Second Life Bar Association Meeting TranscriptJuly 18, 2009
Transcript taken by Cat Galileo
[10:01] Legal Writer: Good morning, everyone.
[10:01] Vaki Zenovka: Good morning, Legal Writer.
[10:01] Morgandy Muircastle: good morning to all y'all too
[10:01] Juris Amat: Thats ok Lex...
[10:01] Higgs Wopat: Good morning
[10:01] Ida Recreant: Good morning
[10:02] Morgandy Muircastle: is sitting on the table programmed? or do you bring your own script Legal?
[10:02] Lexis Looming: Good morning to everbody
[10:02] Lexis Looming: Howdy Julynn
[10:02] Julynn Lilliehook: Hiya!
[10:03] Legal Writer: Sitting on an object is possible just by right clicking on it.
[10:03] Morgandy Muircastle: cool
[10:04] Legal Writer: We'll get started in a little bit.
[10:04] Lexis Looming: Greetings TelLagu
[10:05] Julynn Lilliehook: this isn't going to be in voice is it?
[10:05] Cat Galileo: nope
[10:05] Legal Writer: We use text for our meetings.
[10:05] Julynn Lilliehook: thanks
[10:06] Lexis Looming: No we are always in text so we have a transcript
[10:06] Cat Galileo: we post the transcript too btw, if anyone doesn't know
[10:06] Legal Writer: OK, let's get started
[10:06] Legal Writer: Welcome, everyone to our July 2009 meeting of the SL Bar Association.
[10:07] Legal Writer: This is the meeting in which we will have elections for officers and board members for the upcoming year.
[10:07] Legal Writer: As a reminder, our meeting will be transcribed and the transcript of the meeting will be posted on the SLBA website.
[10:08] Cat Galileo: note, voting iteslf opens monday and runs thru Aug 1
[10:08] Legal Writer: I hope everyone is enjoying the summer (or winter in the Southern Hemisphere).
[10:08] Legal Writer: Our first order of business today is to remind everyone that annual dues are now due.
[10:08] Legal Writer: Geri, would you mind please chiming in concerning how to pay?
[10:08] Geri Kuhn: Sure
[10:09] Geri Kuhn: There is box in the lobby
[10:09] Geri Kuhn: Please click on it to pay your dues
[10:09] Legal Writer: Great!
[10:09] Legal Writer: Obviously, the association can function only if it has your financial support.
[10:09] Lexis Looming: Be careful to chose the box for dues and not for credentialing.
[10:10] Geri Kuhn: Yes, thanks Lexis.
[10:10] Geri Kuhn: Unless you want to do that as well.
[10:10] Legal Writer: We believe that the association is making great strides, and delivers benefits to us in a myriad of ways.
[10:10] Legal Writer: So, we hope that you all renew for the upcoming year.
[10:11] Legal Writer: So, now, we come to the point in our annual cycle in which we take up elections of officers and board members for the upcoming year.
[10:11] Legal Writer: By way of history, Benjamin Noble started our association a few years ago, and became the first president of the association. He did a great job in getting us up and running.
[10:12] Legal Writer: Then Solomon continued the work that Benjamin started and served as our second president.
[10:13] Legal Writer: The president elect will be chosen today, and will take office next Feb.
[10:13] Legal Writer: While the other officers and board members will take office on August 1.
[10:13] Cat Galileo: Legal - one sec- that's not the procedure we had up
[10:13] Geri Kuhn: Legal, I think we all need to vote
[10:13] Geri Kuhn: on all of the candidates
[10:14] Legal Writer: Let me clarify.
[10:14] Legal Writer: All offices are chosen today.
[10:14] Cat Galileo: election box to be posted Monday, voting runs Monday-Aug1
[10:14] Legal Writer: But the president chosen wil be president elect until next Feb.
[10:14] Lexis Looming: All candidates speak today
[10:14] Lexis Looming: voting follows
[10:15] Legal Writer: The candidates will speak today. We will have a period to vote, and then on Aug 1, I believe, the non-president officers will take office, along with the board members.
[10:15] Cat Galileo: /nod
[10:15] Lexis Looming agrees
[10:15] Legal Writer: OK, great.
[10:16] Legal Writer: So it is my hope that this set of leaders and the leaders to be chosen for the upcoming year will continue the work of Benjamin and Solomon.
[10:16] Michele Jigsaw: how many candidates are there?
[10:16] Legal Writer: So, with that, let me announce that there is one candidate for president-elect for the upcoming year, Geri Kuhn.
[10:17] Legal Writer: Lexis Looming is the one candidate for VP of Finance.
[10:17] Legal Writer: And Cat Galileo is the sole candidate for VP of communications.
[10:17] Legal Writer: So that makes our officer panel for the upcoming year.
