September 2020 News

Upcoming Events: 

​ Save the Date for: 

JUDICIAL CANDIDATE MEET AND GREET:

WHAT: A one-of-a kind "speed dating" style event where members will have a chance to ask judicial candidates questions in small breakout groups.
WHEN: October 15, 2020, from 5:30 to 7pm
Zoom:  Register here. 
Suggested donation:  $15 to our new scholarship fund, which will be awarded to a student pursuing law. Donate using PayPal here. 

​And Register Now for:

Nevada Legal Services free CLE on immigration issues presented by our Board member Karen Monrreal, on Friday, September 11th, at 2:30p.m. 

Monrreal will speak on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the U-Visa. The class will offer 1.5 CLE credits. Attorneys who attend the CLE are encouraged to take a pro bono case or volunteer for an upcoming "Ask a Lawyer" event. 

Lunch Time Mentoring Circle:

Looking for an opportunity to give advice, get advice, share experiences and referrals in a friendly environment? Join our downtown mentoring circle.  This is a fantastic opportunity aimed at building stronger connections among our members and fostering professional development.

Where: Zoom
When: Every third Thursday of every other month 
Next Meeting: October 15th at noon 
RSVP at [email protected] if you're interested in joining or if you have any questions.​

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My Cause Spotlight:

NAACP

By Christine Jones Brady

The quality of life, freedoms and justice for all Americans is enhanced because of the
tireless efforts and persistent network of people working with the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Many of us erroneously believe the
NAACP as an organization that is exclusively for and about African-Americans. The
truth is that their mission is broad and individuals associated with the NAACP have
always been as diverse as America itself. The NAACP is the largest and most notable
civil rights organization in the nation. It was founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing
violence against black people around the country and has more than 2,200 units and
branches in the United States, as well as over 2M activists. See https://www.naacp.org/. The NAACP mission is “to secure the political, educational,
social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination
and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.”

On a personal note, with the assistance of the NAACP my parents Joseph Lee Jones
and Barbara Jo Jones (Brady) won a landmark United States Supreme Court case
against racial discrimination in housing the year I was born. See Jones v. Alfred H.
Mayer Co., 392 U.S. 409 (1968). My parents’ pride in this victory and stories they told
me about their experience in fighting overt housing discrimination helped form my sense
of justice and fairness. As a child and young adult I volunteered for causes led by the
NAACP and grew up admiring various lawyers and leaders of the NAACP who have
formed the very foundation of modern American inclusion, economic opportunity and
racial justice.

For example, the first African -American Supreme Court Justice was Thurgood Marshall
who worked with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in the 1960s in the
fight for educational equality through Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which
outlawed segregation in public schools.

Lift Every Voice and Sing – often called “The Black National Anthem,” was a poem
authored by a NAACP leader named James Weldon Johnson. I have sung that song in
church, at college Black Student Union events and on the 25th anniversary March from
Selma to Montgomery with one of my heroes Congressman John Lewis.
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It was literally my mother’s dying wish for me to become a lawyer. Although I wanted to
follow in her footsteps and pursue a career in social work, she forbade it. So, I did the
only logical thing: I became a Deputy Public Defender, fighting for the civil liberties of
low income defendants of all genders, ethnic backgrounds and nationalities. Believe
me, being a public defender is about as close as you can come to social work while still
being a lawyer. I just wish my parents had been alive to see me graduate from UNLV’s
Boyd School of Law. I especially wish they would have been alive to see a black man
become president.

I wept when President Obama was elected. It was as if a giant breath of hope filled my
lungs and heart all at once. I thought our country finally closed the chapter on
inequality. I was wrong—we are not there yet. I still have faith and continue to do my
part for justice in America. I am no longer a public defender, but I serve proudly as an
Assistant Attorney General for Nevada’s first African-American Attorney General. This
would not have been possible without the efforts of the NAACP.

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Membership Renewal:

Are you considering a membership with NNWLA?  Or have you previously been a member but you didn't pay your annual dues? Any dues paid from now until the end of this year will count towards your 2020 and your 2021 membership dues.  Members not only get special pricing on events, but make sure to fill out the form to have your information included on our webpage where members can look to get and give referrals.  Please click on this link to be directed to our membership page.
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Minutes: 
Read the minutes from the August board meeting here.