75th Annual Meeting set for Monterey

The State Bar will hold its 75th Annual Meeting in Monterey Oct. 10-13 with a program that includes New York gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo and syndicated columnist Molly Ivins among its speakers and dozens of continuing education programs. Sept. 12 is the early registration deadline for a reduced rate, and because it is anticipated that many MCLE courses will be sold out by then, attendees are encouraged to register early. Sept. 27 is the pre-registration deadline. Participants can earn up to 20 hours of MCLE credit for the price of the $295 pre-registration fee.

The convention will divide its events among the Doubletree Hotel, the Monterey Conference Center, the Marriott and the Hyatt Regency.

A new State Bar president and five new members of the board of governors will take their oaths of office Oct. 12 from Chief Justice Ronald George, who will give his annual State of the Judiciary address.

In addition to Cuomo and Ivins, who will address the annual California Women Lawyers dinner Oct. 10, speakers include Texas Supreme Court Justice Craig T. Enoch, best-selling author Brad Meltzer and Helane L. Morrison, administrator of the San Francisco district office of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Annual Meeting kicks off with an informal opening reception Thursday evening. The State Bar President's Pro Bono Service Awards and the Loren Miller Award will be presented Friday at the Marriott Hotel. The award presentations will be followed by the president's reception at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Saturday's events include the first Access and Fairness Summit, which will celebrate progress in achieving increased diversity in the profession. The summit will conclude with the diversity awards reception, where the first State Bar Diversity Awards will be presented. The day will culminate with the State Bar 75th Anniversary Gala.

The convention also features an exhibit hall, an internet cafe and an art exhibit.

The Annual Meeting Preview , containing a complete listing of continuing education programs, registration and housing information and descriptions of other events was mailed in June to all section members and attorneys who have attended the convention during the past five years.

Hotel reservations may be made online this year through Passkey Citywide Web site. Full details about the Annual Meeting are on the State Bar's Web site.

2,600-plus lawyers may lose their law license

More than 2,600 California lawyers face the possible loss of their license to practice as a result of not complying with continuing education requirements. As of last month, 2,645 lawyers had not complied with the requirements.

At its meeting this month, the bar's board of governors will place those who still are out of compliance on involuntary inactive enrollment. The change of status will occur in early September.

Those in arrears belong to Group 3, last names N-Z, whose compliance deadline was Feb. 1, 2002. But a total of 2,434 actually are non-compliant for two reporting periods, the one ended in February and a previous period that ended in 1999. Other numbers included in the 2,645 figure are: 384 already are not entitled for some other reason; 190 have submitted a compliance card but owe a late fee; 422 paid the late fee but have not provided a compliance card; and 2,033 owe both a compliance card and a late fee. Questions about compliance and requirements may be addressed to: Noah Chandler, 415/538-2136, certification@calbar.ca.gov.

Los Angeles fee arb training scheduled

Recent developments in fee arbitration will be discussed at a training program in Los Angeles later this month sponsored by the State Bar's Committee on Mandatory Fee Arbitration. The free training, scheduled for Aug. 20 from 5:30-8:30 p.m., offers 2.75 hours of MCLE credit, including one hour of legal ethics.

Open to fee arbitrators from Los Angeles County and all State Bar fee arbitrators, the session will be held at the Los Angeles County Bar Associa-tion, 241 South Figueroa, Suite 100. Among the topics for discussion are how to write an enforceable award, conflicts of interest, disclosure requirements and how to control the proceeding.

To register, contact Jenna Albrecht, 213/896-6441. For more information, call Jill Sperber, director of the State Bar Office of Mandatory Fee Arbitration, at 415/538-2023.

Public comment sought

The California Law Revision Commission is seeking public comment on a tentative recommendation relating to common interest development law. The proposal suggests three changes to the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act.

Full text of the recommendation is available at www.clrc.ca.gov by following the public comment link. Comments should be submitted by Aug. 15 to the commission at 4000 Middlefield Rd., Room D-1, Palo Alto, CA 94303-4739.

