military law task force
presents
REPRESENTING SERVICEMEMBERS
WHO CAN NO LONGER SERVE
A CLE presentation In Fayettville, Arkansas
Held in conjunction with the annual conference of the GI Rights Network
Saturday, June 2, 2012
$25-75 suggested donation for attorneys needing CLE credit
No Charge for those attending who do not need CLE credit for attendance
LIVE ATTENDANCE CLE CREDIT INFORMATION: We have applied for CLE credit from the Oklahoma and Arkansas bars.
RECORDED ATTENDANCE CLE CREDIT INFORMATION: We will be recording this presentation in audio format. Pending approval, CLE credit should be available in Oklahoma and other states that allow audio archived CLE. (Arkansas unfortunately does not permit archived CLE credit.) More information on the recorded CLE can be found later in June at www.NLGMLTF.org.
9:00a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Mt. Sequoyah Retreat & Conference Center
150 NW Skyline Drive
Fayetteville, AR 72701
CLE PROGRAM SCHEDULE
9:00 – 9:15 Registration and introductions
9:15 – 10:15 Military Sexual Trauma* (Rachel Natelson and Kathleen Gilberd)
10:15 – 10:30 Break
10:30 – 11:30 Conscientious Objection* (Deborah Karpatkin)
11:30 – 11:45 Break
11:45 – 12:45 AWOL and Unauthorized Absence Defense* (James Branum)
12:45 – 1:15 Lunch – Military Law Task Force (MLTF) Meeting
* CLE Approval applied for in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
For more information call 405-494-0562
FACULTY
Rachel Natelson is the Legal Director of the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN). She formerly developed and presided over the Veterans and Servicemembers Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York City, and served as a staff attorney at the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. Natelson received her bachelor’s degree from Yale University and her law degree from New York University School of Law.
Kathleen Gilberd has worked as a military counselor for over 30 years, assisting conscientious objectors, soldiers fighting sexual harassment and racial discrimination, GI whistleblowers, soldiers and sailors accused under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policies, and veterans unfairly denied benefits after “bad paper discharges.” Her writing and cases have made her a nationally recognized expert in military administrative law. Gilberd is the Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild’s Military Law Task Force and a frequent contributor to its legal publication, On Watch. She is co-author ofFighting Back, which was for many years the only legal manual on military policy on homosexuality, and a contributing author for the respected legal manual, Sexual Orientation and the Law. She serves on the board of directors of the GI Rights Network and has been involved in both national and local work in the National Lawyers Guild since 1977. She received a degree in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. Her website can be found at KathleenGilberd.com.
Deborah Karpatkin is a civil rights, civil liberties and employment rights lawyer in private practice in New York City. She has represented Conscientious Objectors and military service members since 1991. On behalf of ACLU affiliates in New York, D.C., Southern California, and Connecticut, Ms. Karpatkin has filed several successful habeas corpus petitions on behalf of four conscientious objectors: Martin v. Secretary, NDNY (2006) (TRO issued to bar deployment of Army Sergeant with pending CO application; EAJA fees awarded; CO granted); Brown v. Geren, DDC (2007) (CO granted to Army officer and West Point grad after petition filed); Lee v. Secretary of the Army, EDCA (2007) (honorable discharge granted Army Specialist after petition filed); and Izbicki v. Mabus (2010) (CO granted to Navy officer and Naval Academy grad after petition filed). In addition, Ms. Karpatkin has, on behalf of the ACLU, co-counseled amicus curiae briefs in two recent CO appeals: Watson v. Geren, 569 F. 3d 115 (2d Cir. 2009); and Kanai v. McHugh, 638 F. 3d 251 (4th Cir. 2011).
In her employment practice, she represents individuals at all income levels, in both litigation and transactional work. She is co-counsel with the NYCLU in a lawsuit against the Salvation Army challenging its faith-based employment practices in its government-funded programs.
Ms. Karpatkin is a member of the NYC Bar Association, and has served on its Military Affairs and Justice and Lawyers’ Orchestra Committees. She is a member of the National Employment Lawyers’ Association of New York, where she serves on the Electronic Discovery Committee. She is a long time board member, active volunteer attorney, and former officer of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
After graduating from Columbia Law School, Ms. Karpatkin served as law clerk to Federal District Court Judge Gus J. Solomon in Portland, OR; Associate at Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard in New York; Staff Counsel for the ACLU of New Jersey; Clinical Associate Professor of Law at New York Law School; and Legal Director of 100% Vote/Human SERVE, the national voter registration reform advocacy organization. She opened her private law practice in 2001.
James M. Branum is a solo-practitioner in Oklahoma City where he practices military law, LGBT law, consumer bankruptcy and criminal defense. He is a graduate of Austin School of Theology and Oklahoma City University School of Law. He currently serves as the chair of the Military Law Task Force, legal director of the Oklahoma Center for Conscience and Peace Research and as the Minister of Peace and Justice of Joy Mennonite Church of Oklahoma City. To date, Mr. Branum has presented more than 20 seminars for lawyers, paralegals and law students in the areas of military law and related subjects.
The American Bar Association Journal named Branum as of the “Top 10 Legal Rebels of 2010.”
Mr. Branum has represented servicemembers before military authorities at Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, Fort Sill, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Fort Bragg, Fort Riley, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Drum, Fort Campbell, Fort Knox, Fort Lee, National Guard posts in Oklahoma and Texas, US Army Human Resources Command-St. Louis, US Army Pardon and Parole Board, US Army CO Review Board, US Army Court of Criminal Appeals (pro hac vice), Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Tinker AFB, Sheppard AFB, Charleston Naval Brig, Miramar Naval Consolidated Brig and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
His website can be found at JMBranum.com.
