GN summer fall09 Digital.indd - National Lawyers Guild

Committee and Chapter UpdatesD.C. chapter hires part-time staffby Ed ElderIn March the Washington, D.C. chapter hired RachaelMoshman as a part-time staff organizer. Rachael, a committedactivist and Guild member, will help communicate andcoordinate D.C. Guild activities with the numerous NLG lawschool chapters in the area. She will also help the chapterproduce its newsletter, expand membership, and serve asa liaison with other chapters and the National Office. Ms.Moshman has already edited three newsletters that were sentto the local NLG members.Ms. Moshman has been actively involved in D.C. chapteractivities since joining the Guild as a law student. As a memberof the chapter’s Demonstration Support Committee andthe D.C. Justice and Solidarity Collective she has presentedknow your rights and legal observer trainings to activistsfrom animal rights, transgender support, and youth groups,AIDS and anti-grobalization activists, and demonstrationsto stop the latest “free” trade agreement with Columbia. Sheworked with the NLG in Minnesota during the 2008 RNC inMinneapolis and has been active with local law student chaptersto create NLG-sponsored programs. Rachael also helpedwrite and appeared in a locally produced “know your rights”video. The video can be seen on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHrV4kzmdlA.The D.C. Chapter board welcomes Rachael and hopesthat her efforts will further improve the work and growth ofour chapter. □OK chapter kicks off with enthusiastic meetingby Rena GuayAfter several months of online outreach and discussionby email, the Oklahoma chapter of National Lawyers Guildbecame official on June 21 with a meeting in Oklahoma City.While only five were able to attend the Fathers’ Daygathering, all were eager to become actively engaged inbuilding the chapter and start providing resources and servicesto Oklahoma’s growing progressive activist community.Several others not able to attend nonetheless expressed theirstrong interest in future involvement with the group. Amongthe attendees were longtime NLG members with service onthe national board or committees.Based on law practice specialties and interests, we seeNLG-OK’s core issues being immigration, prisoners’ rights,military law, labor and First Amendment rights. Since thenew chapter contains a wealth of political organizing andlegal experience, we jumped right into planning some events,including a workshop on legal rights for dissidents/activists inSeptember.Other future plans include training jailhouse lawyers andpossible CLEs in immigration and military law.Also high on the group’s agenda is creating and supportingchapters at law schools in the state. In the recent past,there was a chapter at Oklahoma City University School ofLaw, but it did not continue when its founders graduated – infact, both are now members of the new NLG-OK.The chapter has found Facebook to be a good source foroutreach and membership development, and has also createda website at www.nlgok.org.Overall, we felt very encouraged by the energetic meeting,and look forward to seeing the chapter develop. Contactthe chapter through the website or by email at nlgok@riseup.net. □needs your help!The NLG Green Scare hotline was created in 2006 to assist activists (mostly environmentaland animal rights) who have been contacted by the FBI. If you are a lawyer who canhandle a few calls a year to help, contact Heidi Boghosian at director@nlg.org.▪ 25 ▪