[10:17] Michele Jigsaw: lol hotly contested election
[10:18] Legal Writer: Although there is no opposition to their candidacies, I would like each one of them to come up and talk about their plans, hopes, and desires for the upcoming year.
[10:18] Legal Writer: So, let's begin with Geri.
[10:18] Lexis Looming: Legal I formally withdraw my candidacy for a position on the Executive Board which I posted for before posting for VP finance.
[10:18] Cat Galileo: (quickly) :D
[10:18] Legal Writer: Geri, can you please come up and share your vision for the 2009-2010 year?
[10:18] Geri Kuhn: Thanks Legal
[10:19] Legal Writer: Thanks, Lexis re the clarification of your candidacy.
[10:19] Geri Kuhn: My name is Geri Kahn (in RL) and I would like to be considered for the position of president of the SL Bar Association. I would like to tell you a little about myself and then talk about some of my ideas for the following year.
[10:19] Geri Kuhn: I am a licensed attorney in California. I practice Immigration Law and Social Security Disability Law. Prior to starting my own practice, I worked in Social Service Agency as a staff attorney and I still do consulting for them. You can see more about what I do on my website: www.gerikahn.com . In SL, I have been the VP of finance for the past two years and have done some publicity and arrangement for various speakers in our speaker series.
[10:19] Geri Kuhn: I enjoy my immigration practice because I meet people from all over the world. I was attracted to Second Life for the same reason – the ability to meet people from all over the world. I enjoy the SL Bar Association because it is international. We all come from many practice areas yet SL has brought us together because of our common interest.
[10:20] Geri Kuhn: One of the most exciting times to me on SL was the SL Bar´s first seminar at which Solomon spoke. It was thrilling to me to see lawyers from around the world, from all different practice areas interested at learning about virtual law at the same time.
[10:20] Geri Kuhn: The SL Bar has been extremely lucky to have phenomenal leadership. Ben, who provided the vision for our organization and got it started. Solomon, who continued with that vision and led us to establishing a speaker series and the beginning of the credential verification program.
[10:20] Geri Kuhn: And, Legal, who has provided us with a solid structural foundation by drafting our mission statement, updating our bylaws and incorporating our organization in RL.
[10:20] Geri Kuhn: We have also had stellar members on our boards who have done a great deal of work. I feel fortunate to belong to such an organization.
[10:21] Geri Kuhn: One of the goals for my term will be to continue with everything that we have started. Our credential verification program, and continuing legal education programs are great successes, but now that we have a solid structure and we know where we are going, I would like to see us go.
[10:21] Geri Kuhn: I would like to see us become more involved and visible in the SL community. I would like to encourage us to have programs, both educational and social, with other SL organizations.
[10:21] Geri Kuhn: I would also like for us to get to know each other better in SL. We only see each other at meetings and the format does not allow much time for getting to know each other. I know there are law professors in our group.
[10:22] Geri Kuhn: I would like to encourage them to give a presentation on their research/work in SL and take us on a virtual tour of their builds on SL.
[10:22] Geri Kuhn: I am aware we have members who routinely give presentations in their practice areas in RL. I hope they would consider giving a CLE in SL in their specialty. It would be a way for us to learn about other practice areas and perhaps bring in new members who are not yet on Sl.
[10:22] Geri Kuhn: On the lighter side, I know that we have professional SL party planners in our organization, I hope that one of them would consider planning a social event for us.
[10:23] Geri Kuhn: Many avatars wish to remain anonymous on SL and I certainly respect that right. One of the most rewarding aspects though of SL for me has been making the virtual world real. I have been fortunate to have met a few of your in RL. I would like continue what Legal has done informally at meetings by announcing upcoming conferences and asking if folks are interested in meeting in RL.
[10:23] Geri Kuhn: For those that want to, I believe the SL Bar is a great networking opportunity. You never know, that attorney on SL may be the one who will refer the one million dollar case to you.
[10:23] Geri Kuhn: These are some of my ideas but really I would like to hear from you. I hope you that you will feel free to tell me or anyone on the board what your ideas are. More importantly, I hope that you will volunteer to carry them out.
[10:24] Geri Kuhn: Our organization can only grow and thrive with your support. Thank you for your consideration.
[10:24] Lexis Looming claps
[10:24] Legal Writer: Thank you, Geri, for your service as VP finance.
[10:24] Vaki Zenovka applauds
[10:24] Legal Writer: And we all look forward to your administration next year.
[10:24] Geri Kuhn: :)
[10:24] Juris Amat: claps
[10:25] Legal Writer: We appreciate your terrific ideas for the upcoming year.
[10:25] Legal Writer: And now, Lexis Looming, can you please step up and discuss your thoughts for the upcoming year?
