Two State Bar Board of Trustees seats up for election
Nominating
petitions are available for attorneys interested in seeking an elected seat on the
State Bar Board of Trustees.
Two seats will be up for election – one each in Districts 1 (Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake,
Marin, Mendocino, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma) and
District 3 (Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen,
Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra,
Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba).
Any active member of the State Bar who maintains his or her principal office
for the practice of law within the State Bar district in which there is a
vacancy is eligible to run for a seat on the board. Lawyer members are elected
for three-year terms and will assume their offices at the conclusion of the
2013 Annual Meeting in October.
Nominating petitions must be submitted by April 2, ballots will be mailed
April 30 and voting will be completed by July 1. As it has been doing in recent
years, the State Bar will conduct a hybrid election, offering voters the option
of voting electronically or by mail.
Members are elected for three-year terms and assume office
after the State Bar Annual Meeting in October.
California Supreme Court seeks applicants to State Bar
Board of Trustees
A newly formed committee is accepting
applications through March 29 from attorneys wishing to serve on the State
Bar of California Board of Trustees.
The California Supreme Court is charged with appointing five
members to the State Bar governing body and has named the State Bar Trustees Nominating
Committee to solicit, receive, screen and evaluate applications and make
recommendations to the court. In 2013, two positions will be filled using this
process.
The committee is chaired by Sacramento County Superior Court
Judge David De Alba, with Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Holly Fujie
serving as vice chair. The other members are: Catherine Jane Blakemore,
Sacramento, executive director of Disability Rights California; Robert Alan
Morgenstern, Los Angeles, partner at Bingham McCutchen; Michael Joseph Levy,
Sacramento, chief counsel of California Energy Commission; and Julia Rebecca
Wilson, San Francisco, executive director, One Justice and the Legal Aid
Association of California.
Statewide Ethics Symposium set for April 20
The State Bar of California’s Committee on Professional
Responsibility (COPRAC) will hold its 17th Annual Statewide Ethics Symposium on Saturday, April 20, at UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles. The theme of this year’s symposium is “Ethics
2013: Doing Good, Being Bad, Going Public, Being Sad.” Planned topics include
ethical issues in pro bono representation, civility and the ethical bounds of
aggressive lawyering, media, confidentiality and trial publicity, and lawyer
mobility and law firm breakups. The keynote address will be delivered by Paul
W. Vapnek, the 2013 recipient of the Harry B. Sondheim California Professional
Responsibility Award. The event is approved for six hours of MCLE credit
in legal ethics. Registration is open. For more information contact
Lauren McCurdy at (415) 538-2107.
Nominations Sought for the 2013 Benjamin Aranda III
Access to Justice Award
The California Commission on Access to Justice is seeking
nominations of California judges for the 2013 Benjamin Aranda III Access to
Justice Award. The deadline is May 31, 2013. The award will be presented
by the chief justice in the fall.
The Aranda award recognizes one California trial judge,
appellate court justice, or commissioner for his or her efforts to improve
access to our judicial system. The recipients have demonstrated a long-term
commitment to equal access to the courts and have done significant work in
improving access to the courts for low and moderate income Californians. The
nomination form and additional information is available
online. Contact Frank Monti,
415-238-2141, for questions or further information.
California courts seek feedback on website
Attorneys who use the California Judicial Branch website
are invited to fill out a user survey. The survey asks whether the
website information was understandable and easy to find. Website users may also
offer suggestions for improvements. The survey will be posted online through
late March.
California Bar Foundation announces new leadership team
The California
Bar Foundation, the center of philanthropy for California’s legal
profession, has hired two key staff members, Executive Director Sonia Gonzales
announced last month.
Natalia Merluzzi joined the foundation as director of
programming and policy in August 2012. She was formerly with the U.S.
Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where her responsibilities included
prosecuting cases on behalf of the United States Attorney’s Office and serving
as a special assistant to the Assistant Attorney General Tony West. She was
the racial justice project fellow at the ACLU of Northern California and began
her career as a litigation associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP.
