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You Need to Know

Apply to be a State Bar Court hearing judge

Applications are being accepted through Nov. 21 for those interested in serving as a State Bar Court Hearing Department judge in Los Angeles.

The California Supreme Court’s Applicant Evaluation and Nomination Committee will vet the candidates to fill the unexpired term of Judge Richard A. Honn, who was elevated to the State Bar Court Review Department. Honn’s term ends Oct. 31, 2016, at which time the appointee will be eligible for reappointment to a full six-year term.

The State Bar Court is an independent entity that exclusively hears attorney discipline and regulatory matters and makes recommendations to the California Supreme Court.

More information and application forms are available on the State Bar Court website. For questions or to request an application by mail, call 415-538-2001.

Two Board of Trustees seats open

Nominating petitions are due Dec. 1 from 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 4 (Imperial, Inyo, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties) and 5 (Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties).

The Board of Trustees has moved up the election cycle. It will be held four months earlier than previous years to allow board members who are in their final year of service to run for re-election or seek reappointment in time to qualify for service as board president, vice president or treasurer.

Ballots will be mailed Dec. 31 and voting will be completed by March 2. Attorneys will continue to have the option to vote electronically or by mail.

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’s a vacancy is eligible to run for a seat on the board. The newly elected trustees will be sworn in at the conclusion of the 2015 Annual Meeting in October.

Apply for an incubator seed grant

The State Bar of California is accepting seed grant applications from organizations interested in developing incubator programs to deliver legal services to people of low and moderate means.

Incubators provide training and support for new lawyers starting their own solo, small firm or nonprofit practices. Experienced attorneys provide mentorship and supervision. 

The State Bar’s Office of Legal Services has received funding from the Ford Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation and the California Bar Foundation to award three to five grants of between $20,000 and $50,000. The one-time, non-renewable grants will be distributed by early 2015.

The deadline for applications is Dec. 1. For more information, and to apply, please visit the Office of Legal Services web page.

Think twice before giving a gift to a judge

With the arrival of gift-giving season, State Bar ethics experts have added new information for attorneys on judicial ethics, including the topic of gifts to judges. During this gift-giving season, a lawyer may want to give a modest present to a judge or employee of a tribunal. Selected resources found on the judicial ethics page strongly suggest that a lawyer should be very cautious about this conduct. In particular, one of the linked resources is an opinion of the California Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions, Formal Opinion No. 2014-005. Applying applicable provisions of the California Code of Judicial Ethics, the committee opines that there are many circumstances where acceptance of a gift would be absolutely banned, including situations where the gift-giver is a lawyer.

The updated judicial ethics page provides a collection of selected resources intended to promote a lawyer’s awareness and understanding of judicial ethics. In some circumstances, a lawyer is required to comply with standards ordinarily applicable only to judges (for example, a lawyer serving as a temporary judge, referee or court-appointed arbitrator).

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.

Participate in a research project on lawyer addiction, mental health issues

The American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation are collaborating on a research project to survey the current rates of substance use, depression and anxiety among legal professionals in the United States.

The anonymous, confidential survey is designed to capture current, reliable data on these issues to benefit the legal profession. Lawyers may participate even if they have not experienced any difficulties with substance abuse, depression or anxiety.

The online survey is anonymous. Responses go directly to the Butler Center for Research, which maintains the confidentiality of all data. No identifying information will be asked and all data will be de-identified, including IP addresses. 

SF Bay Area attorneys sought for poll

A team of nonprofit and community leaders is seeking the help of non-practicing and part-time attorneys to find ways to make pro bono work more accessible in the San Francisco Bay Area.

If you are a non-practicing or part-time attorney in the Bay Area, you are asked to take five minutes to fill out an online survey. You may also forward the survey link to others.

“Your feedback will help us better understand your needs and interests and, in turn, assist us in building innovative pro bono programs that get non-practicing and part-time attorneys involved,” said Michael J. Winn, a senior staff attorney at OneJustice in San Francisco.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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 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.

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).”