[10:25] Lexis Looming: Yes
[10:25] Lexis Looming: Hello everyone
[10:26] Lexis Looming: My name is Lexis Looming. I am running for VP Finance. I have been a member of the Association for almost two full years, at least I just paid my dues for the third time. Although I posted earlier for another year on the Executive Board, hereby withdraw that candidacy. I was a member of the Executive Board for this past year.
[10:26] Lexis Looming: I have worked on the credentialing program practically since it was approved in the general vote in 2007. I am currently performing most of the credentialing investigations. I am also currently working on the Association's application to be approved for U.S.A. tax purposes [I.R.C. §501(c)(3) ] as a charitable organization. In rl I am a lawyer not an accountant, but I always got straight A's in math...through calculus anyway.
[10:26] Lexis Looming: I pledge to do a faithful job collecting, protecting, tracking, and reporting the growing funds in our coffers. Indeed as our funds grow I will explore alternative means to safeguard and invest our funds to earn interest (so long and the gains exceed the cost of transferring funds in and out of Linden$.
[10:27] Lexis Looming: Moreover, I pledge to continue to be an active participant in the executive board and to continue my work with credentialing and the 501(c)(3) application. Thank you.
[10:27] Juris Amat: claps
[10:27] TelLagu Swords: Claps
[10:27] Legal Writer: Thank you, Lexis.
[10:27] Geri Kuhn claps.
[10:27] Vaki Zenovka applauds.
[10:27] Ida Recreant: applause
[10:27] Cat Galileo: Yay!
[10:27] Legal Writer: Also, Lexis, thank you for your service on the Executive Board this past year.
[10:28] Lexis Looming smiles
[10:28] Legal Writer: Lexis has been instrumental in working the 501c3 application so far.
[10:28] Legal Writer: I look forward to continuing work with you on the application.
[10:28] Legal Writer: And now, let us turn to VP of Communications.
[10:28] Higgs Wopat: Thanks
[10:28] Legal Writer: Cat Galileo has served in this role, and has done a great job.
[10:29] Legal Writer: I would like to invite her now to talk about her views concerning communications during the next year.
[10:29] Legal Writer: Cat?
[10:29] Cat Galileo: hi, everyone.
[10:29] Cat Galileo: We currently have several avenues for comminication in and out of SL - website, forum, twitter, facebook,
[10:30] Cat Galileo: I would like to see these become more useful to the members, perhaps by streamlining or adding content that would be helpful
[10:30] Cat Galileo: I would love to work with folks to make this happen
[10:31] Cat Galileo: we also have several events coming up - i look forward to helping spread the word about our CLEs and other events
[10:31] Cat Galileo: btw come to Juris' talk on digital tech next friday at 8:30 )
[10:31] Cat Galileo: Thank you and I welcome any questions and ideas.
[10:32] Legal Writer: Thank you, Cat.
[10:32] Michele Jigsaw: /claps
[10:32] TelLagu Swords: Claps!
[10:32] Vaki Zenovka claps
[10:32] Lexis Looming claps
[10:32] Ida Recreant: applause
[10:32] Juris Amat: claps
[10:32] Legal Writer: It's been great working with you in the past year, and I look forward to our work next year.
[10:32] Juris Amat: Yay!!!
[10:32] Legal Writer: OK, now, it is time to turn to our board positions.
[10:33] Legal Writer: With Lexis' withdrawal, we are down to five candidates running for three board positions.
[10:33] Legal Writer: I would like each of the candidates to come up and talk about an introduction of themselves, their interest in the board position, and what they would like to accomplish as board members.
[10:34] Legal Writer: I have used a random number generator to determine the order by which each will speak.
[10:34] Higgs Wopat: impressive!
[10:34] Juris Amat: wow
[10:34] jamiebryce Infinity: Math! (yikes)
[10:34] Legal Writer: It's amazing what you can find online. :-))
[10:34] TelLagu Swords: 1 mississippi, 2 mississippi, ...
[10:35] Legal Writer: So, Jamiebryce Infinity will be our first board candidate to present.
[10:35] jamiebryce Infinity: See now, I knew I was suspicious of math for a reason :D
[10:35] Legal Writer: Jamiebryce, can you please come up, introduce yourself, and what you see for the board in 2009-2010.
[10:35] Vaki Zenovka laughs
[10:35] Lexis Looming chuckles
[10:36] jamiebryce Infinity: In fact I think math is mostly what I went to law school to flee .. didn't work, though.
[10:36] jamiebryce Infinity smiles. No need to be fancy, so I'll just stand up here.
Most of what I have to say already is in the candidates statements at
http://www.slba.info/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1244915499
[10:36] Geri Kuhn grins at Jamie.
[10:36] jamiebryce Infinity: I have been active in SL, and SLBA, for a relatively long time by SL "dog years." Not always in this avatar, though; as there've been some strong moves by management here to limit SLBA leadership positions to people with linked RL legal credentials, I;m here in this one.
