The Solo Advisor

Hello and welcome to the Solo and Small Firm Section. This is my inaugural column as the incoming Chair for our section. Read more

It’s a common settlement term. Defendant will pay an agreed sum under an installment plan on specified dates. If defendant defaults, a larger sum is due as a stipulated judgment, to incentivize the payments. Read more

This month marks the end of my tenure as Chair of the Solo and Small Firm Section. It has been my honor and privilege to serve in this role the last year. Read more

Does Civil Code section 1717 permit fee awards based on interim resolutions of contract claims, such as through an order granting summary adjudication? The answer is no, according to Chen v. Valstock Ventures, LLC (July 29, 2022, A161885) Cal.App.5th [2022 WL 3009418].) Read more

Summer is rapidly coming to an end. For some reason, 2022 seems to be moving at a faster pace than I had anticipated. Perhaps this is because we are back in the swing of ‘normal’ activities after two years of limited networking, dining, and traveling. I hope you have all had the ability to take some down time this summer before the hectic end of year rush starts in a few short weeks. Read more

Mediation settlement agreements are versatile, ranging from one-page term sheets to long-form agreements. But could a shorthand “chart” prepared during the mediation qualify as an admissible settlement agreement? Read more

The State Bar has published its digital annual report for 2021 spotlighting the agency’s accomplishments in a year that brought new leadership and progress on numerous initiatives furthering the agency’s public protection mission. Read more

At its meeting May 19–20, the State Bar Board of Trustees accepted final amendments to the recommendations of the California Paraprofessional Program Working Group (CPPWG). Read more

May a party to a settlement agreement later rescind the agreement by claiming she was forced by a third party (her attorney) to take the deal? The answer is no, according to Fettig v. Hilton Garden Inns Management LLC (2022) 78 Cal.App.5th 264. Read more

Can you believe we have made it through half the year already? In some respects this year seems so different from last year and yet so much the same. Read more