Three openings to be filled on State
Bar Court
Qualified applicants are sought to fill three hearing judge and two
review judge positions on the State Bar Court beginning Nov. 1. Two hearing judge
positions are located in Los Angeles, and the third is in San Francisco. The review judge
positions may be filled in either city. State Bar Court judges hear attorney discipline
cases, have the same immunity as judges of courts of record and are subject to the same
regulation as provided for courts of record judges.
Applicants will be screened by a seven-member committee appointed by
the Supreme Court. Hearing judges will be appointed by the governor, the Speaker of the
Assembly and the Senate Committee on Rules. The Supreme Court will name the review judges.
Terms range from two to four years.
Detailed information about qualifications, salaries and the
application process is available at the bar’s website, www.calbar.org, or by calling
415/538-2063. The deadline for applications is Aug. 11.
MCLE compliance due for last names A-M
Attorneys who are members of MCLE compliance group 1 (last names A-G)
and group 2 (last names H-M) must complete 25 hours of continuing education credits by
Jan. 31, 2001.
Members of group 1 who did not complete the previously required 36
hours by Jan. 31, 1998, have until Jan. 31, 2001, to complete a total of 61 hours. The
same deadline applies to members of group 2 who did not meet their 1997 deadline; they
also must complete 61 hours.
Deadlines were adjusted by the State Bar Board of Governors following
the California Supreme Court’s ruling last year in the Warden case.
State Bar’s Kids and the Law is now online
“Kids and the Law: An A-Z Guide for Parents” has been
updated to reflect changes in laws affecting the state’s young people and is now
available on the State Bar’s web site.
The popular booklet, first published in 1996, offers relevant,
accessible, easy-to-understand information on a wide range of laws and legal issues
involving children in California.
The revised booklet can be accessed at www.calbar.org.
The booklet covers young people’s rights and responsibilities
and the legal aspects of a large number of topics, including alcohol, drugs, police and
school.
Ballots mailed for bar board, CYLA elections
Ballots were mailed last month for elections for the State Bar Board
of Governors and the board of the California Young Lawyers Association. Attorneys whose
place of business is in one of the five bar districts with an open seat are eligible to
vote. The last day to vote is Aug. 18.
Open seats for both boards are in districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. (See www.calbar.org.)
The successful candidates will be sworn in at the bar’s Annual
Meeting in San Diego in September.
Two boards seeking volunteer members
The State Bar is seeking applicants for the boards of two California
legal services programs.
Two positions are open on the 45-member Board of Directors of
California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), and the Board of Trustees of California Indian
Legal Services (CILS), which has 13 members, has one position available. The deadline for
applications for each board is Sept. 1.
Both non-profit programs are funded by the Legal Services Corp. and
the boards meet four times a year. CRLA board terms last two years; the terms on the CILS
board last three years.
Interested attorneys should send a resume and a letter listing the
reasons they should be appointed. Applications should be addressed to Judy Garlow, State
Bar of California, 180 Howard St., San Francisco 94105; 415/538-2545.
State Bar sponsors fee arb training in San Diego
Volunteers who arbitrate and mediate attorney-client fee disputes for
mandatory fee arbitration programs through local or state bar associations are invited to
attend a training session Aug. 10 in San Diego.
Individuals interested in becoming arbitrators also are invited to
attend the three-hour session, which includes 1.75 hours of general MCLE credit and one
hour of legal ethics credit.
Speakers will address recent developments in fee arbitration and
other topics including how to write an enforceable award, statute of limitations, effect
of conflict of interest and arbitrator disclosure requirements.
The program, sponsored by the State Bar’s Committee on Mandatory
Fee Arbitration, will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at the San Diego County Bar Association,
1333 Seventh Ave. Refreshments will be provided.
To register, contact the bar association at 619/231-0781. For more
information, contact Jill Sperber, director of the State Bar fee arb program, at
415/538-2023.
Judicial Council paves way for uniform court rules in
civil cases
In an effort to increase public access to courts and standardize
court practice, the Judicial Council of California adopted uniform court rules in pretrial
proceedings in civil cases.
The rules took effect July 1 in all state trial courts.
The council has worked on uniform rules since 1993 in collaboration
with the State Bar and the California Judges Association.
The council amended eight rules and adopted a new rule that will
govern the following areas of pretrial civil practice: pleadings, demurrers, ex parte
applications, motions, discovery, provisional remedies, and the form and format of papers.
All amended and new rules will appear in an upcoming pamphlet of the
advance sheets of the California Official Reports.
Bar calling all artists and photographers for show
After a two-year hiatus, the State Bar Annual Meeting art show will
return this year. Members of the bench and bar who are interested in displaying their
talents are invited to do so at the annual meeting Sept. 14-17 at the Marriott Hotel &
Marina in San Diego.
Among the categories are color and black-and-white photography, oils,
watercolors, prints and drawings.
Artists should contact Natalie Morgan at 415/538-2465 for entry
information.
Alameda County’s bar association honored
The Alameda County Bar Association was honored last month for helping
to form Bay Area Legal Aid last year after the Legal Services Corporation consolidated
several area grants.
The bar association received the 2000 Harrison Tweed Award, given
annually by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent
Defendants and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association. The award was presented at
the ABA annual meeting in New York.
Prior to the creation of Bay Area Legal Aid, many of the 30 civil
legal services organizations providing services to the poor did not coordinate with one
another and there was a disparity in funding amounts spent per client. In addition to
solving some of the inequity and coordination problems, the new organization expanded the
base of resources and lawyers throughout the area.
The Harrison Tweed Award recognizes the achievements of state and
local bar associations that develop or expand programs to increase access to civil legal
services for the poor. |
