By Ritzel Starleigh Ngo
Dear Solo and Small Firm Section Members:
The Spring is almost here! We hope that the 1st Quarter of 2018 is going well for your law firm. Our section has identified several subcommittees of which I want you to be aware, so that you can join and participate and share your ideas.Thank you to our members who have reached out to me and other members of our executive committee with ideas to provide our section with feedback in how we can support your needs as a small law firm and/or a solo practice.
The subcommittees of the Solo and Small Firm section, which includes a brief description and e-mail contact person are as follows:
Membership, Marketing and Social Media: focus on improving member benefits, and marketing our section and practice, and social media efforts for our section. Steven Mayer, e-mail: smayer@mayerlawla.com
Publications committee: focus on the Practitioner magazine, reviewing and publishing substantive and procedural articles.Subcommitee Chair:Omar Anorga, e-mail: omar@anorgalaw.com
Bylaws subcommittee: focus on the California Lawyers Association and drafting our section bylaws which correspond with the new association;Subcommittee Chair:Trina Chatterjee, e-mail: tchatterjee@mvtcfamilylaw.com
Outreach committee: focus on serving the needs of the underserved attorney/legal population in our section, which includes lesser populated areas.Subcommittee Chair: Nancy Goldstein, e-mail: nbg.esq@gmail.com
Appointments subcommittee: focus on appointing new members to the section's executive committee.Subcommitee Chair: Susan Share: sshare@susansharelaw.com
Attorney of the Year Award: focus on identifiying multiple attorney candidates for the attorney of the year award which is recognized and celebrated that the Sections Convention annually in September.Subcommittee Chair: Robert Klein, e-mail: Robert@rkleinlaw.com
Programs subcommittee: focus on identifying educational MCLE programs (live, webinars, webcasts, Section Convention).Education Chair: Sabrina Green: sgreen@sglawcorp.com
We look forward to your participation.
Please mark your calendars for our live MCLE Spring Conference which will be held at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles on April 20, 2018.We have three MCLE presentations, which will focus on the 2018 Tax Reform laws, marketing for solo and small law firms, and a program on client-centered law practice.
Please keep a look out for our live program e-blasts and upcoming e-newsletters for details which will include executive committee member visits to your local bar association, webinars, and committee updates.
We are looking to bringing the Winter to a close and welcoming the Spring.
Ritzel Starleigh Ngo, Chair
Earn 4.0 Hours MCLE and Legal Specialization Credit.
Friday, April 13, 2018
Loyola Law School Hall of the 80’s 919 Albany Street Los Angeles, CA 90015
Register Here!
Schedule | Essential Info Printable Brochure | Mail/Fax Registration Form
Click here for more information!
Wednesday, April 18, 2018 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M.
This program offers 1 hour participatory MCLE credit. You must register in advance to participate.
The webinar will focus on issues created by representing clients involved in California's newly regulated cannabis industry. Topics will include new laws and regulations, State and local licensing, intellectual property and impact of Federal policy on the industry.
Speakers: Robert Finkle, Kimberly Simms, Movses Shakarian, Luke Zimmerman
Request for Nominations - Due May 15, 2018
The Solo and Small Firm Section of the California Lawyers Association is pleased to request nominations for the Solo and Small Firm Attorney of the Year Award. The award will be presented at the California Lawyers Association Annual Meeting held on September 14, 2018 in San Diego.
The Solo and Small Firm Section of the California Lawyers Association presents its Attorney of the Year Award to honor a solo or small firm attorney, who has demonstrated exemplary leadership and dedication to the legal profession, contributed to the betterment of the practice of law, and has devoted significant service to the public and legal community.
Click Here for the Application Form
The Solo and Small Firm Section has two publications: The Practitioner, our quarterly magazine; and the ePractioner, our monthly electronic newsletter. We are always looking for content. Because this section is not in a particular substantive area, we are able to publish all kinds of subject matter. And we have great discretion as to length - so a great idea of one paragraph can be considered!
