Vote in Board of Trustees election
State Bar members have until March 2 to cast a vote, either electronically or by mail, in the Board of Trustees election.
Ballots were mailed out in late December for the election to represent District 4, an area that covers Imperial, Inyo, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. Three attorneys are running: Teresa A. McQueen, 49, of Irvine, who practices employment litigation; Scott C. Smith, 56, of Irvine, a land use attorney; and Todd F. Stevens, 52, of San Diego, a civil litigator.
Brandon N. Stallings, 31, of Bakersfield, a prosecutor with the Kern County District Attorney’s Office, was deemed elected after he was the only candidate to run for the seat representing District 5, an area covering Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties.
The new trustees will be sworn in at the bar’s Annual Meeting in October.
Apply for
appointment to the Board of Trustees
The California Supreme Court State Bar Trustees Nominating
Committee is accepting applications through March 20 from those
interested in serving a three-year term.
The Supreme Court appoints five people to the board and one of
those seats will be vacant in 2015. 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://www.calbar.ca.gov/AboutUs/BoardofTrustees/SupremeCourtAppointments.aspx
Don’t
miss the deadline for fee payment, MCLE compliance
Annual license fees for members of the State Bar are due Feb.
2. The fees are $430 for active lawyers and $155 for inactive lawyers.
Failure to pay fees by the deadline will trigger a $100 late
payment penalty for active lawyers and a $30 penalty for inactive attorneys.
Lawyers whose last names start with H - M (Group 2) also have a Feb.
2 deadline to report completion of their 25 hours of Minimum Continuing
Legal Education (MCLE). The late fee for missing that deadline is $75.
Dues can be paid and MCLE compliance can be reported online by
logging on to My State Bar Profile. Please
note: After Feb. 2, My State Bar Profile will be temporarily
unavailable while late penalties are assessed.
The 2014 fee bill includes contributions to the Client Security
Fund, disciplinary activities and the Lawyer Assistance Program. Fees are
waived for inactive attorneys who are at least 70 years old on Feb. 1.
Lawyers also have the opportunity to donate to the Justice Gap Fund (recommended donation
$100), the California Bar Foundation ($50
recommended donation), the Conference of California Bar Associations (CCBA
— $35 recommended donation) and the California Supreme Court Historical Society (CSCHS
— a $25 donation is recommended). In addition, you can deduct up to $30 that
would otherwise go to legal aid, $5 designated for lobbying and $5 designated
for the elimination of bias fund.
Active lawyers with qualifying income levels are eligible for a
25-percent reduction in the membership fee. To qualify, a lawyer must declare a
total gross annual individual income from all sources of less than $40,000 in
2014. For a fee waiver, your
income must be below $20,000.
Volunteer
opportunities available at State Bar
Applications are being accepted for dozens of volunteer
positions that will be available this year through the State Bar.
The State Bar’s Board of Trustees will appoint new members to 10
standing committees, 16 section executive committees and 18 special committees,
boards and commissions, along with two outside entities.
More information about all of the 2015-16 appointments, as well
as a link to the online application, is available on the committees page of the
State Bar's website. Applications also are available by writing to the
Appointments Office, State Bar of California, 180 Howard St., San Francisco, CA
94105-1639, or by calling 415-538-2370.
Most of the volunteer positions carry a three-year term, and the
application deadline for most appointments is Feb. 2. Applicants may
apply to as many as three committees, but can be appointed to only one. The
Board of Trustees will make the appointments this summer, and committee terms
begin Oct. 11.
Nominate a bench officer for their good works
The California Commission on Access to Justice is seeking
nominations of California judges for the Benjamin Aranda III Access to Justice
Award. The annual award recognizes someone who has demonstrated a long-term
commitment to improving access to our courts for low- and moderate-income
Californians. Nomination forms and more information are available on the State Bar website.
Nominations close March 31.
Pro
bono group accepting award nominations
The
Nobel Foundation has its prizes. The movie industry has the Oscars, and the
State Bar of California features awards for its own standout pro bono
performers: the President’s Pro Bono and the Loren Miller Legal
Services awards.
The
State Bar Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services is accepting
nominations for both awards through March 16. Guidelines and
applications are on the State Bar website.
Nominate
someone for a diversity award
Attorneys, law firms, bar associations and others who promote diversity and
exemplary legal training can be nominated for the Diversity and Education
Pipeline Awards. Nomination forms and information about past winners are
available on the State Bar website. The deadline for
submissions is March 31.
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 to the
Daily News Digest by sending an email to newsdigest@calbar.ca.gov.
