CLA

Early in my career as an association leader, I learned a valuable lesson: Always have a member or member-led committee or board between me and a final decision. While lobbying on a tough issue in the North Carolina Legislature, I took a stand on a matter and was met with success. But the process of achieving victory was bumpy, and I should have considered the impact on one of my key members. That was an epic failure on my part. I may have won on the issues, but I had to repair and build back trust with some of my association members.  Read more

Suppose you are a client who hires a lawyer to defend you against allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace. It is unlikely you would take out an ad in the newspaper to advertise the allegations. Suppose further that your case goes to trial and you prevail on a statute of limitations defense. Again, it is unlikely you would take out an ad to let the world know about your victory – particularly since winning on a statute of limitations defense hardly constitutes vindication in the eyes of the public. But would you be okay with your lawyer advertising her victory on your behalf by including a description of the representation (with your name on it) on her firm’s website? For most people, the answer would be no. Read more

I am writing from Edinburgh, Scotland, having just left London, England, and Cardiff, Wales, for leg one of the California Lawyers Association’s A Week in Legal London program. It is the 34th year of the program, sponsored by the Litigation Section every two years. It is the first time a President has joined the program.  Read more

Trust account management is often thought to be complicated and intimidating. Most attorneys and legal professionals don’t receive adequate training on managing trust accounts, although the consequences of mismanagement can be dire. Read more

Running a successful legal practice and career is so much more than the substantive practice of law.  In order to market your brand effectively towards success, you need to bring your “whole” self to your audience.  Read more

Claude E. Ducloux, Board-Certified in both Civil Trial Law and Civil Appellate Law, by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and former Chair of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics will present a 60-minute power point covering ... Read more

This is yet another CLE presentation inspired by you, our LawPay colleagues, who wanted to modernize your attorney fee agreements. Read more

In general, legal professionals tend to focus more on getting the work done and not so much on how they interact with clients to actually get it done. However, continuously improving client communication is remarkably important and should be a top priority. Read more

The California Lawyers Association (CLA) submits these comments expressing our concerns with the proposal under consideration by the Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) to establish a “non-exam pathway” for licensure to practice law in California as an alternative to the California Bar Exam. For the reasons discussed below, CLA urges the BRC not to recommend a non-exam pathway. At the same time, we encourage the BRC’s continued exploration of other issues under consideration, including potential revisions to the California Bar Exam.  Read more

Sponsor our upcoming webinar presented by the CLA Health and Wellness Committee, "Breast Cancer Prevention Secrets Every Woman Lawyer Should Know." Read more