The Board of Commissioners is the elected governing body of the Bar. The Board consists of five commissioners, elected from Idaho’s seven judicial districts. Two commissioners are elected from the Fourth District, one represents the First and Second Districts, one the Third and Fifth Districts and one the Sixth and Seventh Districts. Commissioners serve staggered three-year terms. Both the First and Fourth Districts will have openings this year. The election is fast approaching. Currently, IWL member Deborah Ferguson is the only woman on the Board. If you or someone you know are interested in learning more about this role, Deborah Ferguson has graciously offered to discuss her experiences. You can contact her at Deborah.Ferguson@usdoj.gov. Petitions for the position will be distributed by the bar in March and are due the first Tuesday in April (April 6, 2010). For more details about the Board of Commissioners and the requirements for running for this position, please see the Idaho Bar Commission Rules http://isb.idaho.gov/general/rules/ibcr.html.

Each year, the Idaho State Bar selects an attorney or attorneys to receive the distinguished lawyer award. The award is presented to attorneys who have “distinguished the profession through exemplary conduct and many years of dedicated service to the profession and to Idaho citizens.” Only two women have ever received the award, Mary Smith Oldham (posthumously) and Linda Judd. Please consider making a nomination for this year’s awards, which will be presented at the Idaho State Bar annual meeting in Idaho Falls, July 14-16, 2010. Nomination forms and deadlines are typically published in the March issue of the Advocate.

Be sure to read Idaho Legal History Society’s recent newsletter with a great article about Helen Young, the first woman admitted to practice law in Idaho.

View Article Here.

Click here to view the letter: iwl-to-otter-re-wiebe-appointment

Data shows Women Disproportionately Affected by Dismissals of Part-Time Attorneys; Confirm Few Women Among Top Firm Rainmakers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS134533+26-Oct-2009+BW20091026

Givens Pursley partner Deb Kristensen has been recognized in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for Labor and Employment Law.

Deb is a general business litigator in state and federal courts, with a particular emphasis in the areas of employment and media law. Deb received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California Berkeley, her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law, and she is “AV rated” (as determined by Martindale-Hubble’s peer review process). Deb is the former President of the Idaho State Bar Association and Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Conference of the U.S. Courts.

Givens Pursley LLP partner Deborah Nelson was recently selected as a member of the COMPASS Public Participation Committee. The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS) is an association of local governments working together to plan for the future transportation needs of the region. As a member of the Public Participation Committee, Deborah will help shape and communicate COMPASS’s transportation policies and public outreach efforts.

Deborah’s law practice is focused on helping clients navigate and obtain all of the legal entitlements required for the siting, operation, or expansion of a business or development. She has experience with industrial, commercial, energy, agricultural, resort, large-scale residential, and mixed-use projects.

Deborah lives in Boise with her husband and two kids. Required

Congratulations to IWL members who have been selected as recipients of the 2009 Idaho Business Review Women of the Year award!

Candy Dale
Peg Dougherty
Kate Kelly
Kelly Greene McConnell
Molly O’Leary
Wendy Olson
Rachel Winer

Full recipient list available at:

http://www.idahobusinessreview.com/archive.htm/2009/02/05/IBR-names-2009-Idaho-Women-of-the-Year

Click here for an interesting article about IWL member and former Bar Commission president, Deb Kristensen, in her new role as president of the Idaho Legal History Society.  The Society is working hard to preserve Idaho’s oral judicial history through depositions of Idaho judges and others.