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 and LinkedIn.
Legal
specialists: Your CLE reporting deadline is changing
Certified legal specialists will now begin reporting their legal
specialist education compliance at the same time as their Minimum Continuing
Legal Education (MCLE) compliance.
That means that certified specialists in MCLE Compliance Group 2
(whose names began with H-M when they were admitted), will need to report not
only their MCLE compliance but also their specialist legal education compliance
by Feb. 2. Specialists are required to have at least 36 hours of legal
specialization education every three years.
The deadline
was changed to simplify reporting so attorneys would associate all task
related to education with the February date.
Although MCLE reporting may be done online by logging onto My State Bar Profile,
that’s not the case yet for the specialist education reporting. Specialists in
Group 2 must fill out a form, which
is available online. For questions, email legalspec@calbar.ca.gov or
call 415-538-2180.
Law
affects immigration attorneys
Attorneys and immigration consultants are prohibited from
collecting money for services related to federal immigration reform until
Congress acts under a State Bar-sponsored bill that went into effect last fall.
The consumer protection legislation, authored by Assemblywoman
Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, was introduced in response to reports from law
enforcement that the federal debate over immigration reform was prompting scams
aimed at undocumented immigrants.
The legislation, which went into effect upon Gov. Jerry Brown’s
signature Oct. 5, 2013, also:
- Requires attorneys and immigration consultants to account for
any money already accepted for immigration reform services and either refund
the money or deposit it in a client trust account.
- Requires attorneys to inform clients receiving immigration
reform act services where they can report complaints. A notice for attorneys to
use has been posted on the State Bar’s website and has been translated into
multiple languages.
- Increases the amount of bond that immigration consultants must
carry from $50,000 to $100,000 as of July 1.
- Prohibits the use of the term “notario,” which has been
misconstrued as someone who is qualified to give legal advice.
- Provides that a person who violates the ban on the use of the
term “notario” is subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 a day for each
violation.
In light of President Barack Obama's recent executive order, the
State Bar urges attorneys to be aware of consumer fraud warnings issued by the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services and the California Attorney General’s Office.
Running
for judicial office? Take this mandatory free course
California judges and lawyers seeking a judicial office must
take a new online judicial ethics course within 60 days of filing for office,
creating a campaign committee or receiving a campaign contribution. The mandatory judicial ethics course went
online last year.
The course was developed by a working group of justices, judges
and lawyers after the Supreme Court adopted the mandatory rule, along with
other changes to the California Code of Judicial Ethics, almost a year ago. The Rules of Professional Conduct require
a lawyer candidate for judicial office to comply with the Code of Judicial
Ethics.
“The Supreme Court changed the rules to promote and enhance
public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary and to
provide guidance on the ethical obligations and responsibilities of those
running for judicial office,” Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye said.
The rule came out of the work of the Commission for Impartial Courts.
Consult
the Ethics Hotline
Time is money and legal research takes time. California legal
ethics research can be particularly time-consuming. First, California is not an
ABA Model Rule jurisdiction, so dusting off your law school textbook or simply
Googling won’t always cut it. On top of that, the applicable California law is
often found in multiple sources, many of which are unfamiliar to most lawyers.
If you consult the California Rules of Professional Conduct,
that’s great, but you can’t stop there. Consider the following questions:
- May an attorney use inadvertently disclosed confidential
information?
- Does the “no contact” rule permit an attorney to imply opposing
counsel’s consent?
- Is a “virtual law office” an ethical alternative for starting a
solo practice?
You can get assistance in researching these questions by calling
the State Bar of California’s Ethics Hotline. This call-back service is
free, staffed by live people and typically has a turnaround time of one
business day or less.
If you’ve never tried calling the Ethics Hotline, here’s the
official pitch: The Ethics Hotline is a confidential telephone research service
for attorneys. This service is staffed by specially trained paralegals who can
refer callers to the California Rules of Professional Conduct, State Bar Act
sections, published bar association ethics opinions and other relevant
authorities. Although the Ethics Hotline staff does not render opinions or give
advice, this guidance serves as a valuable resource that can jump-start legal
ethics research and aid lawyers in making informed decisions about their legal
ethics questions.
Attorneys can reach the Ethics Hotline from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
weekdays by calling 800-238-4427 (800-2-ETHICS) from within California, or
415-538-2150 when calling from outside of California.
