President's Message
Upcoming Events
Past Events
Items of Interest
FREE MCLE PROGRAMS FROM THE OFFICE OF LEGAL SERVICES
The State Bar Office of Legal Services has worked with legal aid advocates and the Practising Law Institute (PLI) to develop these training programs which are available on demand at the PLI website. Registration is free.
Advocating for Veterans - The Basics on Benefits, Discharge Upgrades and Cultural Competency
Total MCLE Credits 6.25: Elimination of Bias 1.00; General 5.25
Family Law Series - The Basics: Pro Bono Representation in Low-Income Family Law Cases in California
MCLE Credits, General 9.25
Protecting Domestic Violence Survivors and Their Children
MCLE Credits: General 2.
Defending Unlawful Detainers: Training Pro Bono Attorneys to Help Families Avoid Homelessness
MCLE Credits: Total Credits 6.25: Elimination of Bias 1.00; General 5.25.
Protecting the Rights of Homeowners with Limited Scope Representation.
MCLE Credits 3.25 General.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Its Value and How It Benefits Low-Income Debtors.
MCLE Credits 6.25 General.
APPLY FOR APPOINTMENT TO A STATE BAR COMMITTEE
Deadline: February 1, 2012
The State Bar Office of Legal Services is seeking qualified applicants for the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission (LSTFC), the California Commission on Access to Justice and the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services (SCDLS). The application deadline is February 1, 2012. Those appointed to the 2012-2013 positions by the State Bar Board of Governors will begin their terms on October 14, 2012 (at the close of the 2012 State Bar Annual Meeting).
For more information about the appointments process, individual committees and commissions, or to download an application, please click here.
Attorneys in the Legal Services Community should consider applying to a State Bar Committee, or encouraging their board members and other colleagues to apply. The three volunteer entities within the Office of Legal Services are:
• The Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services,
• The Legal Services Trust Fund Commission, and
• The California Commission on Access to Justice
The Appointments Application deadline is February 1, 2012. Appointment to one of these committees is a valuable opportunity to work to improve access to justice in California.
STATE BAR LOREN MILLER AND PRO BONO AWARDS - CALL FOR NOMINATIONS!
Deadline: March 15, 2012
The State Bar of California wants to know about members who performed extraordinary legal services to the poor last year. Please nominate your colleagues for the 2012 Loren Miller Legal Services Award and the President's Pro Bono Service Awards.
The Loren Miller Legal Services Award recognizes a lifetime commitment to legal services and extending legal services to the poor. Previous award recipients include staff of legal services organizations (such as directors of litigation, executive directors and senior staff attorneys) and private bar attorneys. Repeat nominations are accepted and encouraged with updated information. Please refer to the Loren Miller Guidelines for more information about the criteria, an electronic nomination form, instructions for electronic submission, and information about past awardees.
Please also consider submitting nominations for the President's Pro Bono Service Awards. Nominees include:
• California attorneys (solo, recently admitted, limited active practice, government, law firm, corporate, law school faculty)
• Teams of attorneys
• California offices of law firms
• Corporate or government legal departments
• Associations of California lawyers
• ABA or State Bar accredited law schools
• Law students enrolled at ABA or State Bar accredited law schools who did not receive any form of compensation, clinical or other academic credit for pro bono work
Up to nine awards may be given for the provision of outstanding pro bono legal services in calendar year 2011 (or 2010-2011 academic year for law school and law student nominations). Repeat nominations are accepted with updated information for calendar year 2011. Please refer to the Awards Guidelines for more information about the awards categories, criteria for selection, an electronic nomination form, and instructions for electronic submission, as well as information about the 2011 President's Pro Bono Service Awards recipients.
