Events
No Holds Barred – Walnut Creek
October 25 @ 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Where: Embassy Suites by Hilton Walnut Creek, 1345 Treat Blvd, Walnut Creek, CA 94597
When: October 25, 2025
Earn 6.0 Hours of Legal Specialization in Family Law. Includes 1.0 Hour Civility in the Legal Profession, 2.0 Hours Elimination of Bias, 2.0 Hours Legal Ethics, and 1.0 Hour Technology in the Practice of Law.
A Frank Discussion Between Bench and Bar. Why do many of us hate practicing family law, and how can “we” make it better?
Featured Panelists:
- Honorable Mark A. Juhas
- Honorable Sue Alexander
- Barbara Hammers, CFLS
- Justin O’Connell, CFLS
Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Agenda
8:00 AM – 8:45 AM | Registration Open
Stop by the registration booth to check in and grab your name tag!
8:15 AM – 9:15 AM | Continental Breakfast
Please join us for a continental breakfast before the start of the program.
8:45 AM – 9:45 AM | What’s Civility Got to Do With It?
MCLE: 1.0 Hour Civility in the Legal Profession
A discussion of why civility is so important, and its impact on our clients, their children, counsel, the court, and our personal lives. Including an open dialogue of what each of us can do to improve the practice of family law.
10:00 AM -12:00 PM | Everyone’s a little bit biased
MCLE: 2.0 Hours Elimination of Bias
Learn how to identify and become aware of biases as well as strategies and approaches to reduce the impact of bias in our practices today.
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM | It’s all about the ethics
MCLE: 2.0 Hours Legal Ethics
Discussion of the ethical constraints in family law today, including the ethics of trust accounts, attorneys as fiduciaries, working with self represented litigants, unbundling, the “snitch” rule, duty to assert only meritorious claims, and the ethical use of experts.
3:15 PM – 4:15 PM | HAL 9000: Sorry Dave, I can’t do that
MCLE: 1.0 Technology in the Practice of Law
Navigating emerging issues and how they can impact your practice. What your duty to protect really entails. Benefits and pitfalls of AI in family law today.
Speakers
Guest Speaker
Honorable Monica Wiley
Judge Monica F. Wiley was appointed to the bench by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on September 1, 2009. Since her appointment, Judge Wiley has presided in civil, criminal, family law, and juvenile departments, and served as the Supervising Judge of the San Francisco Unified Family Court from January 2018 to February 2024. During her tenure on the court, she has participated in numerous internal court committees, including the Executive Committee, the Governance Committee, and the Strategic Planning Committee. Judge Wiley is a member of the B.E. Witkin Judicial College Steering Committee and has served as a faculty member and seminar group leader for the College since 2017, where she teaches an Introduction to Family Law class and a class designed to train judges on how to work with self-represented litigants. Since 2014, Judge Wiley has also been a faculty member for the California Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER) and for the New Judges Orientation program (NJO). Judge Wiley is the current President of the Association of African American California Judicial Officers, Inc. (AAACJO), an associate member of the San Francisco Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a faculty member with the University of San Francisco’s Intensive Advocacy Program and serves as an Adjunct Professor at UC Law San Francisco where she teaches an Advanced Trial Advocacy Class. Judge Wiley was appointed by the California Judges Association (CJA) to the Task Force on the Elimination of Bias and Inequality and served as the 2022-2023 President of the San Francisco Lawyers Club American Inn of Court. She also serves as a Commissioner on the California Commission on Access to Justice and is the current Vice-President of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, California Chapter (AFCC-CA). In June 2024, Judge Wiley was appointed to serve as the Vice-Chair for the Application Evaluation and Nomination Committee (AENC) by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero.
Over the course of her judicial career, Judge Wiley has received numerous awards for her contributions to judicial education and service to the legal community. She has received the 2021 Bernard S. Jefferson Judge of the Year from the California Association of Black Lawyers, the 2021 Alba Witkin Humanitarian Award from the California Judges Association, the 2022 California Family Law Judicial Officer of the Year by the California Lawyers Association, the 2023 Outstanding Service to Family Law Award from the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists (ACFLS), and the 2023 Northern California Chapter of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) C. Rick Chamberlin Award for extraordinary contributions to the family law community. In 2023, Judge Wiley was also recognized by the National Judicial College for its 60th Anniversary as one of 60 courageous judges in the country and was a finalist for the 2024 ABOTA Don E. Bailey Civility & Professionalism Award. The San Francisco Chapter of Court Appointed Special Advocates honored Judge Wiley at their 2025 annual gala, and the California Association of Black Lawyers honored her with a Guardian of Justice Award at their 2025 judicial reception.
Judge Wiley graduated from U.C. Berkeley (Go Bears!) and with honors from Howard University School of Law.
Thank You To Our Sponsor
Registration Information
| Type | Early Bird Registration Through August 11, 2025 | Regular Registration Fee Starting August 12, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Family Law Section Member | $475 | $600 |
| Non-Family Law Section Member | $550 | $675 |
| Court Staff* | $475 | $475 |
| Government/Non-Profit* | $475 | $475 |
| Non-CLA Member | $550 | $675 |
*Non-CLA Members who are Government & Non-Profit Employees or Court Staff will need to use a code to receive this pricing. Please email ProgramRegistrations@calawyers.org if you have any questions.*
The deadline to register is September 26, 2025.
Cancellations and refunds must be received in writing no later than September 26, 2025 and are subject to a 10% service fee. Refunds will not be provided after September 26, 2025.
For registration information, email ProgramRegistrations@calawyers.org. For program content and/or Section information, email Family@calawyers.org.
This event may be recorded. By attending this event, you consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded, and to any use, by the CLA, of your likeness, voice, and name in any and all media including social media. If you do not want your name or photo to be used, please let us know in advance. We cannot, however, honor requests to opt out of the use of your image or voice if you choose to ask a question during one of the event sessions.
The California Lawyers Association is an approved State Bar of California MCLE provider.
We are committed to accessibility! Virtual events are equipped with closed captioning. To request an in-person accommodation, send us a note at accessibility@calawyers.org or contact us at 916-516-1760 for assistance.