[10:37] jamiebryce Infinity: I agree with Geri that the link between RL and SL socializing, for lawyers and law students here, is positive and provided some excellent, fun experiences for us. And the CLE programs belong with our networking, as big SLBA successes.
[10:37] jamiebryce Infinity: On the other hand there are some things that are different about a virtual world. Things that require thought -- sometimes I feel a bit like open source lawyers must have felt, in the early days of their licensing work --- like the preexisting system is trying to shoehorn new and different round things into old square boxes.
[10:37] jamiebryce Infinity: We can do a good job. As I alluded in my post to the nonination thread, while I generally feel that I know and like SLBA's leadership, I thought that our incorporation wasn't what transaction lawyers call a thoughtful "structuring" job.
[10:37] jamiebryce Infinity: Things *are* different here.
[10:37] jamiebryce Infinity: SL is transnational. SL is not a venue where one can "practice" law in the conventional sense. SL is a place where a large number of the citizens prefer to stay anonymous. There are no courts, but there are many dispute resolving activities. Commercial and property law as such does not apply ... and yet hundreds of thousamnds of people live, work, shop and get into disputes here.
[10:38] jamiebryce Infinity: There are some -- but not enough -- efforts to really grapple with those differences. Ashcroft's Metaverse Republic is one good example; there are a few others. If we are a commuinity of lawyers and law students here, isn't paying attention to that sort of thing a goal for us? And peculiarly suited to a group like this? As Cat said, we need content. Maybe some of it can take advantage of the combination of legal training .. and native understanding of how a virtual world works ...
[10:38] jamiebryce Infinity: which SLBA may uniquely have to offer. Thanks.
[10:38] Legal Writer: Jamiebryce, thank you for your thoughts.
[10:38] TelLagu Swords: claps
[10:39] Ida Recreant: applause
[10:39] Vaki Zenovka applauds.
[10:39] jamiebryce Infinity: cheers
[10:39] Geri Kuhn claps.
[10:39] Lexis Looming claps
[10:39] Juris Amat: claps :)
[10:39] Juris Amat: smiles
[10:39] Legal Writer: I think you've raised some important issues concerning how the SLBA operates and is structured.
[10:39] Juris Amat: nods
[10:39] jamiebryce Infinity: hats off to those who have donated more time than me so far :)
[10:39] Legal Writer: OK, so on we go to our next candidate.
[10:39] Legal Writer: Our next candidate chosen randomly is Higgs Wopat.
[10:40] Legal Writer: Higgs, please share your thoughts concerning the 2009-2010 year.
[10:40] Legal Writer: And please introduce yourself.
[10:40] Higgs Wopat: Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to chat with you about my self-nomination for the SLBA board. My SL name is Higgs Wopat. My RL name is Scott David. I am a partner at the K&L Gates law firm. I am physically located in the Seattle office. I practice in the area of information and identity law.
[10:41] Higgs Wopat: This is an exciting and challenging time for lawyers and their clients. The challenges and excitement will not abate, but will in fact increase. Hold on tight, it is going to be a wild
[10:41] Higgs Wopat: ride
[10:41] Higgs Wopat: The SLBA will be increasingly called upon to provide thought leadership in this rapidly evolving space. I want to talk a little bit about the challenges, and what roles the SLBA might play in addition to all of the great initiatives that it currently has underway.
[10:41] Higgs Wopat: We are just beginning to perceive the effects of a mathematically exponential increase in digital information (described by MIT quantum information theorist, Seth Lloyd). Less alarming, but still daunting, is the 2007 IBM study suggests that digital information will double every 11 hours starting next year. Try engaging in electronic discovery in that context!
[10:42] Higgs Wopat: With that information tsunami bearing down on us, we need to “ramp up’ information interface capacity for carrying volumes of information, while creating tools that enable dynamic contextual “filtering’ of information.
[10:42] Higgs Wopat: SL and other Virtual Reality Interfaces (VRIs) do that for the visual channel by enabling the modification and enhancement of graphical information to feed through that channel (since “a picture is worth a thousand words’).
[10:43] Higgs Wopat: We are all here because we understand that VRIs have a big role to play to address this challenge.
[10:43] Higgs Wopat: VRIs are, at one level, just another “technology’ that mediates our environment/reality, like eyeglasses, phones, agriculture systems, televisions, spoken and written language, the internet, etc. The introduction of each technology “disrupts’ the status quo, and requires the adjustment of interaction rules to be artfully incorporated into the existing “information system.’
[10:43] Higgs Wopat: Lawyers work with rule sets for social interactions and commercial transactions in the context of these changing technology mediations.
