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Feeling unfulfilled at work? Try this workshop

The State Bar Lawyer Assistance Program will offer a six-week workshop, beginning later this month, offering strategies for lawyers to improve their career outlook. “Learn Key Strategies to Take Your Career to the Next Level” will be held Tuesday evenings in Los Angeles from Oct. 16 – Nov. 20.

The workshop will address career goals, development of skills to eliminate barriers to success, ways to maintain motivation to achieve goals, creation of a game plan and a connection with a supportive community of other professionals.

It will be led by two career counselors and a private practice therapist and coach. There is a $75 fee, payable to the State Bar.

For further information and to register, contact Richard Carlton, 415-538-2355, or richard.carlton@calbar.ca.gov. Attendance will earn one hour of MCLE credit.

MCLE compliance deadline

Members of MCLE compliance group 3 — last names N through Z — face a Feb. 1, 2008, deadline to complete 25 hours of continuing education courses.

At least half the requirement must be fulfilled with participatory courses and up to 12.5 hours may be self-study. Four of the hours must be completed in ethics courses, and one hour each is required in elimination of bias and detection and prevention of substance abuse.

Members of Group 3 who miss the compliance deadline will be assessed a $75 late fee Feb. 2, 2008.

All Group 3 attorneys, including those who are exempt, must submit a compliance card. Exempt attorneys include officers and elected officials of the state of California, fulltime professors at law schools accredited by the ABA and/or the State Bar, attorneys and administrative law judges for the federal government and the state.

Compliance may be reported online, through the My State Bar Profile feature on the bar’s home page, calbar.ca.gov; or by returning the compliance card that will be mailed with the annual fee statement next month.

Complete information about MCLE requirements is available on the Web site or by e-mailing mcle@calbar.ca.gov or calling 415-538-2130.

Fee statement will be mailed next month

The annual State Bar fee statement will be mailed to active and inactive California lawyers Nov. 15. The 2008 bar dues for active attorneys will be $400 and for inactive lawyers, the dues are $115. The active fee remains the same as last year.

Payment is due Feb. 1, 2008, and can be completed online. Full details will be on the statement.

As in past years, attorneys are encouraged to donate to the California Bar Foundation, the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations and the California Supreme Court Historical Society. This year, members also may donate to the recently created Justice Gap Fund, which will help underwrite eligible legal aid programs in California.

Lawyers who earn less than $40,000 from the practice of law may qualify for a 25 percent waiver.

If fees are not paid online or postmarked by Feb. 1, a late penalty will be assessed — $100 for active lawyers and $30 for inactive members.

Create an online profile

California attorneys have the opportunity to handle membership matters with the State Bar electronically by creating My State Bar Profile on the bar’s home page.

If you have lost your access code, call the Member Services Center at 888-800-3400.

Doing so will allow lawyers to pay their bar dues and submit MCLE compliance online, as well as access important forms such as change of address or change of status, obtain a duplicate bar card and keep abreast of the latest developments in professional responsibility.

To create a profile, you will need the eight-digit access code printed on the front of the 2007 annual fee statement. Just go to the bar’s home page, calbar.ca.gov, and click on the link in the left-hand menu to register as a first-time user.

Bar publishes revised consumer pamphlets

The State Bar has revised and reprinted four of its popular consumer education pamphlets and has translated a fifth into Spanish.

The revised pamphlets are: Do I Need Estate Planning?, Do I Need a Living Trust?, What Should I Do if I Have an Auto Accident? and Can the Law Help Protect Me from Domestic Violence?

How Can I Resolve My Dispute Without a Trial?, a pamphlet that explains the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process, has been translated into Spanish.

To order the pamphlets, send an e-mail to pamphlets@calbar.ca.gov or visit the State Bar Web site, calbar.ca.gov and click on Consumer Pamphlets in the right-hand menu.

New group created to ensure judicial impartiality

Chief Justice Ronald George announced the creation last month of a Commission for Impartial Courts, designed to study and recommend ways to ensure judicial impartiality and accountability. The group includes members of the judiciary, court executive officers, attorneys, government and business officials and members of the public.

It will be divided into four individual task forces that will address judicial selection and retention, candidate campaign conduct, campaign finance and public information and education. The commission will be led by an 18-member steering committee chaired by Associate Justice Ming Chin.

“We are forming the commission in response to developments in other states that have changed the tone, tenor and cost of judicial elections,” George said in a statement. “The manner in which judges are selected, retained and removed from office can have a serious impact on the independence of the judiciary. It is essential that we make every effort to avoid politicizing the judiciary so that public confidence in the quality, impartiality and accountability of judges is protected and maintained.”

The group is to present its recommendations to the Judicial Council in two years.

Sign up for e-briefs

The State Bar offers “e-briefs,” a short summary of recent news developments or announcements of interest to lawyers. The electronic mailings are provided on a timely basis, usually twice a month. To subscribe, go to “e-briefs” listed under “News” on the home page of the State Bar’s Web site, calbar.ca.gov.

Opt out of list sales

Attorneys who wish to remove their names from lists the State Bar provides to qualified outside entities may do so by logging on to Member Login at calbar.ca.gov. After registering with My State Bar Profile, go to “Account Information” and select “Update my mailing preferences (opt out).” Members also may e-mail their opt out request to memrec@calbar.ca.gov.

Include your bar number.

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