The Atlanta Lawyer November 2014 | Page 40

SECTION UPDATE Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers Section By Scott Lofranco McCalla Raymer, LLC [email protected] W ith the holiday season steadily approaching, it is almost impossible not to get bogged down with the stress of meeting work deadlines, end of year billing requirements, family engagements, holiday shopping, and more importantly, cheering for your favorite football team(s) to the detriment of your friends and co-workers. Despite this added pressure, we cannot lose sight of the fact that there are members of the public that need legal assistance but may not have the means to retain an attorney. Many of these individuals rely solely on the assistance they receive through pro-bono programs and non-profit legal service providers. Accordingly, the ACYL board would like to thank everyone that contributed to our 2014 Associates’ Campaign for Legal Services. Although the Campaign ran during the month of October, we are still accepting individual and firm donations, which can be made electronically via the ACYL’s Section page on the Atlanta Bar Association website. As most of you already know, the Associates’ Campaign is our Section’s annual fundraiser to promote awareness and support for pro-bono and non-profit legal service providers in the Metro Atlanta area. For more information about the Campaign, please feel free to contact this year’s co-chairs, Matthew Simmons at mjs.esquire@ gmail.com or Nora Budman at [email protected]. Last year, we raised almost $23,000 for Atlanta pro-bono and non-profit legal service organizations, and we are hoping to double that amount in 2014. For anyone in need of CLE credits before year’s end, we will also be holding our “Life of a Trial” Beer and CLE series this month at Manuel’s Tavern. October’s installment was entitled, “Common Mistakes Made by Younger Lawyers at Trial.” The third installment of this highly informative series took place Wednesday, November 19th and qualified for 1.5 CLE hours. For more details and upcoming dates, please visit our Section page on the Atlanta Bar Association website. Finally, I strongly encourage you to “like” our Facebook page, “Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers,” to find out more about our Section’s activities and benefits of membership. In addition to providing general information and updates on our upcoming events, our page also serves as a forum for questions, suggestions, and networking for attorneys and law students. We can also be contacted through the Atlanta Bar Association website, and I can be reached via email at [email protected]. We are always look [