Joe Swimmer became the foundation’s director of development
in November 2012. He brings nearly 20 years of experience in legal practice,
fundraising, marketing and business development. He was senior development
officer for Berkeley Law – Boalt Hall and alumni relations officer with
Georgetown Law School and the Stanford Alumni Association. Former senior
director of litigation services at LexisNexis, Swimmer started his career
practicing law with Shartsis Friese LLP and Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, both in
San Francisco.
“The new leadership for the Foundation brings expertise, as
well as professional and personal networks, certain to further our important
work,” said Frederick Brown, California Bar Foundation President and partner
with the international law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. “With Sonia’s
leadership, and Natalia and Joe’s contributions, the Foundation is poised to
build on past success as we continue working towards a legal profession
representing the diversity of those it serves and serving those it represents.”
LA/OC legal
aid group seeking board members
The State Bar
of California is seeking applications from attorneys interested in filling
vacant positions on the Board of Directors for Legal
Aid Society of Orange County and Community Legal Services in Southeast Los
Angeles County (LASOC/CLS). Applicants must practice or reside in the area served by
LASOC/CLS.
One position
is open and one will open in August. The term of office is three years, with
the successful candidate eligible for re-appointment for an additional term. Deadline for applications is April 30, 2013.
Interested
attorneys should apply by letter, listing the reasons they should be appointed.
A resume outlining work experience, community activity and educational
background must be included. The materials should be sent to Sarah
Lindsey Chanrasmi,
The State Bar of California, Office of Legal Services, 180 Howard St., San
Francisco, CA 94105. Questions may be directed to Sarah
Lindsey Chanrasmi by
email or phone, (415) 538-2534.
California
Rural Legal Assistance filling board vacancies
The Board of
Directors of California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) is recruiting for two
vacancies. The State Bar of California is seeking applications from attorneys
interested in serving.
The term of
office is two years, with the successful candidate eligible for re-appointment
for two additional terms. Deadline for applications is April 30,
2013.
Interested
attorneys should apply by letter, listing the reasons they should be appointed.
A resume outlining work experience, community activity and educational
background must be included. The materials should be sent to Sarah
Lindsey Chanrasmi,
The State Bar of California, Office of Legal Services, 180 Howard St., San
Francisco, CA 94105. Questions may be directed to Sarah
Lindsey Chanrasmi by
email or phone, (415) 538-2534.
Significant changes to the law concerning construction-related disability
access claims
Senate Bill No. 1186, authored by Senate President Pro Tem
Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Senator Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga),
made significant changes to the law, some of which impose State Bar
disciplinary consequences on lawyers. The bill contains an urgency clause,
which means it was effective immediately upon enactment Sept. 19, 2012, but
some of its provisions didn’t go into effect until Jan. 1. The bill includes
the following provisions, all of which govern construction-related disability
access claims:
- A general prohibition against
sending a demand letter that includes a request or demand for money or an
offer or agreement to accept money, effective immediately
- A revision to the existing
mandatory written advisory that must be provided with a demand letter or complaint,
effective immediately
- A requirement that a lawyer
send a copy of a demand letter to the State Bar and the California
Commission on Disability Access, effective Jan. 1.
- A requirement that a demand
letter sent by a lawyer include the lawyer’s State Bar license number,
effective Jan. 1.
- A requirement that a lawyer
send a copy of a complaint to the California Commission on Disability
Access, effective Jan. 1.
- A requirement that demand
letters and complaints contain plain language sufficient for a recipient
business or property owner to determine the basis of alleged violations,
including: specific identification of each access barrier encountered; the
date of the incident; and a description of how each barrier interfered
with full and equal access, effective Jan. 1.
- A requirement that a complaint
be verified by the plaintiff, effective Jan. 1. A complaint filed
without verification is subject to a motion to strike
- A reduction of statutory
damages if specified conditions apply, effective immediately
- The establishment of procedures
for a mandatory evaluation conference, effective as to claims filed on or
after Jan. 1.
Help JNE move to paperless evaluations
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 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 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, and it will save the State Bar tens of
thousands of dollars a year in copying, stationery and postage costs.
Bar rules book available for 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.
The 2012 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 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.
Legal ethics and technology resource page is online
The general Ethics
Information page at 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, 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.
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 an 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 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.