If you like to write, please send ideas and articles to the editors:
Marilyn A. Monahan, marilyn@monahanlawoffice.com and Nancy B Goldstein, nancy@gr8calilawyer.com
By Robert M. Klein, Esq., A Law Practice Devoted to Helping Personal Injury Victims robert@rkleinlaw.com
You need to set up a meeting with the client and after talking on the phone you realize your client cannot make the trip to your office. Or maybe you cannot make the trip to your client. You consider your options: do you send a car service to bring the client to your office? Do you send a substitute to your client’s residence or place of business for the meeting? Do you meet the client on a weekend? There is a simple alternative - a video conference (or video chat). Read More
Posted on March 21, 2018 by Julie Brook, Esq., CEB Reprinted by permission.
Although most attorneys never get involved with probate administration outside the United States, you might encounter practical problems if your client, who’s a California domiciliary, dies abroad. The first thing to do when a U.S. citizen dies in a foreign country is to contact the U.S. Department of State or the American consulate of the country in which the death occurred. This is for a few very practical reasons. Read More
By Steven L. Krongold Irvine, CA steve@krongoldlaw.com
Partnerships—Dissolution—Property Interest in Hourly Cases
Heller Ehrman LLP v. Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, S236208 (Cal., 3/5/2018)
Resolving a question posed by the Ninth Circuit, the Supreme Court held that a partnership has no property interest in legal matters pending at the time the firm is dissolved, when the firm was retained on an hourly basis. Based on this decision, partners of dissolved law firms are free to take pending hourly cases to their new firms without fear of being sued for disgorgement, for breach of fiduciary duty, or for an accounting of profits. Read More
By Evie Jeang Ideal Legal Group, Inc. Los Angeles, CA ejeang@ideallegalgroup.com
Last year’s landmark Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states, was a tremendous equal rights victory for same-sex couples. It also naturally lead to an influx of same-sex couples looking to expand their families, often through surrogacy. Make no mistake, as science has evolved, new doors have opened for couples seeking to have children through surrogacy. Yet surrogacy laws have struggled to keep up with the breakneck pace of these medical advances, and thus family law surrounding this relatively new field is ever-changing. (Case in point, surrogacy laws are not the same in all 50 states. In fact, states such as New York, Michigan, and Washington, D.C., still prohibit surrogacy.) It is crucial that same-sex couples considering surrogacy are armed with as much knowledge as possible before deciding where to find a surrogate and where to forge their surrogacy agreement. Read More
California Supreme Court: The California Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions (CJEO) invites public comment on a draft opinion on whether a judge may give an educational presentation to a specialty bar association, such as a district attorney or public defender association. The deadline for comment is May 15. Read More
The State Bar of California notified members of the Bar last week that it intended to file a request with the California Supreme Court for approval of a proposed California Rule of Court regarding re-fingerprinting of attorneys. The change will allow the State Bar to obtain criminal record information in compliance with state law.
In the interim, the State Bar encourages attorneys to immediately notify the State Bar of any mandatory reportable actions. As a reminder, failure to report mandatory reportable actions in and of itself constitutes violations of various sections of the Business & Professions Code and may subject attorneys to disciplinary action.
The State Bar has posted FAQs on its website:http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Attorneys/Conduct-Discipline/Self-Reporting-FAQ
Mark your calendars for the inaugural California Lawyers Association Annual Meeting—a terrific opportunity to learn and to network. The CLA Annual Meeting will be held in San Diego this year:
Friday-Saturday, September 14-15, 2018 Sheraton San Diego Harbor Island San Diego
This event follows in the footprints of the Sections Convention of 2017, and more than 30 years participating in the Annual Meeting of The State Bar of California. In fact, this event will feature many of the events you associated in the past with the Bar’s Annual Meeting. The Solo and Small Firm Section hopes to see you there!
Solo and Small Firm Section California Lawyers Association 180 Howard Street, Suite 410 San Francisco, CA 94105-1639 415-795-7186 solo@CAlawyers.org