[10:43] Higgs Wopat: It is the same story as always. . .technologies are developed by engineers, scientists, programmers (and the culture at large) which expand the ways in which tech mediates our environment and interactions, and we must then all figure out the new rules of engagement among us using these new technologies.
[10:44] Higgs Wopat: You can look at the combination of people and technologies as one big information processing system. For that system to function, the pieces must be interoperable, i.e., have predictable outputs.
[10:44] Higgs Wopat: The output of the technologies is rendered predictable in that system from their design and implementation. The behavior of people is made predictable by lawyers (and others involved in the creation and enforcement of laws).
[10:44] Higgs Wopat: From this perspective, legislation, contracts, policies, etc. are mainly intended to curb or guide the exercise of individual discretion to increase predictability of behavior and therefore reduce risk. This allows interoperability of different people and businesses, since it increases the reliability of response.
[10:45] Higgs Wopat: Interoperability on the technology side is handled by standards setting organizations (such as IEEE, W3C, etc.). One function of SLBA should be to help define “standards’ for the legal aspects of human behavior in this new space.
[10:45] Higgs Wopat: As early implementers, we can help to analyze these issues, provide a forum to “crowd source’ the answers, and help to create a scaffolding from which the appropriate set of rules can be constructed.
[10:45] Higgs Wopat: SL, like other new technology, is two things. The new vehicle for old transactions and the new vehicle for new types of transactions. These require different (but similar) analyses.
[10:45] Higgs Wopat: We will need to continue our focus on how to bring forward existing rules to address new issues. For instance, will the application of new technologies to a particular interaction preserve the historical rights and obligations associated with that interaction? If it alters it, what adjustments are needed to bring it back in line with the expectations of the balance of the system.
[10:46] Higgs Wopat: Also, due to the historically unprecedented nature of the interactions enabled by the technologies involved, we need to consider and then guide the development of new structures to address new issues
[10:46] Higgs Wopat: This will involve work in lawyer “practice/ethics rules,’ business interaction rules, data security and privacy rules, identity rules and the like, in addition to the changes to substantive laws.
[10:46] Higgs Wopat: We will also need to consider trust and transparency. Successful systems will be trusted systems. The systems will need to be true to the basic rule of privacy policies, i.e., “Say what you are going to do and then do what you said you would do.’ That type of predictability is needed for VRIs to become more broadly adopted.
[10:46] Higgs Wopat: Transparency will also continue to be a challenge, since the rendering of synthetic interaction interfaces has the intrinsic potential to obscure. Nonetheless the notion of transparency will continue to be important.
[10:47] Higgs Wopat: These are just a few of the significant challenges that we face. Those challenges can also be viewed as opportunities. The SLBA will continue to provide a forum for us to pool our experience to best address these challenges and take advantage of the opportunities.
[10:47] Higgs Wopat: As our membership broadens, we can tap into an ever broader collective experience, which will be needed to keep up in this new world.
[10:47] Soro Dagostino: afk
[10:47] Higgs Wopat: Thank you for your time. I look forward to helping the group to explore this fascinating, and challenging, space.
[10:47] Geri Kuhn claps.
[10:47] Legal Writer: Thank you, Higgs.
[10:47] Vaki Zenovka: /applauds.
[10:47] Juris Amat: claps
[10:47] Legal Writer: That was a very thoughtful statement.
[10:47] Lexis Looming claps
[10:48] Ida Recreant: applause
[10:48] Michele Jigsaw is sure she will absorb that when reading the transcript
[10:48] Ida Recreant: /claps
[10:48] TelLagu Swords: /claps
[10:48] jamiebryce Infinity smiles, claps
[10:48] Legal Writer: Ok, on to our next candidate, Juris Amat.
[10:48] Dewey Whybrow: /clap
[10:48] Cat Galileo: Yay!
[10:48] Juris Amat: LOL
[10:49] Legal Writer: Juris, can you please come up and talk about yourself, and your vision for the board in the upcoming year?
[10:49] Juris Amat: I'd love to. Thanks everyone and thanks Legal
[10:50] Juris Amat: Its really been a pleasure being a prt of this group. There were times when I, as a practicing attorney in this environment really required a reality check or two.
[10:51] Juris Amat: These are exciting times indeed and those of us out there braving this new frontier are lucky to have each other
[10:51] Juris Amat: I would love to see us developing stronger relationships with one another.
[10:52] Juris Amat: Meeting in world as has been sugessted earlier for occasions other than meetings
[10:52] Juris Amat: I realize that time is scarce...however one other thing Ive noticed about the nature of these environments is that
[10:53] Juris Amat: the are time consuming and being involved in this community is just as much of a commitment as being involved in our real life ones
[10:54] Juris Amat: In order to be in a position to provide guidance to tohers outside we must understand our neighbors inside
[10:55] Juris Amat: the builders and content creators, artists, musicians and small business people who populate our world
[10:55] Juris Amat: I would like to see more outreach to other groups and more involvement of our membership base in the activities of those groups
[10:56] Juris Amat: To me we will never really understand the implications of the legal decisions to be made concerning this world without being fully active members of ity
[10:57] Juris Amat: That is my goal, as a candidate for this board position and that is what I have to offer.
