition of the bench with the recent confirmation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts a Book Discussion on "Let's Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice"

On August 13, 2009, Professor Paul Butler of George Washington Law School, author of Let's Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice, gave a fantastic multi-media presentation at the Office of the San Francisco Public Defender for approximately 130 attendees.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "A Discussion on the Nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court"

On July 10, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter held a panel discussion on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. The discussion was moderated by Eva Paterson of Equal Justice Society, and the panelists included Stephen Berzon, Altshuler Berzon LLP, member of the ACS Board of Directors; Jeffrey Fisher, Stanford Law School; Pamela Karlan, Stanford Law School, member of the ACS Board of Directors and Margaret Russell, Santa Clara Law School.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts a Discussion on Two New Publications Released by the American Constitution Society

On June 25, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter hosted a discussion on two important new books the ACS has released on the Constitution and constitutional interpretation: Keeping Faith: A Conversation About Constitutional Fidelity, and It Is a Constitution We Are Expounding: Collected Writings on Interpreting Our Founding Document, written by leading constitutional scholars Goodwin Liu, Pamela S. Karlan and Christopher H. Schroder.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts a Panel on Judicial Clerkships

On June 16, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter held a panel on Judicial Clerkships. Current and former clerks from trial level and appellate courts talked about the judicial clerkship application process, what to look for in a clerkship, what to think about in considering whether to do a clerkship.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts a Panel Discussion on Women of Color in Private Legal Practice

On May 26, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter held a panel discussion on Women of Color in Private Legal Practice. The panel featured Martin R. Glick, director and former managing director of Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin, Joan M. Haratani, partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Vilma S. Martinez, partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Angela L. Padilla, partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, and Wilma B. Wallace, Vice-President and Deputy General Counsel at Gap Inc.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court"

On May 14, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter held a book discussion with co-author Cliff Sloan's "The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court," in conversation with Diane Marie Amann, Professor of Law and Director of California International Law Center at King Hall, UC Davis School of Law.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "The California Constitution and Proposition 8"

On April 14, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter co-hosted an event with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, entitled: "The California Constitution and Proposition 8: How Far-Reaching is the Power of the People to Amend the State Constitution?" It featured lead counsel Therese M. Stewart, Chief Deputy City Attorney at the Office of the City Attorney, City and County of San Francisco, and Shannon P. Minter, Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

A Sneak Preview of 'A Class Apart': A documentary film chronicling the landmark 14th Amendment case, Hernandez v. Texas.

February 12, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter co-hosted an event with SF La Raza Lawyers Association, East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association, and several others, entitled "A Sneak Preview of 'A Class Apart': A documentary film chronicling the landmark 14th Amendment case, Hernandez v. Texas." It featured speakers Justice Maria Rivera (California Court of Appeals), Prof. Miguel Mendez (Stanford Law School), Judge Lorenzo Arredondo (Indiana Circuit Court), Prof. Ignacio Garcia (Brigham Young University), and Prof. Ian Lopez (UC Berkeley Law School), and was moderated by Donato Tapia (Oral History Project Committee of the Hispanic National Bar Association).

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "Reclaiming the Progressive Constitution."

On January 29, 2009, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter and ACLU of Northern California hosted an event entitled "Reclaiming the Progressive Constitution." It featured Doug Kendall of the Constitutional Accountability Center and Maggie Crosby of ACLU of Northern California.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "Drowning in Ballot Measures? Rethinking the California Initiative Process."

On October 27, 2008, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter hosted an event "Drowning in Ballot Measures? Rethinking the California Initiative Process." This event featured speakers Shannon Price Minter, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Professor Michael B. Salerno, University of California Hastings College of Law, Robert M. Stern, Center for Government Studies, and moderated by Mollie Lee, San Francisco City Attorney's Office.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts the Second Annual Kickoff Event for Bay Area Networking & Development (BAND)

On October 23, 2008, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter held the second annual kickoff event for the Bay Area Networking & Development (BAND), a mentoring and networking program with over 300 members. Over 100 people attended.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "The World According to Heller: What is Left of Gun Control Under the Second Amendment?"

On September 17, 2008, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter hosted an event entitled "The World According to Heller: What is Left of Gun Control Under the Second Amendment?" It featured Professor Jesse Choper, UC Berkeley Law, Aimee Feinberg, Munger Tolles, Juliet Leftwich, Legal Community Against Violence, Wayne Snodgrass, San Francisco City Attorney's Office, and was moderated by Professor Rory Little, UC Hastings College of Law.

