INSIDE…
Social Media Pitfalls to Beware – p. 3
Tips for Handling a Bully at Work – p. 5
Meet Our 100% Club Members – pp. 7-9
Where The Legal Community Connects
New Partnership to Serve Members’ Office Needs
As MCBA’s newest endorsed corporate partner, Corporate Office Centers, will now provide preferred access to office space and services to MCBA members. “We are very pleased to partner with Corporate Office Centers,” said Executive Director Allen Kimbrough. “The office space and business services they provide align well with what many of our members need. We think it will be a popular value-add member benefit.” Corporate Office Centers has six Valley
area locations, including in CityScape across from the courthouse, which will give members ample location flexibility. Corporate Office Centers is an executive suite operator with 34 national locations and provides access to over 500 affiliated locations worldwide. For two decades, Corporate Office Centers has specialized in tenant-ready office infrastructures, providing attorneys with furnishings, state-of-the-art telecommunica- tion systems and services, high-speed Internet
connectivity, and access to confer- ence and meeting rooms. This service allows a new sole practitioner or a small group of practitioners to immediately set up an ideal office and begin prac- ticing without having to purchase furnishings, technology or set up
a reception area. They also offer cost effective “Virtual
Office” plans that provide a bridge between working at home and a full time office. For a sole practitioner or an attorney leaving a large firm or a large firm that is entering a new market, Corporate Office Centers can provide a flexible alternative to traditional office space with no capital expenditure within a 24- to 36-hour timeframe. Corporate Office Centers also provides
conference and break-out rooms for deposi- tions and mediations, and they have the expertise to provide space to trial teams. “We have worked with several AmLaw 100 firms and know what it takes to pro- vide these firms with the highest quality of customer service while taking as much as possible off the trial team’s plate so they can concentrate on their case,” said Rebecca Romero, marketing director.
See New Partnership to Benefit Members page 11
CourtWatch Daniel P. Schaack
Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Law Requiring Employers to Verify Workers’ Citizenship Status
An Arizona law aimed at preventing the
employment of illegal aliens has survived a lawsuit contending that it is incompatible with federal law. The Supreme Court has affirmed lower federal courts’ rulings that federal immigration laws do not preempt the Legal Arizona Workers Act. Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. Whiting, No. 09-115 (U.S. May 26, 2011). The Arizona statute requires Arizona
employers to verify the legality of workers they hire. It imposes a series of sanctions for knowing and intentional violations; violators face suspension and revocation of their business licenses, including their business charters.
The Chamber of Commerce and others filed suit, arguing that federal immigration law preempts the Act. The Immigration Reform and Control Act expressly preempts “any State or local law imposing civil or criminal sanctions (other than through licensing and similar laws) upon those who employ, or recruit or refer for a fee for employment, unauthorized aliens.” One feature of the Legal Arizona Workers
Act requires employers to use a program— “E-Verify”—to confirm workers’ eligibility. But the federal law creating E-Verify specifi- cally precludes the federal government from making it mandatory for private businesses. The chamber argued that Arizona could not
do what the federal government was pre- cluded from doing. The Supreme Court rejected the cham-
ber’s arguments. The court, in an opinion by Chief Justice David Roberts, first rejected the preemption argument. The question was whether Arizona had exceeded Congressional intent by broadly defining “license” to include “any agency permit, certificate, approval, registration, charter or similar form of authorization that is required by law and that is issued by any agency for the purposes of operating a business in” the state. According to Roberts, the Arizona defini-
See Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Law page 14
VLP Celebrates 30 Years of Volunteer Service
JULY 2011 Volume 30, Number 7
Photo by Patty Kaufman, itsUphoto
Among the VLP award recipients are Christina Kelly Geremia, Children’s Law Center Attorney of the Year, and Megan H. Tracy, Children’s Law Center Guardianship Attorney of the Year, both practicing at Polsinelli Shughart.
For 30 years, the Volunteer Lawyers
Program has worked diligently to provide legal services to those unable to afford legal assistance. On June 8, VLP celebrated its 30th anniversary at its annual pro bono awards ceremony, “For Love of Justice.” The ceremony recognized 38 attorneys, firms and programs who received awards for their outstanding efforts in providing
pro bono assistance through VLP. Find a complete list of awardees on page 13. The awards were presented by Arizona
Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch, former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank X. Gordon, Jr. and Presiding Family Court Judge for the
See VLP Celebrates 30 Years page 13
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID
Phoenix, AZ Permit No. 4786
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16