The Illinois State Bar Association's Standing Committee on Government Lawyers is co-sponsoring the Public Law Office Management Conference which will be hosted by the American Bar Association's Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division on April 12-13, 2002, in San Antonio, Texas. This day and a half conference provides a forum for public lawyers from across the nation and from a wide variety of public law offices to meet and share ideas for running a successful office. Topics to be covered include: establishing an effective legal team; technology in the public law office; hiring and firing legally; information for clients and the public; services provided by the office; and dealing with the media. Registration fees for the conference are $285 for members of the ABA's Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division and $345 for non-members.

For registration materials, please contact Theona Salmon at (202) 662-1023 or at salmont@staff.aba.net.org or visit the ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division's Web site.

The American Bar Association's Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division is accepting nominations for its three national awards, which will be presented at the ABA's Annual Meeting in August 2002, in Washington DC.

The Dorsey Award honors an outstanding public defender or legal aid lawyer. Eligible recipients are lawyers who serve indigent persons, in the employ of legal aid bureaus, indigent defense, or legal organizations providing legal service to the disadvantaged and funded by the Legal Services Corporation. The Hodson Award recognizes sustained outstanding service or a specific extraordinary accomplishment by a government or public sector law office. Eligible nominees include all government or public sector law offices (e.g. legal aid bureaus, public defender offices and other legal organizations funded by the Legal Services Corporation) at the federal, state and local levels. Departments or units within offices are also eligible. The Nelson Award, recognizes outstanding contributions to the ABA by an individual government or public sector lawyer. All government and public sector lawyers are eligible and the division will consider an individual's specific extraordinary accomplishments as well as sustained superior contributions over a number of years.

These awards offer a rare opportunity to recognize the outstanding work accomplished in the public sector. They also serve to inform the general community about the exceptional work of the nation's public sector lawyers.

Nominations must be received in the Division's office by April 5, 2002. To obtain a nomination brochure, contact Theona Salmon at 202-0662-1023 or e-mail her at salmont@staff.abanet.org. All nomination information can also be found on the Division's Web page. <http://www.abanet.org/govpub/annual.html>

Washington University School of Law's 2001-2002 Public Interest Law Speakers Series will feature Carrie Menkel-Meadow on Wednesday, February 27, 2002. Ms. Menkel-Meadow's presentation, "ADR and Problem Solving in the Public Interest: What Else Besides Litigation Works?" will be held at 11:00 a.m. at the Anheuser-Busch Hall on the Washington University Campus in St. Louis. The 2001-2002 Public Interest Law Speakers Series then concludes with a lecture by Peter H. Raven, Director, Missouri Botanical Garden. Mr. Raven's presentation, "Biodiversity and the Human Prospect" is scheduled for Friday, March 15, 2002, at 10:00 a.m. at the Anheuser-Busch Hall on the Washington University Campus in St. Louis.