The nomination deadline for both awards is March 15, 2012. Nominations will only be accepted electronically. The 2012 awards will be presented at a reception in October 2012 during the State Bar Annual Meeting in Monterey. If you have any questions about the awards, please contact Joilene Wood Grove, Chair, Awards Outreach, Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services (SCDLS) atjgrove@wsgr.com or the SCDLS Staff Liaison, Sharon Ngim, at sharon.ngim@calbar.ca.gov or 415-538-2267.
2012 PATHWAYS TO JUSTICE CONFERENCE
Please mark your calendar for the 2012 Pathways to Justice Conference, June 7-8, 2012, UC Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco. Don't miss this excellent opportunity to attend cutting edge programs, earn MCLE credit, and network with legal services colleagues.
Co-presented by:
• The State Bar of California Office of Legal Services
• Legal Aid Association of California
• Administrative Office of the Courts Equal Access Project
Conference highlights include:
• Programming in a variety topics for staff, board members, pro bono attorneys and others from:
o Legal services and pro bono organizations
o Self-Help Centers
o Small Claims Courts
o Lawyer Referral Services
o Court interpreter programs
o Other access to justice entities
• 10+ hours of MCLE credit
• Affinity group meetings
• Networking opportunities
• Presentation of the LAAC Awards of Merit
Please go to www.calbar.org/pathwaystojustice for more information and updates. Online registration will be available in mid-March.
VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT TO SERVE ON STATE BAR ETHICS COMMITTEE (COPRAC)
Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC). This committee addresses matters involving professional ethics and helps educate and provide guidance to the membership about their ethical duties. The committee’s work consists of: drafting advisory opinions on issues of professional ethics based on questions submitted to the committee or developed by the committee on its own initiative; studying and recommending changes to the Rules of Professional Conduct; and conducting studies and providing advice to the board on professional responsibility. The committee sponsors educational and outreach programs, including an annual ethics symposium. The committee currently is composed of 15 lawyers and one public member. In evaluating potential members, the committee uses the following criteria, though no single factor is dispositive: 1) prior experience in the legal ethics field; 2) time and energy to undertake the significant responsibilities of committee membership; 3) writing and verbal skills; 4) factors lending diversity to the committee, including diversity based on race, sex, color, national origin and sexual orientation, as well as location and field of practice, years in practice (including status as a California Young Lawyer), and size of firm (if applicable); and 5) prior volunteer experience, particularly involvement in legal and other professional groups. For public members, the committee values the ability to contribute a client perspective to the committee’s deliberations. In addition to completing an application, successful applicants may be required to participate in a personal interview, typically held in March or April. Committee meetings generally are held on Fridays; two-day meetings are held Friday and Saturday.
Expected 2012-2013 vacancies: 5 (lawyer and public member positions)
Meetings per year: 10 (two meetings are two-days)
Chair: Wendy Patrick, San Diego
Staff: Lauren McCurdy (415) 538-2107
The application deadline is February 1, 2012. Please click on the links to download and fill out an application in either Word or PDF format.
MCLE COMPLIANCE DEADLINE IS APPROACHING
MCLE compliance is due for attorneys whose last names begin with H through M. The deadline is February 1, 2012.
URGENT ACTION REQUEST - REPORTS ON THE EFFECTS OF THE REDUCTION IN COURT FUNDING
The Desert Bar Association would like to encourage local attorneys to submit Reports on the Effects of Judicial Branch Budget Reductions on Legal Practitioners, Their Clients, and Court Users to the Judicial Council Office of California.
The Council is seeking reports of the impact this budget crisis is having - in human terms; detailing specific incidents, including, but not limited to the following information:
Your submission should include enough information to enable the Judicial Council to aggregate similar stories and present a picture of the cumulative effects on the public:
1. The trial court at which the incident you are describing occurred;
2. The type of case you or your client brought before the court;
3. The specific reduction in programs or services that impacted you or your client;
4. The immediate, subsequent or residual effect that the reduction had on you and your client, and what that means in terms of access to and the delivery of justice; and
5. Your contact information should the Judicial Council need to follow up with you on your submission.
It is not enough to say the lines are long, or that there is a backlog in processing judgments, but if that is the effect you are reporting, please articulate how that impact is felt by your client, what the result of it is on your client's life or well-being.