New bar website address

The State Bar has changed the address of its website to www.calbar.ca.gov. In addition, staffers' e-mail addresses are changed to the individual's first name.last name@calbar.ca.gov. The bar has revamped its website and continues to update and improve the new pages.

More changes to make the site more interactive with members will be introduced in the coming months.

Comment sought on new jury instructions

The Judicial Council Task Force on Jury Instructions recently released new sets of both civil and criminal jury instructions for public comment. The task force is interested in reactions to style, format, legal accuracy, clarity, and usefulness of accompanying notes and commentary.

The deadline for sending in comments is Sept. 4.

Information about the instructions and how to submit comments about the civil instructions is available at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/invitationstocomment/aproposals.htm. Information about the criminal instructions can be found at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/invitationstocomment/bproposals.htm.

Written comments about the proposed civil jury instructions may be sent to Anita Kashu, Judicial Council, 455 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102-3660. Comments about the criminal jury instructions should be sent to Myrna Caamic, Judicial Council, 455 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102-3660.

Rules revision underway

The board of governors has reinstated the 14-member Commis-sion for the Revision of the Rules of Professional Conduct in an effort to evaluate existing California Rules of Professional Conduct. Public hearings will be held at the State Bar's Annual Meeting Oct. 10-13.

Calling all artists to the annual meeting exhibit

An art exhibit featuring the work of California lawyers will be presented in the Steinbeck Lobby of the Monterey Conference Center at the State Bar's annual meeting from Oct. 10-13. All members of the California bar who draw, sculpt, or work in photography are cordially invited to participate in the exhibit, which is marking its 50th anniversary. Awards will be given for oils, portraits and figures, watercolors, prints, drawings, mixed media, sculpture and photography.

Art show rules and entry blanks can be downloaded from www.calbar.ca.gov/archive/calbar/annualmeeting, or can be obtained by calling Cheryl Morgan at 415/538-2210. All entries must be submitted by Sept. 6.

E-briefs offer bar news updates

“E-briefs," a short summary of recent news developments or announcements of interest to lawyers, is available to all attorneys or other interested parties. The mailings are provided on a timely basis. If you wish to be put on our internet mailing list, please provide your e-mail address to barcomm@calbar.ca.gov.

Fee arbitrators needed

The State Bar seeks fee arbitrators for its mandatory fee arbitration program. Voluntary arbitrators serve for a minimum term of two years. Attorney applicants must be active members in good standing of the State Bar of California for a minimum of five years. Criminal defense lawyers are encouraged to apply.

The application may be downloaded from the State Bar's Web site. For more information, call 415-538-2020.

MCLE compliance group 2 faces Feb. 1 deadline

Members of MCLE compliance group 2 (last names H-M) who are not part of an exempt group must complete 25 hours of continuing legal education by the compliance deadline of Feb. 1, 2003.

Attorneys who comply after that date may be subject to a $75 fine.

Calling all retired lawyers

Retired California attorneys are invited to join the State Bar's emeritus attorney pro bono program, through which they may donate all their legal work to an approved legal services program. Approved by the board of governors in 1987, the emeritus program is designed to take advantage of the legal skills, training and experience of retired lawyers. In order to encourage participation, the bar waives the fee to be an active attorney. Interested attorneys can obtain an application from Rodney Low at 415/538-2219 or rodney.low@calbar.ca.gov. Those currently enrolled in the program also must renew their applications.

Northern California court receives ADR award

The management team behind one of the federal court's most successful alternative dispute resolution programs received a new Ninth Circuit award named for ADR pioneer Judge Robert F. Peckham.

ADR program director Mimi Arfin and program counsel Howard Herman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California received the Robert F. Peckham Award for Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution. They shared a $5,000 prize. The program includes early neutral evaluations, arbitration and settlement conferences and a multi-option program which serves 2,500 cases annually.

The most recent innovation is a pilot Assisted Mediation Program, which provides pro se litigants, particularly in employment and civil rights cases, with counsel during the ADR process.