Register for the legal
specialist exam
Attorneys seeking to get State Bar certification as a specialist
in their practice area may sign up to take the one-day exam to be given Oct.
27. The exam is offered every other year and is open to attorneys who have
practiced in a designated
specialty area and are able to complete the experience, education and reference
requirements by January 2019.
Registration continues through Oct. 1, but those who sign
up by Sept. 1 qualify for a discount.
The bar offers free preparation packets on its website to help
attorneys gauge how much study is needed. For more information, see the Board of Legal Specialization web page. There you’ll also find
more information about the various preparation courses that are offered by the
bar and outside providers.
Nominate
an ethics guru for an award
The State Bar
of California is seeking nominations of California attorneys for the 2016 Harry B. Sondheim Professional
Responsibility Award.
The deadline for nominations is Aug. 31. The award will be presented at
the 2016 Annual Statewide Ethics Symposium.
The Harry B.
Sondheim Award recognizes a California lawyer, living or deceased, for
outstanding long-term contributions to the advancement of attorney professional
responsibility standards in California. The nomination form and additional
information are available online. For more information, contact Angela
Marlaud, Angela.Marlaud@calbar.ca.gov or 415-538-2116.
Free
section memberships available
During the
month of August, State Bar members can join one section of their choice free
for the remainder of 2015. If you are already a member of a section, why not
join another? This offer does not apply to section renewals. For more
information, visit www.calbar.org/free-section.
Register
for the Annual Meeting
Mark your
calendars to join us in Anaheim for the State Bar of California 2015 Annual
Meeting on Oct. 8-11. Choose from 126 seminars. Three course tracks
cover advanced, basic/practical skills and recent development topics. Earn up
to 20 hours of MCLE and legal specialization credit. Pre-register for a four-day
or a two-day pass. Special Annual Meeting hotel rates also are available. For
information call 415-538-2210 or visit the Annual Meeting web page.
New
legislation affects immigration attorneys
Legislation
that went into effect in June prohibits attorneys and immigration consultants
from taking upfront fees for services related to President Obama’s executive
actions on immigration.
AB 60,
authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, was approved by the
California Legislature and went into effect when it was signed by Gov. Jerry
Brown on June 17.
Gonzalez also
authored a 2013 law prohibiting advanced fees for immigration reform services
to prevent immigrants from being scammed as Congress considered potential
immigration reform measures. The new legislation was intended to clarify that
the ban also applies to immigration services related to the president’s
executive actions.
In addition
to prohibiting advanced fees, the 2013 law 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 is also translated into other languages, including
Spanish and Chinese.
- Increases
the amount of bond that immigration consultants must carry from $50,000 to
$100,000 as of July 1, 2014.
- 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.
Serve on
the California Bar Foundation board
The California Bar Foundation is accepting applications from
attorneys, judges and members of the public who are interested in serving on
its board.
The nonprofit
is the center of philanthropy for the state’s legal profession, building a
better justice system for all Californians by investing in grants,
scholarships, public education and community collaboration. The deadline for
applications is Oct. 15. For more information, see the foundation’s website.
Farm
worker advocates wanted for appointment
The State
Bar of California’s Office of Legal Services is seeking applications from
attorneys with connections to farm worker advocacy or farm worker communities
to serve a two-year term on the California Rural Legal Assistance Board of Directors. The deadline for
applications is Sept. 7.
CRLA is a
nonprofit that provides legal assistance to the rural poor. The bar is seeking
applications to fill three available positions on the board. Interested
applicants should apply by letter to Louisa Ayrapetyan, The State Bar of California, Office
of Legal Services, 180 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94015. The application
should also include a resume that outlines work experience, community activity
and educational background. Questions may be directed to Ayrapetyan at 415-538-2534
or louisa.ayrapetyan@calbar.ca.gov.
California
Indian Legal Services board seats open
The State
Bar of California’s Office of Legal Services is seeking applications from
attorneys interested in serving on the California
Indian Legal Services Board of Directors. The deadline for applications is Sept. 7.
CILS is a
nonprofit Legal Services Corporation-funded program created to provide legal
assistance to the rural poor. Interested applicants should apply by letter to Louisa Ayrapetyan, The State Bar of California, Office
of Legal Services, 180 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94015. The application
should also include a resume that outlines work experience, community activity
and educational background. Questions may be directed to Ayrapetyan at 415-538-2534
or louisa.ayrapetyan@calbar.ca.gov.
Find a
certified/registered court interpreter
Under Government Code Section 68561 (with definitions in Section
68560.5), a deposition in a civil case filed in a court of record is a “court
proceeding” and therefore an interpreter used shall be either: (1) a certified
court interpreter for languages designated by the Judicial Council (see link
for current languages: http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/CIP-Certified-Languages.pdf) or (2) a registered
court interpreter for languages not designated by the Judicial Council (all
other languages). Attorneys can use the Judicial Council master list to search
for certified and registered interpreters who are in good standing with the
Judicial Council, available here: http://www.courts.ca.gov/3796.htm.
Attorneys should also be aware that effective Jan. 1, 2015,
California Government Code Section 68561
was amended to include section (h), which requires certain information that a certified or
registered interpreter must state for the record in the deposition and the
documentation regarding the interpreter’s qualifications that a certified or
registered interpreter must present to both parties in a deposition.
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 in 2014.
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 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 Section 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.
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 by visiting the Daily News Digest web
page.
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, LinkedIn and YouTube.
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).”