Please submit reports to Donna Hershkowitz, Assistant Director of the AOC Office of Governmental Affairs, by email at donna.hershkowitz@jud.ca.gov, or at (916) 323-3121. Ms. Hershkowitz will aggregate the information for use in statewide outreach and education efforts.
AYOTTE & SHACKELFORD UPDATE INDIO COURT NUMBERS IN DIRECTORY
Ayotte & Shackelford have updated, as of November 2011, the numbers for the Indio Courthouse in the Ayotte & Shackelford Directory of Attorneys, and are making the revised page immediately available via download.
To download a copy of this new page, please click here.
NEW LEGAL ETHICS AND TECHNOLOGY RESOURCE PAGE IS ONLINE
The general Ethics Information page at the State Bar website has added a new area dedicated to Ethics and Technology -- a collection of resources that address professional responsibility issues raised by the use of Internet websites, email, chat rooms and other technologies. The resources include advisory ethics opinions, articles and MCLE programs.
Most of the resources are internal links to other pages on the bar’s website and some are external links to local or specialty bar associations. The new page is organized both by the type of resource (ethics opinion, article, etc.) and by subject matter (law firm websites, electronic files, social networking, etc.).
The new service focuses on providing basic legal research leads on how the rules apply to new technologies rather than specific law office systems, hardware or software options. For the latter, the resources of the State Bar’s Law Practice Management & Technology Section can be considered.
BAR RULES ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN AN E-READER
To facilitate a lawyer’s ability to readily identify and address legal ethics issues, the State Bar has published an e-Reader version of the Rules of Professional Conduct and the State Bar Act. The e-Reader version of the rule book is compatible with the Kindle Reader App, a free e-Reader application available for iPads, iPhones, Blackberry phones, Android phones, Macbooks and PC laptops. The book also works on all versions of Amazon.com’s Kindle.
For a limited time, the e-Reader version of the rule book can be purchased at Amazon.com for $4.99, a quarter of the price of the hardcopy book. It offers several useful features including a search function, bookmarking, highlighting and annotating. In addition, once downloaded to a tablet, smart phone or other compatible device, the book can be accessed at any time, even without an Internet or cellular data signal.
The bar’s rule book has been published for more than 65 years. The 30-page edition published in 1949 has grown to 411 hard copy pages. In addition to the rules and State Bar Act, the book includes other related authorities such as selected Rules of Court, code sections, the Federal Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule, the State Bar Pro Bono Resolution, the Lawyer Referral Service rules, MCLE rules and more.
CELEBRATE PRO BONO WEEK OCTOBER 23 - 29, 2011
A Message from State Bar President Jon Streeter:
The last week of October is “Celebrate Pro Bono Week." As described by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service on its Celebrate Pro Bono website:
The Celebration is a coordinated national effort to meet the ever-growing needs of this country’s most vulnerable citizens by encouraging and supporting local efforts to expand the delivery of pro bono legal services and by showcasing the great differences that pro bono lawyers make to the nation, its system of justice, its communities and, most of all, to the clients they serve.
The State Bar of California proudly supports Celebrate Pro Bono Week, and it is particularly important that people also support pro bono efforts at the local level – both next week and every day of the year.
Here are some key resources:
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If you are interested in what is happening during the week of the celebration, please review the pro bono events scheduled throughout California.
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To locate a pro bono program in your community, please go to the www.californiaprobono.org online statewide pro bono opportunities network. Pro bono programs generally provide training, support, client screening, malpractice coverage and more to help meet your needs and interests.
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Any attorney who is otherwise retired from the active practice of law, in a transition period or taking a temporary break in his or her legal career and wants to do pro bono work may be eligible for the State Bar’s Pro Bono Practice Program and receive a waiver of the active State Bar membership fee.
