At its July meeting, the Board elected new officers for the 2010-2011 term.  We are excited to announce that Patience (“Polly”) Crozier and Richard Moore will serve as MLGBA’s fabulous new co-chairs.  Polly practices family law at the Law Office of Joyce Kauffman and has served on the MLGBA board since 2005.  Richard practices in the Corporate Department of Ropes & Gray LLP, and was elected to the MLGBA Board in 2007 after serving for two years as Northeastern University School of Law’s student representative to the Board.  We are likewise pleased to report that Charles Chambers Jr., whose practice focuses on general representation for technology companies, will serve as MLGBA’s secretary, and Daniel Levin of Ropes & Gray LLP will serve as the organization’s treasurer.

This term, MLGBA also welcomes the following new directors to our Board: M. Barusch, Will Evans, Daniel Levin, and Rolando Medina.  Look for more about our new directors in the September newsletter.

PROPOSITION 8 RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

As has been widely reported, this week Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued his decision in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial.  The case challenged the constitutionality Proposition 8, the amendment to the California Constitution passed by voters in 2008 that defined marriage exclusively as “between a man and a woman.”  In its decision, the Court held that “Proposition 8 both unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation.”

MLGBA congratulates the plaintiff couples, the City and County of San Francisco, and their attorneys on this great victory.  The Court’s decision is available here.

Office space to sublet at Old City Hall in downtown Boston.  Anyone interested should contact Tim Lynch at Swartz & Lynch, 617-367-2882.