Gailey renamed public member of bar board

Gov. Schwarzenegger reappointed William Gailey of Huntington Beach as a public member of the State Bar Board of Governors. Gailey, 61, was first appointed in 2007 and currently serves as vice chair of the board’s Regulation, Admissions and Discipline Oversight Committee and is a member of its Stakeholder Relations Committee.

A former detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, Gailey is chairman of Gailey Associates Inc., a private investigation firm with offices in Orange County and Los Angeles. He served as public safety liaison for Californians for Schwarzenegger in 2006 and currently serves on the Bureau of Security and Investigative Service disciplinary review board.

Gailey also is a member of the California Association of Licensed Investigators and the California Homicide Investigators Association.

The board of governors position requires Senate confirmation.

LASOC board of directors has two vacancies

Two positions for three-year terms are open on the board of directors of the Legal Aid Society of Orange County (LASOC). Also known as Community Legal Services, LASOC serves low-income residents of Orange and southeast Los Angeles counties. Applicants must practice or reside in the area served.

The board meets 10-12 times a year in person, via teleconference or videoconference and makes policy decisions governing the program’s operations.

Interested attorneys should apply by letter and include a resume outlining work experience, community activity and educational background, as well as bar number. The materials should be sent to Chris Zupanovich, 180 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94105-1639. Questions may be directed to her at 415-538-2534 or chris.zupanovich@calbar.ca.gov.

Legal specialist exam scheduled for August

The exam to become certified as a legal specialist will be administered Aug. 9. The State Bar certifies specialists in 11 fields of law: admiralty and maritime, appellate, bankruptcy, criminal, estate planning, trust and probate, family, franchise and distribution, immigration and nationality, legal malpractice, taxation and workers’ compensation law.

Currently there are 4,200 legal specialists in California.

In addition to passing the exam, specialists must demonstrate a high level of experience in the specialty field, fulfill ongoing education requirements and be favorably evaluated by other attorneys and judges familiar with their work. Certification lasts for five years.

To obtain complete information and to register for the exam, go to CaliforniaSpecialist.org.

The registration deadline is June 26. The fee is $300 for writing or $350 if using a laptop. The exam will be given at the Westin at San Francisco Airport or Marriott in downtown Los Angeles.

More affinity partners join CalBar Connect

T-Mobile, the nation’s No. 4 wireless carrier, has signed on as an affinity partner with CalBar Connect and will offer a variety of discounts and deals to California attorneys. CoreVault, a company offering online data backup and recovery, also is a new bar partner.

Among the benefits available through T-Mobile are:

• $9.99 per month home phone service;
• 12 percent discount on monthly recurring charges;
• Handset discounts with new activation;
• Waived activation fees, a $35 value;
• Special 30-day return policy with new activation; and
• free shipping on two-day service.

Member discounts are not available in stores. California bar members and their families can take advantage of these discounts online at calbarconnect.com or by calling 1-866-464-8662. Callers must state that they are members of the State Bar of California and provide a bar number and the promotional code, “Law.”

Members with existing T-Mobile service may call 1-877-453-8824 to get a discount and sign up for T-Mobile@Home, which provides unlimited local and domestic long distance home phone service for $9.99 per month.

Lawyers also may protect their firm’s data automatically and offsite with CoreVault, which specializes in protecting business critical data safely and securely at two private and geographically separate data centers. The service offers solutions to data back-up and storage needs.

Information about special member pricing is available by calling 1-877-53CABAR (532-2227) or visiting corevault.net/calbar.

CalBar Connect (calbar.ca.gov/calbarconnect/), part of the bar’s member services and benefits initiative, links directly to partners, their products and to other State Bar member services and benefits.

Other partners include:

• Research Triangle Software provides discounts on Lettermark® branded and secure e-mail.
• ESQSites123.com specializes in legal Web design. Through CalBar Connect, members receive up to a 25 percent discount.
• Threads Apparel & Merchandise offers exclusive savings for members only. Save an average of 28 percent on promotional apparel and merchandise needs.
• MarketYourLawPractice.com is a Web-based tool that provides attorneys with tools and tips to market their law practice. Through CalBar Connect, members receive a $200 discount on the annual subscription fee.

Bank of America; insurance companies Marsh Affinity, Liberty Mutual and AI&PS; and UPS, Office Max and Brooks Brothers also are bar partners.

Hong Kong CLE program planned for November                                                       

The Litigation and Real Property Law sections are planning a continuing legal education program in Hong Kong the first week of November 2009. If you are interested in receiving information, please call or e-mail Kristina Robledo at kristina.robledo@calbar.ca.gov or 415-538-2468.

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.