[10:57] Juris Amat: Thanks everyone
[10:57] Legal Writer: Thank you for your important insights, Juris.
[10:57] Cat Galileo: /applaud
[10:57] Ida Recreant: applause
[10:57] Lexis Looming clap
[10:57] jamiebryce Infinity applauds
[10:57] TelLagu Swords: claps
[10:57] Geri Kuhn claps.
[10:57] Legal Writer: I agree that relationships and nurturing our memberships are important goals for the upcoming year.
[10:58] Legal Writer: And now, since time is growing short, let's move on to our next candidate, Vaki Zenovka.
[10:58] Vaki Zenovka: Oh. That's me.
[10:58] Geri Kuhn grins.
[10:58] Legal Writer: Vaki, can you please introduce yourself and talk about your vision for the upcoming year?
[10:58] Vaki Zenovka: Hi. Most of you haven't met me, and I haven't met you. I'm Vaki, and I'm not a lawyer. Yet. I'm working on it, though.
[10:59] Vaki Zenovka: To be honest, both in his nominatory post and in his introduction a moment ago, jamiebryce Infinity raised many of the issues that are my primary concern as well. I've been an outspoken privacy advocate for many years -- I believe that one of the great values of a virtual world is its ability to allow people to transact pseudonymously. I believe that it only takes some work on the part of the users to allow that model to work for us rather than against us.
[10:59] Vaki Zenovka: One thing that I found in working in computer security was that any security implementation that disrupts daily business too greatly wouldn't be used. It's human nature to work around an obstacle in a system. As a group of lawyers (and almost-lawyers) who understand this environment, we have the opportunity to help create legal guidelines that are -not- disruptive to the system.
[11:00] Vaki Zenovka: And I do believe that, as hard as it is just trying to come up with guidelines for our own community, we do need to keep an eye to the world as a whole. SL is creating unique questions of law, and we're the ones who are going to need to answer them. Just outside this room, we have a lot of notecards and web links, but what I would really like to have is a FAQ for SL laymen about what to do if you think your copyright has been violated, or if someone is griefing you, or so on. I believe that we should be involved with people in SL who -aren't- lawyers, and need us.
[11:00] Vaki Zenovka: I am aware, of course, that this has its potential dangers, but you know, that can be hammered out later. Anyway. I mostly just wanted to say hi. And I have spammed you enough, I think.
[11:01] Geri Kuhn claps.
[11:01] Michele Jigsaw: Lol...not at all
[11:01] Ida Recreant: applause
[11:01] jamiebryce Infinity claps
[11:01] Juris Amat: claps
[11:01] Legal Writer: Thank you, Vaki. Again, these are important issues, and the approach of helping people with the legal problems you identify should be part of our association's mission.
[11:01] jamiebryce Infinity: Law students have always been a big part of the energy of the group, Vaki.
[11:02] Lexis Looming clap
[11:02] Vaki Zenovka: Thanks, jamiebryce.
[11:02] Legal Writer: Our final candidate is Rachel.
[11:02] Legal Writer: Rachel is someone I have had the pleasure of meeting in RL.
[11:03] Legal Writer: Is Rachel here today?
[11:03] Cat Galileo: haven't seen or heard from her
[11:03] Legal Writer: I did not recall her SL name, and so asked that question, but she posted as loverachel in the forums.
[11:04] Cat Galileo: I don't know her SL name either.
[11:04] Legal Writer: Hang on a second.
[11:04] Legal Writer: Rachel wrote the following in her post.
[11:05] Legal Writer: Hello, my name is Rachel, and I am nominating myself for a position on the executive board. I am an attorney and advocate of building self-regulating systems in virtual world. Some of you may know me in real life as well---I have done some work for Linden Lab a few years go and continue exploring the way to improve virtual life. I have always wanted to contribute my time and knowledge to assist this association and thought this would be a great opportunity to do so! Rachel
[11:06] Legal Writer: Rachel and I met at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting in 2007, when she was an intern for Linden Research.
[11:06] Lexis Looming: I hope we can get her full SL name intime to include it in the voting box
[11:06] Legal Writer: Right.
[11:07] Legal Writer: I will contact her and ask her to provide that info.
[11:07] jamiebryce Infinity nods. Admin question, Lexis?
[11:07] Legal Writer: Can someone now talk about voting logistics so our members know when and how to vote?
