Message from Corey Weber, Chair of the Business Law Section

Business Law Section (BLS) members, the new year is now underway and the BLS has been actively engaged in fulfilling the CLA’s mission of promoting excellence, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law.  The CLA continues to publish cutting-edge eBulletins on new case law and legislative updates on an ongoing basis and will be hosting in-person MCLE events and networking events throughout the year.

Diversity and inclusion are an ongoing focus of the BLS, and it is important to create a pipeline of future leaders within our community.  The BLS participates in roadshows at colleges to discuss the path to becoming a lawyer.  BLS Vice Chair of Member Services, Soyeun Choi, BLS Executive Committee advisor Caroline Djang and Insolvency Law Committee Co-Chair Kyra Andrassy recently participated in a BLS roadshow event at Cal State Fullerton.  The Cal State Fullerton professor that hosted the event thanked the BLS in a letter and stated that “many of our students are the very first in our families to attend a university” and that “Dreams are often built by meetings like these.”  The BLS will continue to meet with college and law school students to encourage the next generation of lawyers. 

The BLS will also actively participate in civics outreach and education events this year, including the Ninth Circuit Civics Contest, an annual essay and video contest for high school students.  This year’s contest is titled The Right to Vote: Milestone Anniversaries and explores the 15th and 19th Amendments and whether formal or informal barriers to voting remain today.  More information on the Ninth Circuit Civics Contest is available by clicking here:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/civicscontest/.     

Please make sure to save the date for the CLA’s annual Legislative Day in Sacramento on March 4, 2020.  The Legislative Day will feature discussions with the Judicial Council of California, members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee and a representative from the Governor’s Office, followed by a lunch.  More details will follow in next month’s BLS eNews.  The Legislative Day is a great opportunity to meet with legislators regarding pending and potential legislation in California.  For more information, contact the BLS Vice Chair of Legislation, Tal Grinblat (tgrinblat@lewitthackman.com).

Each of the BLS’ standing committees focuses on a substantive area of business law and has a board of existing and upcoming leaders in that area of practice.  We invite you to apply to join one of the BLS’ standing committees to build a stronger community and serve the community through MCLE events, case law and legislative updates, and events that promote diversity and inclusion, fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law.  To learn more about the BLS, to apply to serve as a member or advisor for one of the BLS’ standing committees, or to serve as an editor on the Business Law News (BLN) Editorial Board, go to the BLS website https://calawyers.org/section/business-law/ or e-mail me at cweber@bg.law.

Happy New Year!

Corey R. Weber, Chair
California Lawyers Association Business Law Section
cweber@bg.law