Editor’s Foreword: The Curtain Rises for the CLA

By Benjamin G. Shatz

Welcome to the final issue of California Litigation—as you’ve known it for the past 30 years— as "the journal of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of California." You’ve probably heard that the State Bar is de-unifying, effective January 2018, and the Sections, including your Litigation Section, are thus no longer part the State Bar of California. Instead, the Litigation Section is now part of the brand new California Lawyers Association.

This journal has been publishing under the auspices of the State Bar since 1987, so this transition is, in some ways, a big change. But in other ways, the key components will not change: Devoted volunteers of your peers remain dedicated to publishing timely, innovative, useful, and entertaining articles for the world of litigators in California. The creation of the California Lawyers Association is the start of something new, exciting, and better.

Think of the Bar’s split this way: You go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew your driver license and auto registration, because you have to; it is the governing regulatory agency. But when you want information, benefits, and help on the road, you turn to the American Automobile Association, a member-supported organization. Well, the State Bar has reorganized itself to become a regulatory agency (handling bar admission, attorney licensing, and discipline), akin to the DMV. The new California Lawyers Association is more like the AAA—a voluntary organization that comes with tremendously popular benefits, including fantastic publications! Want proof? Keep reading.