Bay Area Hosts "From Holocaust to Genocide"

On September 8, 2008, The Bay Area Lawyer Chapter co-hosted an event with the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco and Humanity in Action entitled "From Holocaust to Genocide." It featured author Daniel Goldhagen of Harvard's Center for European Studies and Robert Rubin of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "The 2007-2008 Supreme Court Term: What Happened and Why it Matters"

On July 23, 2008, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter co-hosted an event with CREDO Mobile entitled "The 2007-2008 Supreme Court Term: What Happened and Why It Matters" It featured speakers Paul Beard of Pacific Legal Foundation, Stephen Berzon of Altshuler Berzon and Profs. Jeffrey Fisher, Pamela Karlan and Goodwin Liu. The event was moderated by Rose Ring of Munger Tolles.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter presents "Restoring Justice: How the Department of Justice Has Been Politicized and How To Revive It"

On July 15, 2008, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter presented a panel entitled “Restoring Justice: How the Department of Justice Has Been Politicized and How To Revive It.” The panel featured three former high-ranking Department of Justice officials: Professor Dawn Johnsen, former Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, and current Professor of Law, University of Indiana School of Law, Bloomington; Bill Lann Lee, former Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, and current Shareholder, Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, P.C.; and Michael Small, former Deputy Associate Attorney General, attorney in the Office of Legal Counsel, and current Senior Counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Hosts "Criminal Justice and the 'War on Terror:' Defending Individuals Accused of Terrorism

On June 26, 2008, the ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter co-hosted an event with the San Francisco Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, featuring Steven T. Wax and Wazhma Mojaddidi. Mr. Wax is the Federal Public Defender for the District of Oregon, author of Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror, and the attorney for Brandon Mayfield and seven Guantanamo Bay detainees. Ms. Mojaddidi represents Hamid Hayat, a U.S. citizen accused of attending a terrorist training camp and providing assistance to a terrorist organization. The two attorneys told a crowd of over sixty people about how the U.S. government has targeted and denied due process rights to their clients -- individuals whom these attorneys believe to be innocent of the charges brought against them. The audience heard first-hand accounts of the "Kafka-esque" nature of criminal prosecutions in the "war on terror."

Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Wins Diversity Award

The Bay Area Lawyer Chapter was presented with the Diversity Award at the National Convention of the American Constitution Society for Law & Policy on Saturday June 14th, 2008. This award is given to the lawyer chapter that has made the greatest strides in increasing diversity amongst its membership and in its programming.

ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Holds Clerkship Panel

On June 18, the Bay Area Chapter held a panel discussion primarily aimed at law students interested in pursuing judicial clerkships.
Howard Rice hosted the panel and provided hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer, and other drinks. The panel consisted of Jahan Sagafi (a partner at Lieff Cabraser and former clerk in the Northern District of California), Rose Ring (an associate at Munger Tolles & Olson and a former clerk in the 9th Circuit), Erin Bernstein (an attorney with the City Attorney's Office and a former clerk in the Central District of California and California Supreme Court), Vince Chhabria (an attorney with the City Attorney's Office and a former clerk in the Northern District of California, 9th Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Court), and Rebecca Kahan (an associate at Howard Rice and former clerk in the 3d Circuit). The panelists shared thoughts on the differences between trial-level and appellate clerkships, state and federal clerkships, the application process, selecting courts and judges to apply to, and stories of their clerking days. Around 70 students from law schools around the country attended.

Bay Area Networking & Development Happy Hour



On November 8, 2007, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter hosted a Happy Hour to kick off the BAND (Bay Area Networking & Development). The event took place on Thursday, November 8, 2007, from 6:00pm - 8:00pm at The Ambassador in San Francisco, California. ACS BAND is a networking program connecting ACS members of different levels of professional experience - members who otherwise might not come to know one another.

The Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Presents "A Discussion with Senator Carl Levin"

5.29.07 Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Senator Levin

Senator Carl Levin speaking to members of the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter


On Tuesday, May 29, 2007, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society hosted a discussion featuring Senator Carl Levin. Senator Levin serves as both Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. In addition to speaking on U.S. detainee policy- including the treatment of detainees at the controversial detention facility at Guantanamo Bay- he also spent considerable time answering members' questions regarding the war in Iraq, concerns of the expansion of executive power, and restoration of habeas corpus.

Access to Justice Symposium West Coast Student Networking Conference


The Constitution in the 21st Century Project’s Access to Justice Issue Group and the California ACS Chapters held the Access to Justice Symposium and West Coast Networking Conference on April 7-8. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)was the keynote speaker. The conference met in downtown San Francisco, CA on the evening of Friday, April 7 with a judges’ discussion of the proposed split of the Ninth Circuit featuring four sitting judges: Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder; and Judges Andrew J. Kleinfeld, Sidney R. Thomas and Raymond C. Fisher. The conference continued on Saturday, April 8 at Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley with substantive panels, the keynote luncheon, career workshops and an organizing session. Thank you to all of the speakers and participants for making this conference a great success. Please see the complete schedule and list of speakers for more details.

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