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May 2019 
EAST BAY ALA CONNECTION
Please visit our East Bay Chapter website
for up to date events and programs! ebala.org
PRESIDENT MESSAGE
Joy Buchanan
East Bay Chapter ALA
President
Greetings Members,
I am excited to begin another year as President of EBALA and hope to see you at programs and events in the months ahead.
Last week a friend said “happy almost Christmas.” I asked what she meant and she said “it is May, we are nearing the halfway point in the year and if the second half goes as fast as the first, it is almost Christmas.” There is truth to her explanation and I was reminded once again how fast time flies. In a time when the demands of our lives and technology move us at such a fast pace, we need to make a deliberate effort to slow ourselves down. I am thinking about what the second half of the year will look like for me, both personally and professionally. Personally, looking ahead to summer and fall, what trips will I take, shows will I see, books will I read? What will I do professionally? Sure there are the regular tasks and responsibilities of my job and the curveballs that keep things interesting but what deliberate choices will I make? Think about the second half of your year. What deliberate choices will you make? We hope you will plan to attend an EBALA event or program and connect with your professional peers. Our program this morning, Financial Benchmarks & Peer Comparisons – 2019 Update provided members with current information about trends in the legal industry and is just one example of the many benefits provided by our chapter.
In an effort to provide current information about what is happening with EBALA, the Board recently made the decision to eliminate quarterly Newsletters and add more information to our Chapter Connections emails, which will be sent twice a month. We hope you find this format and frequency more appealing so you can make note of the event calendar and enjoy the other informational articles.
Enjoy Spring because it won’t be long before I wish you Happy Holidays!
Joy
MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS
I would like to introduce you to Abeda Bayanzai. Abeda is our newest member of EBALA. Abeda is a law firm supervisor for CSAA in-house legal counsel. She works for the firm of Carbone, Smith & Koyama located in downtown Oakland. Abeda lives in Fremont with her husband of 12 years, Ryan. Ryan and Abeda have two active boys ages six and eight. The boys enjoy swimming, singing, dancing, art and driving their parents crazy. :)
Abeda was born in Afghanistan during the Soviet Afghan War. Her family traveled to Pakistan to escape the war and lived in a refugee camp for several years. Later, her family migrated to America through the Cold War refugee program. She was four years old at the time and only spoke her native language of Pushto. Her parents enrolled her in kindergarten where she was enrolled in the ESL (English as a Second Language) program. Abeda has a very large family with four other siblings and many nieces and nephews who all still live in the Bay Area.
Education and serving the community are important to Abeda. Abeda was the Student Body President and served on the Board of Trustees at Ohlone College in Fremont. She has a paralegal certificate and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, at Davis, where she majored in Political Science. She currently has plans to return to school to obtain her Master’s Degree. Abeda says, “you are never too old or too young to learn something new.” In her spare time, she enjoys art and music and spending time with family and friends.
Please welcome Abeda!
EAST BAY CHAPTER - CALENDAR OF EVENTS
CYBER CHAPTER WEBINAR - Embracing Change: Building Stronger Leaders for the Future
May 21, 2019
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Cyber ALA
http://www.cyberala.org
CYBERALA Free monthly Webinar
East Bay Chapters Book Club
June 11, 2019
5:45 PM to 7:00 PM
Brothers Smith LLP
2033 N. Main Street, Suite 720
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Join us for lively discussion, laughs, wine, and light appetizers
East Bay Chapter Bunco Social
October 30, 2019
5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
FALL SOCIAL - BUNCO NIGHT!! Members & Business Partners Invited
At Home Of Member - Address To Be Provided Upon Registration
Orinda, CA
Don't miss the spookiest social of the year!
ALA CALENDAR - Upcoming Deadlines and Events
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MAY 13 Deadline to apply for the Susan French Emerging Leader Fellowship
MAY 13 Registration opens for e-learning course HR1: Employee Selection & Promotion
MAY 13 Registration opens for e-learning course FM1: Law Firm Accounting
MAY 22 ALA Webinar: Profit Planning and Cost Accounting for Law Firms
MAY 23 ALA Webinar: Leadership and Management: Why You Need Both
JUN. 6 ALA Webinar: Free Tools and Data to Boost Your Corporate Legal Efficiency
JUN. 6 FREE Webinar: The Difference Between Group and Individual Long-Term Care Insurance
JUN. 12 ALA Webinar: A Law Firm’s Competitive Edge: Writing Effective Business Continuity Plans
JUL. 9 ALA Webinar: The Ins and Outs of Payroll, Taxes and Reporting
Register for this upcoming event! JUL. 25–27 2019 Chapter Leadership Institute, Louisville, KY
Save the date for this upcoming event! AUG. 1–3 2019 Large Firm Principal Administrators Retreat, Nashville, TN
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ALA VIP PARTNERS
Did you know your ALA membership provides member-exclusive VIP services and discounts from nationally known companies to assist your firm? Log in to ALA and check out the VIP Program Overview for more information about ALA business partners. https://www.alanet.org/about/vip-program
ALA LEGAL MARKETPLACE
Your ALA membership provides you with access to the ALA Legal Marketplace where you will find a wealth of information regarding business partners, organized by category. Log in to ALA and visit the ALA Legal Marketplace for more information. http://legalmarketplace.alanet.org/