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In addition to Celebrate Pro Bono Week, October 2011 is Campaign for Justice Month. Please visit the recently launched Campaign for Justice website for more information about how you can contribute to this critical effort. The Campaign for Justice is increasing funding for the important statewide network of legal aid organizations. Encouraging pro bono services to leverage legal aid resources is a key component of the campaign.
You also can read my remarks about joining the campaign in the October issue of the California Bar Journal. Many thanks to the following entities for their leadership by adopting resolutions supporting Campaign for Justice Month:
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Judicial Council of California
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Los Angeles County Bar Association
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Alameda County Bar Association
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Santa Clara County Bar Association
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Bar Association of San Francisco
On behalf of the State Bar Board of Governors, thank you in advance for supporting pro bono and the Campaign for Justice.
STATE BAR FEE BILL SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR
Gov. Brown has signed a measure to authorize a $10 rebate on all California lawyer dues and to change how the State Bar is governed. SB 163 had earlier passed both houses of the legislature by votes of 39-0 in the Senate and 68-9 in the Assembly. The bar board of governors is expected to act on the bill Oct. 5 by formally setting the dues at the authorized level.
The $10 rebate means most active lawyers will pay dues of $400 next year. The reduction is also available to inactive lawyers, who will owe $115. A check-off box on the bill also will offer the option of donating $20 to legal services for the next two years. The current $10 check-off produced $1.6 million in 2011.
The measure also calls for the transfer of $2 million in both 2012 and 2013 from the bar’s insurance affinity program account (non-mandatory dues money) to IOLTA-funded legal services programs. Click here to read more.
The votes have been tallied, and we are now happy to announce your incoming Officers and Board of Trustees of the Desert Bar Association for 2011-2012:
OFFICERS:
President - Mary E. Gilstrap
President Elect - David B. Mulé
Secretary - Patricia S. Muro
Treasurer - Michael B. Rover
TRUSTEES:
Julie A. Rosser
Karen J. Sloat
Carlos L. Campos
James T. Latting
Kimberly T. Lee
Robert J. Gilliland, Jr.
Roger K. Tansey
REQUESTING A TRANSCRIPT IN FEDERAL COURT
Effective October 17, 2011, CM/ECF users must electronically file the Transcript Order form (AO 435) in the Case Management Electronic Filing System (CM/ECF) for all transcript requests. For more information on CM/ECF, please refer to http://support.cacd.uscourts.gov. You may also download the instruction sheet by clicking here.
1. To obtain the Transcript Order form (AO-435) visit the court’s website: www.cacd.uscourts.gov > Forms > AO Forms, complete items 1–19. Transcript requests with multiple reporters must submit the AO-435 form for each reporter.
2. Proceed to electronically file the AO-435 form using your CM/ECF account under the Criminal or Civil event. You will continue by clicking Other Filings >Transcripts, then follow instructions until instructed to upload the AO-435 form.
For more information on how to order transcripts, please refer to the Court’s website: www.cacd.uscourts.gov General information > Court Reporter Transcripts or call (213) 894-3015.
RIVERSIDE SUPERIOR COURT - NEW FAX TELEPHONE NUMBERS EFFECTIVE AUGUST 29, 2011
As part of the court's transition to a new telephone system, effective August 29, 2011, the court's direct fax filing telephone numbers will change. The old and new numbers are listed below and on the direct fax filing information page on the court's website at http://riverside.courts.ca.gov/faxlist.shtml. The court will not be accepting any fax filings from 6:00pm Friday, August 26, 2011 until 7:00am Monday, August 29, 2011. This countywide cut-over will take all weekend. Click here to download the new numbers in PDF format.
