New State
Bar brokers to field health insurance questions
California
attorneys have a new resource for finding health insurance. The State Bar is
sponsoring a health care insurance program to help lawyers find health care
insurance by connecting them with sponsored health care broker administrators.
Health
care brokers can assist members and their families and employees find quality
health plans, both on and off the state health insurance exchange. Marsh Risk and Insurance Services is the first of
two program administrators that will deal directly with State Bar members. Their number is 1-800-236-4352.
The
program was designed to coincide with the Oct. 1 rollout of California’s new health
insurance exchange, mandated under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act, which requires that most Americans obtain health insurance by 2014.
The
program is being overseen by the State Bar Committee on Group
Insurance Programs,
which is also responsible for a number of State Bar-sponsored
insurance programs including life, long-term care, disability and homeowner’s.
For more
information, contact Laila Bartlett, staff coordinator for group insurance
programs, at 415-538-2232 or laila.bartlett@calbar.ca.gov.
Council
on Access & Fairness seeks interim appointment
The
State Bar’s Council on Access & Fairness (COAF) is seeking applications to
fill a vacancy created by a resignation. The appointee will serve until October
2014 and be eligible for reappointment to a new three-year term.
The
council serves as the State Bar's “diversity think tank” and advises the Board
of Trustees on ways to enhance opportunities and advancement in the legal
profession for diverse populations, particularly those who have been
underrepresented.
The
25-member council consists of lawyers, representatives from academia, judges and
public members from diverse practice settings and constituencies. The council
seeks new members whose experience represents the full spectrum of the
diversity pipeline. The pipeline includes pre-K to 12; college; law school and
bar exam prep; recruitment, hiring, retention and promotion in the profession;
and judicial diversity.
The
deadline for applications is Nov. 15. To apply, go to the fillable
online application.
For
more information about the council, see the council's web page or contact
Patricia Lee at 415-538-2240 or patricia.lee@calbar.ca.gov.
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 month.
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.
State Bar to receive public
comments
Members of
the public and legal profession will have an opportunity to provide input on
the attorney discipline process, the admissions process and other issues
concerning attorney competence at two public hearings in December.
The hearings
will be held at the State Bar of California’s offices:
- 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, 1149 S. Hill St., 7th floor,
Los Angeles
-
10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 9, 180 Howard St., 4th floor, San
Francisco
The hearings
will conclude when all speakers present have addressed the panel of State Bar
representatives. Those who wish to speak at the hearing and/or present written
materials may contact Lauren Fletcher at 415-538-2310 or email her at lauren.fletcher@calbar.ca.gov by Monday, Dec.
2.
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 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.
New form mandatory for fee disputes with clients
As
of July 1, attorneys who encounter a fee dispute with a client are required to
use the State Bar’s updated version of the Notice of Client’s
Right to Fee Arbitration form.
The
new form, approved by the State Bar Board of Trustees on March 7, incorporates
a handful of changes, including clarifying who can request fee arbitration and
making it clear that more than one bar association may have jurisdiction to
hear a fee dispute. The new version also contains the State Bar seal, a change
made to ensure 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 successfully implemented the use of 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
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 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 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, accidental death
and dismemberment (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).”