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Bar leaders conference scheduled for Sept. 4

Being an effective bar leader is no easy task, but it does not need to be overwhelming. Bar association presidents-elect, newly elected presidents and executive directors can get a head start by attending the 2003 Bar Leaders' Conference, which will kick off the State Bar's Annual Meeting on Sept. 4. Several experts will be on hand for the one-day conference to provide advice on surviving a year as president of a volunteer organization.

State Bar President Jim Herman and members of the board of governors will meet participants at breakfast for a discussion of issues of concern. Marc Smiley, president of Organizational Development, will offer tips on building an effective organization.

Participants are invited to attend the State Bar's luncheon to hear from Ted Kennedy Jr. (separate ticketed event) before the afternoon sessions, with speakers including past and present leaders of statewide and local bar associations and a representative from the American Bar Association's Division for Bar Services. Katrina Dewey, editor of the Los Angeles Daily Journal, will provide tips on working with the media.

The deadline for the $175 Early Bird registration fee is Aug. 6. Registration for the one-day conference includes attendance at all non-ticketed programs and events throughout the remainder of the Annual Meeting. A special registration form is necessary. The form and the program are available by contacting the Bar Relations Outreach Office at bar.relations@calbar.ca.gov or by phone at 213-765-1337 or 213-765-1329.

The conference is funded entirely by voluntary contributions.

Opt out of list sales

Attorneys who wish to remove their name from lists the State Bar sells to outside entities may do so by e-mailing a request to memrec@calbar.ca.gov. Include your bar number.

The bar has a policy under which members' names are sold to outside entities that meet certain criteria. The restricted lists include, among others, MCLE providers, the Foundation of the State Bar, local bar associations and State Bar-approved insurance providers.

Online survey for attorneys with disabilities

The State Bar Committee on Legal Professionals with Disabilities is conducting an online three-month survey of attorneys with disabilities and chronic medical conditions.

Interested participants can access the survey at www.talkingpolls.com/calbar. The survey uses a program called Talkingpolls, developed by Hertz Research of Petaluma, that provides an interactive format for participants to respond to questions online, at their convenience.

The survey results will be used to identify and remove obstacles to access and advancement in the legal profession for attorneys with disabilities and to make recommendations for increased participation.

Preliminary results will be announced at the bar's Annual Meeting in September. The survey is funded through a grant from the Foundation of the State Bar.

Ordering Seniors & The Law

To order Seniors & The Law: A Guide for Maturing Californians, please send an e-mail to barcomm@calbar.ca.gov and state your name, complete mailing address (P.O. boxes are not acceptable), the number of copies ordered and choice of "English" or "Spanish" version for each number, and a daytime phone number.

If you do not have access to e-mail, please include the required information and send to The State Bar of California, Attn: Seniors & the Law, 180 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94105-1639.

Specialist exam scheduled

The State Bar will administer the examination for legal specialists in eight areas of practice on Aug. 17 in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Attorneys may be certified as specialists in appellate; bankruptcy; criminal; estate planning, trust and probate; family; immigration and nationality; taxation; and workers' compensation law.

Applications continue to be accepted on a space available basis, although a late fee of $50 will be assessed until Aug. 8. After that, the late fee goes to $150. The registration fee is $200, or $250 for those wishing to use a laptop.

Information is available at www.californiaspecialist.org, by calling 415-538-2120 or by e-mailing legalspec@calbar.ca.gov.

VIP seeks volunteers

Volunteers in Parole, a non-profit organization devoted to providing attorneys as mentors for youthful offenders, is seeking volunteers in several California counties. It has programs in Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Ventura and Yolo counties.

Modeled after the Big Brother and Big Sister programs, VIP currently has 450 attorneys matched with parolees throughout California.

Interested attorneys are invited to call VIP's toll-free number, 1-877-4VIP-INC (484-7462) or e-mail vipinc-statewide@mindspring.com.

Compliance Group 1 faces Feb. 1 MCLE deadline

Members of Compliance Group 1 (last names A-G) must complete 25 hours of MCLE credit by Feb. 1, 2004. Of that total, 12-1/2 hours can be completed through self-study courses.

All active attorneys must complete four hours of legal ethics study, one hour of substance abuse prevention and one hour of elimination of bias in the legal profession.

Full details of the requirements are provided on the State Bar's web site, www.calbar.ca.gov. From the Home Page, click on MCLE on the right hand menu.

New officers for new conference of delegates

Los Angeles lawyer Marc Sallus will chair the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations in the coming year, succeeding Vivian Kral of San Mateo.

New officers of the newly independent conference's board of directors are James Aguirre, 50, of Los Angeles, chair-elect, and Robin Levine, 51, of San Francisco, secretary. Linda Mazur, 44, of Los Angeles will continue as chief financial officer.

Sallus, 48, a longtime delegate with the Los Angeles County Bar Association, served on the conference executive committee for three years before becoming chair-elect.

All officers and six new members of the board will be sworn in Sept. 6 at the State Bar Annual Meeting, where the conference will hold its first meeting.

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