| LOCATION | OLD | NEW |
| Indio - Civil | 760-863-8375 | 760-393-2658 |
| Indio - Family Law | 760-863-8104 | 760-393-2680 |
| Indio - Civil | 760-863-7766 | 760-393-2678 |
| Indio - Criminal | 760-863-7750 | 760-393-2676 |
| Indio - Small Claims | 760-863-7229 | 760-238-4692 |
| Indio - Family Law | 760-863-7770 | 760-393-2663 |
| Indio - Juvenile | 760-863-8325 | 760-238-4826 |
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| Blythe | 760-921-5620 | 760-775-8571 |
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| Palm Springs - Probate | 760-778-2269 | 760-904-5763 |
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| Riverside - Civil | 951-955-1751 | 951-777-3111 |
| Riverside - Juvenile | 951-358-6569 | 951-324-5730 |
| Riverside - Probate | 951-955-6550 | 951-777-3177 |
| Riverside - Appeals | 951-955-8599 | 951-777-3727 |
| Riverside - Criminal | 951-955-6578 | 951-777-3724 |
| Riverside - Family Law | 951-955-9160 | 951-777-3531 |
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| Moreno Valley | 951-413-5870 | 951-571-8566 |
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| Southwest Justice Center - Civil | 951-304-5043 | 951-704-7569 |
| Southwest Justice Center - Juvenile | 951-304-5020 | 951-704-7641 |
| Southwest Justice Center - Criminal | 951-304-5011 | 951-704-7531 |
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| Temecula - Civil | 951-600-6030 | 951-294-5748 |
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| Hemet - Family Law | 951-766-2300 | 951-306-3572 |
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| Banning - Civil | 951-922-7220 | 951-797-5108 |
| Banning - Criminal | 951-922-7270 | 951-572-5248 |
RELOCATION OF RIVERSIDE FAMILY LAW DEPT. F201
Effective Monday, June 6, 2011, Riverside Family Law Department F201 is relocating from the Hall of Justice to the Family Law Courthouse in downtown Riverside. Department F201 will be located on the second floor.
Attorneys and litigants appearing for hearings scheduled on or after June 6, 2011, should report to the Family Law Courthouse at 4175 Main Street, Riverside, CA 92501.
Questions regarding the relocation of Department F201 can be directed to Ruth Zeamer, Division Manager for Riverside Family Law, at 951-955-6996 or via email at Ruth.Zeamer@riverside.courts.ca.gov.
NEW CIVIL LAW & MOTION HEARING DATE ONLINE RESERVATION SYSTEM
Effective Monday, April 11, 2011, a new automated on-line system for reserving civil law and motion hearing dates will become operational in the western and mid-county regions, to be followed in the near future in the desert region.
With the exception of unlawful detainer and small claims cases, a civil law and motion hearing date can now be reserved on-line through the court’s website. Attorneys and litigants will enter the case number and type of motion with a short title or description and then reserve a hearing date.
The only fee charged is the motion filing fee in accordance with statute. There are no additional fees to use this reservation system. The court accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express as forms of payment. A receipt with a confirmation number is available for printing.
Once a motion hearing date is reserved through the system, parties must serve and file the motion papers with the court pursuant to statute. Upon the filing of the motion and any related documents with the court, the reserved motion hearing date will be confirmed.
This convenient new service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For further information, please visit the court’s website at www.riverside.courts.ca.gov and go to on-line services.
Sherri R. Carter
Court Executive Officer and Clerk of Court
CHANGES TO RIVERSIDE FAMILY LAW'S FAX FILING NUMBER
Effective Monday, February 28, 2011, the fax filing number for Riverside Family Law will change. If you are currently registered to fax file, and need to submit documents to Riverside Family Law, please use fax number 951-955-9160. A Judicial Council 'Facsimile Transmission Cover Sheet' must accompany each facsimile filing. Fax filing number 951-955-1939 will no longer be available for use.
If you are not yet registered to fax file and are interested in the service, please visit our website at http://riverside.courts.ca.gov/faxlist.shtml. Parties electing to directly fax file documents will be charged a fax registration fee of $100 for each fiscal year to fax an unlimited number of pages. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express may be used to pay the $100 registration fee for the fax-filing program.
