New Lawyers Section

By W. Martin Behn, Hopkins & Carley The last time we wrote an article about job resources in January 2015 for the unemployed, under employed, and unappeasable, the bar passage rate was one of California’s lowest in nearly a decade.  Just a few months later, in July 2015, the bar passage rate had slipped to the worst in nearly 30 years.  The silver lining is that during the same period statewide unemployment dropped in California by about 1.3%. Despite encouraging… Read more

By Roey Z. Rahmil, Shartsis Friese LLP Two friends from college email you: they want to start a business together.  Can you handle the paperwork? A family acquaintance calls you out of the blue: she wants to sue her bank—the same small community bank that handles your law firm’s line of credit.  A law school colleague who moved in-house at a local tech company finally calls to see if you can handle a small collection case.  This could be a… Read more

by Chris McConkey, OneJustice Our society prioritizes the fairness of our legal system but persistently fails to protect the tens of millions of people who cannot afford an attorney in civil cases. As a result, civil justice is most available to those who can afford it—an outcome our society should find untenable. This article describes the justice gap in California and simple steps every new and young attorney can take to ameliorate it. There is no general right to counsel… Read more

by Richard P. Carlton, Director, Lawyer Assistance Program Having difficulty finding rewarding employment in a tight legal market creates tremendous stress for many early career lawyers.  To address these challenges, the Lawyer Assistance Program (“LAP”) of the State Bar of California, in conjunction with CYLA, is expanding its career counseling and career development services.  The LAP will continue to provide two free counseling sessions with a career counselor who specializes in assisting attorneys who wish to make a positive career… Read more

by Nicole Abboud, The Law Office of Nicole Abboud They say one of the best decisions you could ever make in your legal career is to go into solo practice, and by “they,” I’m referring to myself. I say that all the time. I opened my own practice over a year ago and it has been the most challenging yet rewarding journey in my life thus far. For many of you reading this, perhaps you’ve thought about hanging up your… Read more

by Amber R. Hayes, Hodson & Mullin Many of us are just beyond the memory of the Bar Exam, having recently passed, and cringe at the thought of taking another bar exam-like test. Isn’t that what the Specialist Exam is? We ask. Isn’t just another bar exam? No thank you! But, there is no reason to fear. The legal specialization exam is merely one day long and includes both a written essay portion and multiple choice questions; and, the California… Read more

by Alfonso Martinez, Family Law Facilitator, Ventura County Superior Court Family law provides challenging and rewarding careers for any young attorney. Divorce and Legal Separation proceedings provide excellent ways to gain experience in family law. Once the parties have successfully divided their debts and assets, they are one step closer to final judgment. The preliminary and final disclosures establish the path toward this end. The initial discovery in divorce or separation matters begin with the preliminary declaration of disclosures. The… Read more

by Roey Z. Rahmil, Shartsis Friese LLP Anna Romanskaya, a partner and head of the family law practice at San Diego’s Stark & Ambrosio, recently became chair-elect of the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division (“YLD”). Anna will be one of the first chairs of YLD from California. Anna’s involvement with the ABA began when she was a student at Thomas Jefferson Law School in San Diego.  After graduating, she continued her involvement with substantive law sections as well as… Read more

by Ruben Reyes Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) the individual shared responsibility provision, as referred to as the “individual mandate”, requires you, your spouse, and your dependents to have qualifying health insurance for the entire year, report a health coverage exemption, or make a payment when you file your tax returns. What is qualifying health insurance? Qualifying health insurance is defined as Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) and includes: • Most health insurance coverage provided by your… Read more

by Hon. Cruz Reynoso (Ret.), Boochever and Bird Professor of Law, Emeritus, UC Davis School of Law and Aida S. Macedo, Esq., Second Year Associate, Miles, Sears, & Eanni, PC 1. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO SET UP YOUR OWN LAW PRACTICE Given the legal job market many young lawyers are faced with the decision of whether to set up their own law practice. If you do keep these in mind: Be practical about your finances and budget. Some solo… Read more