[11:07] Legal Writer: Geri or Lexis?
[11:07] Geri Kuhn: I think really Cat knows the best
[11:07] Legal Writer: OK, Cat?
[11:08] Lexis Looming yields floor to Cart
[11:08] Lexis Looming: Cat
[11:08] Cat Galileo: we will be procuring a device that allows voting. If i can get the one we used last year from Henri DeCuir we will use that-
[11:08] Cat Galileo: he's in the last week before the CA bar tho so he is distracted at the moment ?
[11:08] Cat Galileo: either way i will get one and place it in THIS room
[11:08] Legal Writer: When will voting open and then close?
[11:09] Cat Galileo: it will be active from this Monday morning (7/20) to midnight Server time 7/31
[11:09] Cat Galileo: that's it
[11:09] Legal Writer: Server time meaning SL time?
[11:09] Cat Galileo: yes
[11:09] Cat Galileo: (wowism crept in LOL)
[11:10] Legal Writer: OK, terrific. So the upcoming year is in your hands. Your vote is very important. Please do express your wishes for the future direction of the association by voting.
[11:10] jamiebryce Infinity: Let me know when time for questions?
[11:10] Cat Galileo: this will all be announced, publicize, etc every way I can think of
[11:10] Morgandy Muircastle: This room was closed this morning, can it be in the lobby?
[11:10] Legal Writer: Great, Cat.
[11:10] jamiebryce Infinity: oo good point
[11:10] Cat Galileo: closed? ok, i'll put it with our other boxes then in the little SLBA nook
[11:10] Cat Galileo: thanks for that info
[11:10] Legal Writer: Now that our time is up, let me mention a few other things quickly on our agenda to wrap up.
[11:11] jamiebryce Infinity smile s-- I will post my question to the website then
[11:11] Legal Writer: First, Lexis told me, and I sent a group announcement about anonymity. Our 501c3 requires us to disclose the RL identity of the board members. This is in addition to our requirement to disclose the officer names to the Secretary of State.
[11:12] Vaki Zenovka raises her hand.
[11:12] Legal Writer: We can change the bylaws to say that disclosure of RL identities will be minimized to the extent possible and disclosed only when required by law, or something to that effect.
[11:12] jamiebryce Infinity: or other approaches :)
[11:13] Lexis Looming: That is related to conflicts of interests concers the IRS has for charitable organizations
[11:13] Legal Writer: I will try to draft some changes to the bylaws to reflect recent comments on the forums as well.
[11:14] Legal Writer: We will keep rolling out documents on the forums. We need bylaws and also a conflict of interest policy. The membership should approve them both after time to review.
[11:14] Lexis Looming: The IRS needs to know "insiders" are not profiting from the 501c3
[11:14] Legal Writer: So, that is where the incorporation stands. We also now have an employer identification number.
[11:14] Legal Writer: OK, then Benjamin Noble has proposed to the Board buying some land and renting it to the association at cost.
[11:15] Legal Writer: He is very kind to do that. I would invite your feedback on that idea in the forums.
[11:15] Legal Writer: Lexis stated that Julynn Lilliehook is our latest credentialed avatar.
[11:15] DanielPerry Laa: Will you post more details on the land purchase in the forum?
[11:16] Legal Writer: Thank you both for moving that process forward.
[11:16] Legal Writer: Land purchase idea will go into the forucms.
[11:16] Lexis Looming: No new applications are pending. allapplications have been processed.
[11:16] jamiebryce Infinity: what's the count now, lexis?
[11:16] Legal Writer: And then, Juris Amat will be speaking at our next CLE. Juris, can you please remind us of the time and topic?
[11:16] Lexis Looming: I am not sure but all credentialed avatars are listed on the Website
[11:17] Juris Amat: The topic is developments in copyright law concerning digital technology
[11:17] Lexis Looming: 9 avatars are listed Legal
[11:17] Legal Writer: Great.
[11:17] jamiebryce Infinity grins - http://www.slba.info/credential_list.html - so far so good
[11:17] Cat Galileo: Avatar name Check date
Benjamin Noble June 14, 2008
Solomon Cortes June 14, 2008
Lexis Looming January 10, 2009
Aisln Baxton April 22, 2009
Soro Dagostino April 23, 2009
TelLagu Swords April 23, 2009
Legal Writer April 24, 2009
Stavrogin Grayman April 24, 2009
Julynn Lilliehook July 18, 2009
[11:17] Juris Amat: The time is 8:30 am SLT. I hope that I see you guys there. It should be interesting, theres a lot happening in this area of law these days
[11:18] Legal Writer: And Juris, as I recall the program is this Friday?
[11:18] Juris Amat: Yep :)
[11:18] Legal Writer: Great. Please attend the program, and support our CLE efforts!