Questions regarding the changes to Riverside Family Law’s fax filing number can be directed to: Carrie Snuggs, Family Law & Juvenile Director, at 951-955-1533 or via email at Carrie.Snuggs@riverside.courts.ca.gov.
CHANGES TO THE COURT'S PARENT ORIENTATION PROGRAM
The manner in which the Parent Orientation Program (POP) is offered is changing for Riverside Superior Court. Effective immediately, in-person attendance of the Parent Orientation Program will cease and parties will be directed to complete an on-line Parent Orientation Program. The on-line Parent Orientation Program can be completed from one of the following websites:
www.uptoparents.org – this program is for parents who were married
www.proudtoparent.org – this program is for parents who were not married
Parties will be instructed to bring their certificate of completion of the on-line Parent Orientation class to their mediation appointment. Efforts are currently being made to provide computer access at the local courts for those parties who do not have computers at home.
Questions regarding the changes to the Parent Orientation Program can be directed to: Lisa Morris, Mediation Services Manager, at 951-955-5973 or via email at Lisa.Morris@riverside.courts.ca.gov; or Carrie Snuggs, Family Law & Juvenile Director, at 951-955-1533 or via email at Carrie.Snuggs@riverside.courts.ca.gov.
EXPEDITED JURY TRIAL INFORMATION SHEET
This information sheet is for anyone involved in a civil lawsuit who is considering taking part in an expedited jury trial -- a trial that is shorter and has a smaller jury than a traditional jury trial. Taking part in this type of trial means you give up your usual rights to appeal. Please read this information sheet before you agree to have your case tried under the expedited jury trial procedures.
To download the Expedited Jury Trial Information Sheet (EJT-010-INFO), please click here.
CA SUPREME COURT OPINION: CASSEL V. SUPERIOUR COURT OF LOS ANGELES (SUPER. CT. NO. LC070478, FILED 1/13/11)
"The issue here is the effect of the mediation confidentiality statutes on private discussions between a mediating client and attorneys who represented him in the mediation."
The [Court of Appeal] majority concluded, when a mediation disputant sues his own counsel for malpractice in connection with the mediation, the attorneys — already freed, by reason of the malpractice suit, from the attorney-client privilege — cannot use mediation confidentiality as a shield to exclude damaging evidence of their own entirely private conversations with the client. The dissenting justice urged that the majority had crafted an unwarranted judicial exception to the clear and absolute provisions of the mediation confidentiality statutes.
Though we understand the policy concerns advanced by the Court of Appeal majority, the plain language of the statutes compels us to agree with the dissent.
To read the entirety of the Court's opinion, please click here.
ABA Journal: Plaintiff Who Discussed Suit with Lawyer on Work E-Mail Can’t Claim Privilege
Posted Jan 20, 2011 8:02 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A woman who sued her employer claiming discrimination can’t shield her lawyer e-mails in the litigation because they were sent from her work e-mail account, a California appeals court has ruled.
Gina Holmes had claimed the e-mail was protected by the attorney-client privilege, according to stories by Wired’s Threat Level blog and Technolog on MSNBC.com.
The Sacramento-based appeals court said the e-mail was not a protected confidential communication because Holmes’ employer, the Petrovich Development Co., had warned that employee e-mails were not confidential and were subject to monitoring.
“The e-mails sent via company computer under the circumstances of this case were akin to consulting her lawyer in her employer's conference room, in a loud voice, with the door open, so that any reasonable person would expect that their discussion of her complaints about her employer would be overheard by him,” the court said.
Last March, the New Jersey Supreme Court protected e-mails sent from a personal account on a work computer to a lawyer. The court noted that the e-mails weren’t clearly covered by the employer’s policy, and they contained the standard warning that they were confidential attorney communications.
To view this article on the ABA Journal website, please click here.
IMC Inc.