Use this
form for fee disputes with clients
Attorneys who encounter a fee dispute with a client are reminded
to use the State Bar’s version of the Notice of Client’s Right to Fee Arbitration
form. The form has been approved by the State Bar Board of Trustees
and contains the State Bar seal to ensure that lawyers are providing clients
with the correct form.
Business and Professions Code § 6201(a) requires that lawyers
send the notice to their clients before or at the time of initiating a lawsuit,
or other action to collect fees. Attorneys are legally required to use the
State Bar’s form – not their own version put on their firm’s letterhead.
Mandatory fee arbitration is designed to reduce the number of
fee disputes that end up in court. The vast majority of fee disputes handled
through the mandatory fee arbitration process are resolved without filing an
action in superior court, saving the courts valuable time and money, said Doug
Hull, director of the State Bar’s Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program.
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 do 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.
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 2014 edition of the e-Reader version of the rule book can be
purchased at Amazon.com for $6.99, a significant discount from the price of the
hardcopy book. 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 411 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,
the Lawyer Referral Service rules, MCLE rules and more.
Legal
ethics and technology resource page is online
The general Ethics Information page on the State Bar
website has an area dedicated to Ethics and Technology ―
a collection of resources that address professional responsibility issues
raised by the use of websites, email, chat rooms and other technologies. The
resources include advisory ethics opinions, articles and MCLE programs.
Most of the resources are internal links to other pages on the
bar’s website and some are external links to local or specialty bar
associations. The page is organized both by the type of resource (ethics
opinion, article, etc.) and by subject matter (law firm websites, electronic
files, social networking, etc.).
The service focuses on providing basic legal research leads on
how the rules apply to new technologies rather than specific law office
systems, hardware or software options. For the latter, the resources of the
State Bar’s Law Practice Management & Technology
Section can be considered.
Register
a law corporation
Law corporations are required to register with both the California
Secretary of State and the State Bar of California under Corporations Code
§13404. Registration requirements are set forth in Business & Professions
Code §§6160 and 6161.
Rules and application materials are available on the State Bar
website. Information required to register a law corporation includes:
- Proof of registration with the Secretary of State
- Submission of bylaws and a sample share certificate containing
the appropriate restrictions on share ownership
- A completed application that reports all the attorneys who are
associated with the corporation
- Submission of the Guarantee for Claims in the appropriate amount
- A Declaration of Compliance with Rule 1-400
Limited Liability Partnerships providing legal services are also
required to register with the State Bar. If not registered, attorneys should be
particularly aware of California Corporations Code § 16306(f), which
specifically removes the protection from liability for claims based upon legal
work.
Prior to registering with the Secretary of State, be sure to
check with the State Bar to determine if the entity name complies with rules
and has not already been registered. Additional information is available at the Law Corporations page LLP page, or the Law Office Management page. For
questions or help, send an email to LLP@calbar.ca.gov
Create a
surrogacy agreement
An “Agreement to Close Law Practice in the Future” is available
on the State Bar website for attorneys who want to plan for the possibility
they will not be able to continue to work. The sample agreement, available to
all lawyers, spells out the responsibilities of the primary attorney and his or
her successor in the case of death or incapacity.
If a lawyer designates a successor using the new sample
contract, the designated surrogate goes to court for appointment as the
practice administrator who can take control and dispose of the practice. A
lengthy list of duties is part of the contract and includes the ability to open
mail, become a signatory on bank accounts, notify clients and transfer files,
pay bills and handle funds, and accept the original attorney’s clients and
cases. The practice administrator also will have the power to sell the
practice.
Feeling
stressed? The Lawyer Assistance Program can help
Attorneys struggling to cope with the stress of a challenging
economic environment or a difficult employment situation are invited to contact
the Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP),
which now offers new support programs in addition to its traditional help with
substance abuse and depression. Support is offered for issues like stress,
relationship and personal problems, grief and anxiety.
The LAP is designed for attorneys who might wish to participate
in a weekly group with other lawyers and would like the support of a mental
health professional (group facilitator) or a trained peer counselor who is
familiar with attorneys’ particular challenges.
The LAP also offers a free Orientation and Assessment (O&A)
to any attorney who wants professional assistance to cope with personal
problems, work problems, substance abuse or other mental health issues. The
O&A provides a confidential assessment completed by one of the LAP
clinicians located throughout the state. Referrals to outside resources and an
opportunity to participate in a LAP group for a short period of time also are
provided. There is no fee for this service.
Interested attorneys should call 877-LAP-4-HELP (877-527-4435)
or contactLAP@calbar.ca.gov. All calls are confidential.
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.
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, on-line
seminars, self-study curriculum 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.
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).”