[11:18] Cat Galileo: more info and sign up: http://www.slba.info/speakers/digitech.html
[11:18] Cat Galileo: ps it's free
[11:19] Juris Amat: lol! that always helps:)
[11:19] Legal Writer: Morgandy, I think, is still open to your ideas concerning the career fair for Sept or Oct.
[11:19] Morgandy Muircastle: To be quick, I'd just like to say that we have a date!
Saturday, November 14, 2009 12 pm SLT
Thanks to Michele Jigsaw and U. Florida for hosting the event. They are under construction, so we'll look at back up plans, but hope to be in their new facility.
I have already talked to some of you, but also look for a note coming out with more specifics on how to get involved. Thank you.
[11:19] Cat Galileo: /cheer
[11:19] Legal Writer: Morgandy, that's wonderful.
[11:19] jamiebryce Infinity: that's excellent
[11:19] Juris Amat: Great!!!
[11:19] Legal Writer: We should put together panels on it and think of the all the topics to cover.
[11:20] Morgandy Muircastle: yeah, just needed a date before asking for committments
[11:20] Legal Writer: Sounds great.
[11:20] Juris Amat: Thanks for all your efforts, Morgandy
[11:20] Legal Writer: Thank you, Morgandy.
[11:21] Juris Amat: and Michele
[11:21] Legal Writer: And now, for the last topic. I will be at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago from Jul. 29 to Aug 2. Please let me know if you will be there for coffee or lunch.
[11:21] jamiebryce Infinity: Which section do you hang out in, Legal?
[11:21] Morgandy Muircastle: Is anyone gong to the SL convention in SF in August?
[11:21] Legal Writer: The ABA Virtual Worlds and Multiuser Online Games Committee in the Section of Science and Technology Law will have a meeting.
[11:21] Geri Kuhn: I'm thinking of it Morgandy
[11:22] Legal Writer: Would love to have our members sit in on that meeting too. I will be there.
[11:22] Michele Jigsaw: will any of the meeting be streamed inworlf Legal?
[11:22] Michele Jigsaw: *inworld
[11:22] jamiebryce Infinity: who chairs that these days? Was Ben once, right?
[11:22] Legal Writer: To clarify, I hope we can get some people in world to join the Chicago meeting.
[11:22] Morgandy Muircastle: i'm wondering about publiscity for the career conference there
[11:22] Legal Writer: Ben is chair.
[11:22] Juris Amat: That would be great. I'd work on coordinating that
[11:22] Juris Amat: streaming effort
[11:22] Legal Writer: Along with Cristina Burbach and Sean Kane.
[11:23] Michele Jigsaw: ok
[11:23] Geri Kuhn: Great idea Morgandy
[11:23] Legal Writer: In case you didn't know, I hang out with the ABA Section of Science and Technology Law. I am vice chair of the Section.
[11:23] Michele Jigsaw: what is that date Legal?
[11:23] Legal Writer: I don't know the date exactly.
[11:23] Legal Writer: I will need to reach out to Cristina and Sean.
[11:23] Legal Writer: Ben, I believe, is not coming.
[11:24] Legal Writer: To Chicago.
[11:24] Michele Jigsaw: ok I can also email Sean
[11:24] Legal Writer: Ok, is there any other business before we close?
[11:24] Ida Recreant: Take care everyone-I must leave now
[11:24] Lexis Looming: Wow, Legal... we ran over but you got the whole agenda in!!! Good job!
[11:24] Michele Jigsaw: bye Ida
[11:24] Legal Writer: Thank you, Ida, for your service on the board.
[11:24] Lexis Looming: Bye Ida
[11:24] Cat Galileo: bye ida
[11:24] Juris Amat: Thanks Ida:(
[11:25] Legal Writer: Ida is rotating off the board. Thank you!
[11:25] Geri Kuhn: bye Ida
[11:25] Juris Amat: Bye!
[11:25] Higgs Wopat: Thank you all, have a great weekend
[11:25] Lexis Looming: thank you Ida
[11:25] DanielPerry Laa: Great meeting everyone, Thanks Legal!
[11:25] Vaki Zenovka: Bye Ida.
[11:25] Legal Writer: OK, reminder. Please pay your dues.
[11:25] Legal Writer: And please vote for the candidates.
[11:25] Geri Kuhn grins. Thanks Legal.
[11:25] Juris Amat: Goodbye all!
[11:25] Legal Writer: We will be announncing when the ballot box is ready!
[11:25] Legal Writer: Thank you all for a great meeting.
[11:25] Cat Galileo: via all our channels...
[11:26] Cat Galileo: thanks everyone!
[11:26] Legal Writer: Our next meeting will be at the regular time in August.
[11:26] Lexis Looming: Thanks Legal
[11:26] TelLagu Swords: Thanks!