Speak
your mind about the State Bar
Attorneys and members of the public will be able to comment on the
State Bar of California’s disciplinary procedures, attorney competency and
admissions procedures at two hearings next month.
The meetings will be held at 2 p.m. on Dec. 15 at the bar’s
Los Angeles office, 845 S. Figueroa St., 2nd floor; and at 2 p.m. on Dec. 17 at the bar’s San Francisco office, 180 Howard St., 4th floor.
The hearings will conclude when all the speakers present have had
the chance to address the panel. Those wishing to speak at either hearing
and/or present written materials should contact Doug Hull at 415-538-2015 or doug.hull@calbar.ca.gov by
Friday, Dec. 11.
The State Bar conducts these public hearings annually. In
addition, the State Bar regularly solicits public comment on
proposed changes to rules and regulations and the Board of Trustees sets
aside time at each meeting for the public to comment on items on its agenda.
Opt out
of lists
Attorneys who wish to remove their names from lists the State
Bar provides to qualified outside entities may do so by logging on to My State Bar Profile. Go to
“account information” and select “update my mailing preferences (opt out).”
Join the Pro Bono Practice Program
The State Bar's Pro
Bono Practice Program (PBPP), previously known as the Emeritus Attorney Pro
Bono Program, affords opportunities for retired attorneys, as well as those who
are taking a temporary break from the active practice of law, to assist
low-income Californians on a pro bono basis. The program takes advantage of the
legal skills, training and experience of attorneys from all practice areas and
settings and offers them the opportunity to contribute their legal expertise to
California's neediest residents while receiving valuable State Bar benefits.
Eligible participants will receive a waiver of the active
State Bar membership fee and have access to free and reduced rates to attend
MCLE programs sponsored by the State Bar, the Continuing Education of the Bar
(CEB) and Practising Law Institute.
To learn more, visit www.calbar.org/pbpp.
Apply for
appointment to the Board of Trustees
The California Supreme Court State Bar Trustees Nominating
Committee is accepting applications through March 18 from those interested in serving a
three-year term.
The Supreme Court appoints five people to the board and two of
those seats will be vacant in 2016. The appointee will be sworn into office in
October for a three-year term.
More information, along with
the application form, is available online: http://calbar.org/SupremeCourtBOT/
CRLA seeking attorneys to join board
The State Bar’s Office of Legal Services is accepting applications
from attorneys interested in filling one vacant position on the board of California
Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA). The deadline to apply is Jan. 29.
CRLA is a nonprofit that provides legal assistance to the rural
poor. Interested applicants should apply by letter to Louisa Ayrapetyan, the
State Bar of California, Office of Legal Services, 180 Howard St., San
Francisco, CA 94105. The applications should also include a resume that
outlines work experience, community activity and educational background.
Questions may directed to Ayrapetyan at 415-538-2534 or louisa.ayrapetyan@calbar.ca.gov.
Have your
voice heard in evaluating judges
The State Bar commission that evaluates the governor’s
candidates for judgeships is seeking the help of attorneys to solicit
information electronically.
For more than 30 years, the Commission on Judicial Nominees
Evaluation, commonly known as the JNE (“Jenny”) commission, has gathered
information about candidates by mailing paper comment forms to attorneys.
During the past few years, the commission has been using email to gather
comments, but continues to encounter one barrier: the spam filter. Most of
JNE’s emails reach their intended recipients. However, some are blocked.
Attorneys can solve this problem by authorizing the spam filters
serving their email address listed with the State Bar to accept the following
email address: jneccf@calbar.ca.gov. Those who work in legal
offices, public agencies and the court system can help by asking their IT
specialists to authorize the JNE email address for all spam filters serving
office computers.
The electronic comment forms are identical to the written forms.
A hyperlink in the email takes the commenter to a website where a form
identical to the written comment form can be completed electronically. The
electronic comments are maintained confidentially, with access only by
investigating commissioners and staff. The use of email appears to result in
response rates at least as high as the use of written forms. It has proven to
be a cost-effective and efficient method of transmitting time-sensitive,
confidential data.
Questions and comments about the process can be directed to jneccf@calbar.ca.gov.
Updated
2015 bar rules book available for e-reader
To make it easier for lawyers to readily identify and address
legal ethics issues, the State Bar has published an e-reader version of the
Rules of Professional Conduct and the State Bar Act. The e-reader version of
the rule book is compatible with the Kindle Reader App, a free e-reader
application available for iPads, iPhones, Blackberry phones, Android phones,
MacBooks and PC laptops. The book also works on all versions of Amazon.com’s
Kindle.
The 2015 edition of the e-Reader version of the rule book is now
available on Amazon.com for $6.99, a significant discount from the price of the
print version. It offers several useful features including a search function,
bookmarking, highlighting and annotating. In addition, once downloaded to a
tablet, smart phone or other compatible device, the book can be accessed at any
time, even without the Internet or a cellular data signal.
The bar’s rule book has been published for more than 65 years.
The 30-page edition published in 1949 has grown to more than 400 hard copy
pages. In addition to the rules and State Bar Act, the book includes other
related authorities such as selected Rules of Court, code sections, the Federal
Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule, the State Bar Pro Bono Resolution,
Lawyer Referral Service rules, MCLE rules and more.
Leverage
the law through a State Bar section membership
Join other leading attorneys and
legal professionals who are passionate about their practices. Each State Bar
section provides its members with valuable tools including e-newsletters,
publications and more. Highly regarded as a premier provider of legal
education, the 16 sections deliver specialized training and practical programs
including symposiums, one-day seminars and multi-day conferences, online
seminars, self-study curricula as well as updates on trends and changes in the
law. Visit our online catalog, which contains more than
1,000 individual seminars.
Sections can also figure
heavily when initiating or advocating legislation and regulations. Plus, most
of the sections participate in major public education efforts and community
service activities, such as consumer radio shows and booklets that explain
legal rights. Your minimal annual membership helps to fund all these essential
programs and services. What’s more, your membership is a tax-deductible
investment.
Membership
benefits from CalBar Connect
State Bar members can save up to 25 percent every time they rent
with Hertz, a participant in CalBar Connect, the State Bar’s member services
and benefits initiative. Visit the Hertz page for
details.
CalBar Connect, which provides discounts to all State Bar
members, also offers a variety of insurance plans including professional liability insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, group and individual disability plans, life insurance,
accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), auto, home and business office plans.
Subscribe
to the Daily News Digest
In between monthly issues of the Bar Journal, you can keep up
with the major legal news of the day by visiting the new Daily News Digest on
the Bar Journal’s home page. The State Bar’s Office of Communications scours
the day’s news and culls top headlines of interest to legal professionals. You
may also subscribe by visiting the Daily
News Digest web page.
Follow us
on Twitter, LinkedIn
Stay informed by following @StateBarCA on
Twitter and the State Bar of California page on
LinkedIn. We’ll give you a heads up about important regulatory information and
let you know about other happenings at the State Bar or within the legal
community. If you’re seeking information relevant to your particular practice
area, the State Bar’s voluntary
sections and the California Young Lawyers Association also have a
presence on social media through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.