Public Law
Open Meetings and Open Records Conference 2019
Friday, May 31, 2019
University of San Francisco
Fromm Institute
2130 Fulton St
San Francisco, CA
Earn 6 hours of MCLE Credits
Onsite Registration Available (limited space)
Brochure | Schedule | Essential Info
Sponsors
- Veritone
- Best Best & Krieger LLP
- ZyLAB
- Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC
Schedule
8 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Registration
Registration is open
8 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. | Breakfast
Sponsored by Best Best & Krieger LLP
8:30 – 8:45 a.m. | Welcome Remarks
Greetings
Bernadette Curry, Chair, Public Law Section
Welcome
Susan Freiwald, Interim Dean of School of Law, University of San Francisco
Conference Introduction
Christine Wood, Conference Chair
8:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | Session 1: Open Meetings Behind Closed Doors
An interactive session exploring the intersection of the Brown Act and the management of difficult situations arising in public agency meetings.
Speakers:
Christi Hogin, Of Counsel, Best Best & Krieger
Michael Jenkins, Of Counsel, Best Best & Krieger
10:25 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. | Session 2: Avoiding the Accidental Meeting
This session will address the prohibition on serial meetings — meetings that effectively take place when a quorum of the public body communicate through a series of contacts or through a third party to share information or reach a decision on an issue.
Speakers:
Roy Hanley, Principal, Hanley & Fleishman
Steve Quintanilla, Principal, Law Offices of Quintanilla & Associates
James Sanchez, Senior Counsel, Lozano Smith
11:20 – 12:05 p.m. | Session 3: Social Media and Open Government
Agencies have to govern and communicate with the public in meaningful and relevant ways. This session will explore various social media platforms and the risks that public agencies and their officials face utilizing these forms of media to interact with reach their constituents.
Speakers:
Jill N. Jaffe, Partner, Nossaman
Holly O. Whatley, Shareholder, Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley
12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Lunch and Keynote Address
Speaker: Dan Walters, Editorial Commentator
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | Session 4: Concurrent Sessions:
An Update on the State of the PRA and Police Personnel Records
In 2018, California made wide-sweeping changes to laws that govern police agency records — both personnel records and body camera footage. This this session, attorneys will unpack these changes and look at what impact the new laws have had on law enforcement agencies.
Moderator:
Christine Wood, Director of PRA Services & e-Discovery Counsel Best Best & Krieger
Speakers:
Kelly Aviles, Principal, Law Offices of Kelly Aviles
James Chadwick, Partner, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
David E. Mastagni, Partner, Mastagni Holstedt
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | Session 5: Concurrent Sessions: Public Records Act and Educational Records: Balancing the PRA, the Ed Code, and FERPA
Both California and federal law provide strict protections for student information which must be taken into account when responding to a CPRA request involving student records. This session will review those protections, how they interact with the CPRA when a request seeks student records, and highlight some of the unanswered questions in this area.
Speakers:
William Tunick, Shareholder, Dannis Woliver Kelly
Komey Vishakan, General Counsel, Palo Alto Unified School District
2:50 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Session 6: Concurrent Sessions: A Primer on Producing Body Camera Footage Under the PRA
Now that body camera footage has to be released in response to public records request, this session will focus on body camera programs and the technology necessary to efficiently and effectively produce body camera footage to the public.
Speakers:
Eugene Ramirez, Partner, Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP
Julie Raffish, Supervising Assistant City Attorney, City of Los Angeles
William Russell, Sergeant, Ontario Police Department
2:50– 3:50 p.m. | Session 7: Concurrent Sessions: CEQA: Handling the PRA and Administrative Record
In CEQA litigation, the administrative record is the key document that memorializes the evidence and proceedings which lead to project approval. When the petitioners in a CEQA lawsuit choose to prepare the administrative record themselves, they are increasingly using the Public Records Act as a tool in such work, and doing so imposes costs and burdens on the public agency. This session will discuss the intersection of the CEQA administrative record and the Public Records Act, including tips for how public agencies can effectively prepare for and handle such requests.
Speakers:
Tammy Ingram, Paralegal, Best Best & Krieger
Sarah Owsowitz, Of Counsel, Best Best & Krieger
Beverly Grossman Palmer, Partner, Strumwasser & Woocher
3:50 p.m. – 4 p.m. | Break
Break
4 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Session 8: Public Records Act and Attorney-Client Privilege: The Sanctity of the Attorney Client Privilege and Issues Relating to Confidential Investigations
This panel will begin with a brief overview of attorney client privilege and attorney work product issues under the Public Records Act. Panelists will then dive into employee discipline and confidential workplace issues and discuss attorney-client privilege in that context, such as when the privilege attaches or is waived by the public agency.
Moderator:
Eric Danly, City Attorney, City of Petaluma
Speakers:
Jolie Houston, Partner, Berliner Cohen
Samantha Zutler, Partner, Burke Williams & Sorensen LLP
5 p.m. – 6 p.m. | Networking Reception
Sponsored by Veritone
Essential Information
How to Register
Register by Friday, May 24, 2019
Onsite Registration Available (limited space)
Or register by mail by filling out the registration form and sending to:
Program Registrations
California Lawyers Association
400 Capitol Mall, Suite 650
Sacramento, CA 95814
Or by email at ProgramRegistrations@CAlawyers.org. In order to email your registration, credit card information is MANDATORY. (Photocopies of checks will NOT be accepted.) Visa and Mastercard accepted only.
In order to pre-register, your form and check, payable to California Lawyers Association, or credit card information, must be received by May 27, 2019. For a full refund, cancellation must be made before May 24, 2019 and is subject to a $50 service fee.
Registration Fees
- $195 for Public Law Section members
- $245 for Non-Section members (includes membership in the Public Law Section for 2019)
- $170 for Paralegals/Non attorneys
- $120 for Full-time Law Students
Questions
For registration information call 916-516-1757. Telephone registrations will not be accepted. For program content and/or Section information call 916-516-1753.
Special Assistance
For special assistance, please call 916-516-1753.
California Lawyers Association is an approved State Bar of California MCLE provider.
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.