Register Now for the Annual Meeting
The 2006 State Bar of Georgia Annual Meeting will take place at the Westin Resort Hilton Head Island, Hilton Head Island, SC, June 1-4, 2006. The early bird cut-off date is April 28. The hotel cut-off date is May 5, and the registration cut-off date is May 12. See the 2006 Annual Meeting Brochure for the registration form and additional details, register online at www.gabar.org/bar_meetings/2006_annual_meeting.

Membership Dues Notice to be Mailed Out Later This Month
The 2006-07 Membership Dues Notice will be mailed out the third week in April. Membership Dues are payable by July 1 with a late fee assessed after August 1. If your mailing address has changed, please click here to update your information with us www.gabar.org/member_essentials/address_change.

Casemaker Training Offered at Bar Center
Learn how to effectively use and navigate the Georgia Casemaker library. Two training classes are being offered at the Bar Center April 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. or from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Each session is limited to the first 10 attendees. Download the registration form and fax it to Kim Henry at 404-287-8394 by 12 p.m. April 17. If you have additional questions, please e-mail Jodi McKenzie at jodi@gabar.org or call (404) 527-8618.

Law Practice Management Enews Tip
The Mouse is Your Friend...Are you learning a new software application or program and seem stuck? Right clicking your mouse might help. You might find some shortcuts to very useful parts of the application. This is also a quick way to execute everyday functions, such as cutting and pasting. If the right-mouse menu doesn't have what you need, you can click out of the right menu by executing a normal left-mouse click.

If you have questions about this tip or other law practice management questions, contact LPM Director Natalie Kelly at (404) 527-8770 or natalie@gabar.org.

Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference Survey
The 2007 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference will take place May 3 - 5, 2007 in Atlanta. In order to ensure that this conference is as helpful as possible to practitioners in the Circuit, the conference planning committee is soliciting all members, lawyers and judges, of the bars in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to participate in an anonymous survey. The survey’s purpose is to elicit opinions and suggestions that will enable us to produce a program that is relevant, beneficial, and instructive to all participants. The survey is designed to be anonymous and contains no means to identify or trace participants. You may access the survey by clicking on the link, www.ca11.uscourts.gov/judSurvey/index.php; or by going to the Eleventh Circuit website at www.ca11.uscourts.gov, then to the New Links section and clicking on the "2007 Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference Survey". The survey will be accessible until April 17.

Rowland W. Barnes Memorial Scholarship
To celebrate the legacy of the Hon. Rowland W. Barnes, his college classmates and his alma mater, Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., are creating a scholarship in his honor. The scholarship will benefit students who, like Barnes, are committed to the law and a life of civic engagement.

The Rowland W. Barnes '62 Memorial Committee plans to raise $50,000 to honor Barnes. The fundraising goal was set to allow for two students to hold the scholarship at one time, a junior and a senior. The students will receive partial scholarship assistance during their junior and senior years.

Each year at the LVC’s annual Founders Day convocation, the College’s senior Barnes Scholar will be invited to speak to students and faculty on civic engagement and active involvement in the democratic process. In this way, the Barnes Memorial Scholarship Committee hopes that Rowland Barnes’ life, legacy, and principles will influence students for years to come.

Contributions are still being accepted, and may be made to: The Rowland W. Barnes ’62 Scholarship, Office of Advancement, Lebanon Valley College 101 N. College Ave., Annville, PA 17003 or online at www.lvc.edu/barnes.

Georgia Law Center for the Homeless Sponsors Online Auction
The Georgia Law Center for the Homeless announces the third annual online auction, "Bid for Justice." All proceeds will directly benefit the work of the Law Center. From April 17-28, the public is invited to visit the Law Center’s website at www.galawcenter.org, to bid on auction packages featuring items such as Air-Tran airline tickets, weekend stays at downtown Atlanta hotels, sporting equipment, handmade jewelry and crafts, vouchers for Atlanta theaters and restaurants and much more. For more information, call (404) 681-0680.

Upcoming ICLE Offerings
For a complete list of ICLE seminars, visit www.iclega.org.

The Georgia Commission on Court Interpreters Seeks Your Feedback
The Commission assists members of the Bench and Bar in locating Certified and Registered Court Interpreters throughout the state. The Supreme Court of Georgia, through the Commission on Interpreters, sets guidelines for the use of interpreters in the courts. It also establishes the Code of Professional Responsibility for Court Interpreters. The Commission is not involved in hiring, job placement, or payment of interpreters. The commission is the licensing body for court interpreters and one of the responsibilities of the commission is to oversee the development and to ensure the quality of all interpreters.

Presently, The Commission licenses two levels of interpreters: a) The Registered Court Interpreter, and b) The Certified Court Interpreter. The registered court interpreter is one who has attended a 16-hour seminar, passed an oral proficiency exam, a written exam on ethics, legal process, terminology and general language and grammar skills. The certified court interpreter is one who has attended a 16-hour seminar, passed the oral proficiency exam, the written exam on ethics, legal process, terminology and general language and grammar skills, and a series of oral exams administered in accordance with standards developed by the Consortium for State Court Interpreter Certification programs, including sight translation, consecutive and simultaneous interpretation, and has undergone a background check. This is the highest certification for a court interpreter on the state level.

During the last Georgia Commission on Court Interpreters meeting, the issue of the registered interpreter and the certified interpreter status was addressed and Justice Hunstein asked every member of the commission to identify problems relative to this issue, and to bring a list of these problems and the suggested solutions to the next commission meeting, which is scheduled for June 14.

In order to comply with Justice Hunstein's request, and to better represent the interests of the State Bar of Georgia, the commission is seeking feedback from attorneys. Specifically, the commission wants to know if attorneys are having problems with either obtaining the services of interpreters, problems with the quality of interpreters, problems with the standards of conduct of interpreters, etc. Please e-mail your comments and suggestions to Anna McCoy, at anjacha@bellsouth.net, or to Sharon Reiss, Program Director, at reisss@gaaoc.us.

Please do not respond to this e-mail address. Send questions or comments to tyler@gabar.org.

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