3L class gift: We rock

Randomly and oddly, my 1L small group, Group 6, has eight student-parents in it. Plus, we've had more students drop out or transfer than anyone else (though none of those were student-parents). We're down to 23 members -- and yes, more than a third of them are parents. There are, of course, parents in other sections, but ours seems to be particularly weighted.

Want to know how having a lot of family types in your group affects things? I don't know if there's a straight-line correlation, of course, but check out the placard in the hallway showing how groups have contributed to the 3L graduation gift to the LRAP. Or follow this link: http://www.law.washington.edu/Students/3LGift/ Yeah, that's right. We're the big dog.

If there are any 3Ls reading this, here are some things you should know:
* You only have to give $1 to increase the percentage of students giving, which is helpful for the school's rank.
* Pledges count toward the total raised by your group.
* The state will match any gifts received by the end of June. Double your dollars for the LRAP.
* PILA will match both gifts and pledges up to $10,000. Double your dollars again.

You can contribute by credit card by following the link above, or take cash to Yoshiko on the third floor. Pledge forms are available at the link above, plus there are some in the mail room.

Kids at commencement

By my count there could be as many as 25 -- or more! -- children of students at commencement this year. Dean Madrid's office is planning to have certificates for each child. They are non-personalized, so don't worry about getting the Dean your children's names.

In case you haven't gotten the word, the instructions are thus:
If you plan to have your child/children walk the stage with you when you receive your diploma, make a plan with a responsible adult (RA). The child/ren should sit in the audience until the speeches are through and the degrees are about to be handed out. Then RA brings the child/ren to the front and hand them, carefully, to the student on the stage.
*This is very important: student on stage keeps a firm grip on child/ren during the walk across the stage. The orchestra pit is open and unfenced. And verrry deep.
RA needs to walk across to the other side of the stage and take child/ren back after the walk.

By the way check out the new banner across the top of this blog: http://lagliv.blogspot.com/ Warning: it'll probably make you queasy. Sorry about that.

At right: Karen Alexander Horowitz's son finds out what's going to be eating mommy alive the next couple of months.

Law layoff controversy

A San Francisco attorney at the firm Paul Hastings recently made waves when she publicized that she was laid off from her firm less than a week after a procedure following a miscarriage. It's an ugly dustup. The attorney declined the firm's offer of three month's salary in return for a non-disclosure agreement. Instead her open letter to the firm has been widely circulated, and now her glowing past performance evaluations are out on the net as well.

Read about it in The Juggle, the Wall Street Journal's excellent blog about work-life balance issues:
http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/page/3/
(more lighthearted topics on The Juggle range from high heels to work-provided backup childcare (oo!) to whether it's worth it to go to a school event if you can only be there for 20 minutes.

PALS group photo

Last week Shari Ireton took a group photo of PALS to commemorate our being student organization of the year. Not everyone could make it, but we got a pretty good turnout. We took one picture of the group holding photos of our children, and one just standard photo. You can tell which one I like best because I'm posting it first:



Charles and Kevin are cracking me up. And check out Tami -- so adorable.



Our kids can beat up your kids. rrgh!

What do you think? Also, let me know if you want a copy -- I have both high- and low-res versions.

Email love

Hey PALS members! Keep posted on current events by joining our yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uwpals/
We use the email to announce things going on at the law school that day, such as the PALS group photo today (Tuesday, 12:30, lobby) and the work-life balance session on Wednesday (see announcement below). Members can also use it to pose questions to other members. We try to keep the quantity of messages down to a reasonable level.

Work/Life Balance Panel May 14

Do you ever feel that school work is taking over your personal life and things have gotten out of balance? You are not alone and this issue does not disappear after graduation. PALS and the Law Women's Caucus are here to help. We are co-hosting a Work-Life Balance Panel on Wednesday, May 14 at 12:30 in room 127. Several attorneys will speak and answer questions about how they manage to balance successful legal careers with other commitments, including family life. The panelists either work or have worked in large law firms, mid-sized firms, government and as in-house counsel, so there will be a good mix of experiences.
Lunch will be provided.
This will be a moderated discussion, so please suggest topics/questions that you would like to be addressed.