California Bar Journal
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 2000
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California Bar Journal

The State Bar of California


REGULARS

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Front Page - January 2000
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News Briefs
Former Unruh aide appointed to serve on State Bar board
Ardaiz, O'Leary named jurists of the year for '99
Judicial Administration fellowships
Public law section online library
Board meets Feb. 4-5
51.2 percent pass July '99 bar exam
Board hires search firm for new bar chief
Litigation section offers MCLE week in legal London
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Trials Digest
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From the President - Reciprocity reform: The future is now
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Opinion
For most Americans, our system is a failure
Ethics 2000: On target, or lost in space
Letters to the Editor
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Public Comment
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MCLE Self-Study
Of Counsel: Avoiding Conflicts
Self-Assessment Test
MCLE Calendar of Events
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Important Information About Your 2000 Membership Fee
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You Need to Know
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Appointments
Apply to serve on a bar committee
Bar seeks applicants for ABA delegates
Judge evaluation positions open
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Discipline
Ethics Byte - Warding off the foul tort in a new year
Bankruptcy attorney disbarred after abandoning clients

PUBLIC COMMENT

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Conflict of interest code

Proposed revisions to the State Bar’s conflict of interest code for officers, employees or consultants. The majority of changes reflect either job title changes or deletion of defunct positions.

SOURCE: Board of Governors Legal Committee
DEADLINE: Feb. 2, 2000
CONTACT: Francisco Gomez, Office of General Counsel, 180 Howard St., San Francisco 94105-1639; 415/538-2270

Conference of Delegates

Proposed revision to Article VI, §3A(3)(a) of the Rules and Regulations of the State Bar would eliminate the “Annual Confer-ence of Bar Presidents” from the duties of the executive committee of the Conference of Delegates.

SOURCE: State Bar Board of Governors
DEADLINE: Feb. 2, 2000
CONTACT: Francisco Gomez, Office of General Counsel, 180 Howard St., San Francisco 94105-1639; 415/538-2270

Member fee deductions

In December, the board of governors adopted, on an emergency basis, an interim procedure for notice to members of the bar’s budgeted activities for 2000, including a list of legislative positions and the board’s determination of the chargeability of the planned activities under Keller. The procedures provide members the opportunity to file an objection to the board’s determination, an escrow of objecting members’ fees pending the outcome of their objections, and an option for the board to either refund part or all of a member’s escrowed fees or refer the challenge to arbitration.

SOURCE: Board of Governors Legal Committee
DEADLINE: March 3, 2000
CONTACT: Francisco Gomez, Office of General Counsel, 180 Howard St., San Francisco 94105-1639; 415/538-2270

JNE rules and procedures

Proposed revisions include adoption of 24 recommendations previously adopted by the State Bar Board of Governors, as well as three additional changes to the rules and procedures of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation.

SOURCE: State Bar Board of Governors
DEADLINE: March 3, 2000
CONTACT: Francisco Gomez, Office of General Counsel, 180 Howard St., San Francisco 94105-1639; 415/538-2270

State Bar districts

Amends the Rules and Regulations of the State Bar, article IIB, §5, to continue current State Bar districts for the purpose of conducting elections of the attorney members of the board of governors in the years 2000 through 2009.

SOURCE: State Bar Board of Governors
DEADLINE: March 3, 2000
CONTACT: Francisco Gomez, Office of General Counsel, 180 Howard St., San Francisco 94105-1639; 415/538-2270

Legislative procedures

Changes State Bar legislative policies and procedures to (1) require a separate determination concerning whether a proposed legislative position is within the parameters established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Keller v. State Bar of California; (2) require a two-thirds majority of the board of governors to approve a legislative position of the board; (3) publicly identify that legislative positions taken by sections or the conference of delegates are not funded from mandatory dues; and (4) on an interim basis for 2000, require that all legislative positions taken by the board of governors or by State Bar committees and commissions funded from State Bar general funds shall be within the parameters established by Keller.

SOURCE: State Bar Board of Governors
DEADLINE: March 3, 2000
CONTACT: Francisco Gomez, Office of General Counsel, 180 Howard St., San Francisco 94105-1639; 415/538-2270

MCLE rules amendments

Proposed amendments to Califor-nia rule of court 958 and the MCLE rules and regulations will conform them to amended §6070 of the Business and Professions Code, which reduces the number of required MCLE hours and eliminates the exemption for retired judges.

SOURCE: Board of Governors Committee on Regulation and Discipline
DEADLINE: March 10, 2000
CONTACT: Lorna Maynard, Office of Certification, 180 Howard St., San Francisco CA 94105-1639; 415/538-2115; fax 415/538-2180; e-mail maynardL@ix.netcom.com.