BAR BLAST 12-16-2014

The Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission is currently receiving applications to fill the judicial vacancy on the 20th Judicial Circuit serving Randolph County.    Candidates must submit their completed applications by no later than 5:00 p.m. onJanuary 6, 2015.  The deadline for submittal of letters of recommendation or comment is January 16, 2015.  Applications and instructions are available atwww.governor.wv.gov.  To contact the Commission regarding the application process, please call Manda Bickoff at 304-558-2000.  Interviews will be held on January 26, 2015.

December 11, 2014.

The West Virginia Ethics Commission reminds West Virginia lobbyists that all registrations expire on December 31.  Registration forms for the 2015-16 registration cycle are now being accepted by the Ethics Commission.  Early registration is encouraged.

Lobbyists must complete (1) a WV Lobbyist Payment and Registration Information Cover Sheet; (2) a Lobbyist Registration Statement, and (3) an Employer Representation/Authorization form for each employer or entity represented.  These forms are available on the Ethics Commission’s website at www.ethics.wv.gov.

Registration fees are $100 per lobbyist and $100 per employer represented.

Contact Lobbyist Registrar Kimberly Pickens at (304)558-0664 or at  kimberly.p.pickens@wv.gov. with any questions.

In this season of giving, please donate to the West Virginia Fund for Law in the Public Interest (WVFLIPI).
All donations should be made out to WV Fund for Law in the Public Interest and sent to WVFLIPI, c/o P.O. Box 6130, Morgantown, WV  26506.  Please contact Jennifer Powell, Executive Director if you have any questions jennifer.powell@mail.wvu.edu ; or at 304 293 8555.

More Information

The West Virginia State Bar is excited to announce a new opportunity for attorneys to provide pro bono assistance to the public anytime, from anywhere.  West Virginia Online Legal Help(www.wvonlinelegalhelp.org) is a new website where low-income West Virginians can post questions about their civil legal needs.  The questions are answered by volunteer attorneys, who provide basic information and legal advice for free.

We need West Virginia attorneys to sign up to volunteer.  The benefits of volunteering include:

• No expectation of long-term representation.
• Professional liability insurance provided.
• Attorney’s name is anonymous to user.

Please go to www.wvonlinelegalhelp.org and click on “Lawyers Sign Up” to register to volunteer.  We hope to open the website to questions from the public in September 2014.

Click here for more information.

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is excited to announce a new opportunity to access Judicial records digitally. We are piloting a web based system that will allow viewing of records digitally from a website that is accessible 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Eventually this system will have records from all 55 counties. If you would like to participate in the testing phase of this service for a limited amount of counties being accessible, please email your desire toCCSEFile@courtswv.gov and we will randomly select users.

WV Working Together Conference

Host: IRS & West Virginia State Tax Department

Location: University of Charleston – Geary Student Union

WVCLE Litigation 2015

Host: West Virginia Continuing Legal Education (WVCLE)

Location: Cannan Valley Resort – Davis, WV

WVCLE Shale Play Update

Host: West Virginia Continuing Legal Education (WVCLE)

Location: Charleston Civic Center