Pathways to Justice Conference June 7-8
Presented by the State Bar of
California’s Office of Legal Services, the Legal Aid Association of California
and the Equal Access Project of the Administrative Office of the Courts, the
2012 Pathways to Justice Conference is designed to provide a rich and
comprehensive concentration of training sessions involving legal services, pro
bono and court-based work. The keynote speaker is former California Supreme
Court Justice Carlos R. Moreno.
The conference at UC Hastings College of
the Law features 40 training sessions, including six optional program tracks in
cultural competency, family law, organizational development, public benefits,
small claims and consumer law and technology. Attendees can earn 11.5 hours in
MCLE credit in the areas of legal ethics, elimination of bias in the legal
profession and detection/prevention of substance abuse.
Visit the Pathways to Justice web site for more
detailed information.
California Bar Foundation seeking board
members
The California Bar Foundation is seeking
applications for several positions on its Board of Directors for terms
beginning Jan. 1. Attorneys, judges and members of the public who have a
demonstrated interest in and commitment to the foundation’s charitable mission,
who have previous board, public or community service, and/or who are
knowledgeable about charitable fundraising are encouraged to apply.
The California Bar Foundation is a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization affiliated with the State Bar of California, dedicated
to building a better justice system for all Californians. Through gifts from
lawyers, law firms and other donors, the foundation distributes grants for
law-related projects and scholarships for students pursuing public interest
careers, and supports other educational programs. More information about the
foundation is available at www.calbarfoundation.org.
Members of the board serve two-year terms and are
expected to attend approximately five board meetings per year, participate on
at least two committees and possibly attend other events. They also are
expected to participate in fundraising and annually make a personally
significant financial contribution to the foundation.
The application deadline is Aug. 17, 2012.
Applicants must submit a resume and statement of interest by mail, fax or email
to: Sonia Gonzales, Executive Director, California Bar Foundation, 180 Howard
St., San Francisco, CA 94105; 415-856-0788 (fax); sgonzales@calbarfoundation.org.
The Foundation will review the applications and, at its discretion, may
interview candidates. Appointments will be made by the State Bar Board of
Trustees in November.
Help JNE move to paperless evaluations
The
State Bar commission that evaluates the governor’s candidates for appointed
judgeships is seeking the help of attorneys to solicit information electronically.
For more
than 20 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. Over the past 18 months, the
commission has experimented with the use of email to gather comments, but has
encountered one barrier: the spam filter. While most of JNE’s emails reach
their intended recipients, a significant number 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
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 web site 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, and it will save the State Bar tens of thousands of
dollars a year in copying, stationary and postage costs.
Bar rules are
now available in an e-Reader
To facilitate a lawyer’s ability 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.
For a limited time, the e‑Reader
version of the rule book can be purchased at Amazon.com for $5.99, a quarter of
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 an
Internet or 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.
New legal ethics
and technology resource page is online
The general Ethics Information page at the
State Bar website has added a new area dedicated to Ethics and
Technology ― a collection of resources that address professional responsibility
issues raised by the use of Internet 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 new 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 new 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; and
- 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, it is advisable to check with the State Bar to ensure that 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. Assistance is available at 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.
Support 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 an Orientation &
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 contact LAP@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, AD&D, Auto, Home and Business Office
Plans.
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).”
Members also may email their opt-out
request to memrec@calbar.ca.gov. Include your
bar number.