Monterey hosts 75th Annual Meeting

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By NANCY McCARTHY
Staff Writer

With offerings ranging from a world-renowned aquarium to the breathtaking 17-mile scenic drive, the Monterey Peninsula beckons visitors to one of the prettiest tourist destinations in California.

By attending the State Bar's Annual Meeting in Monterey next month, attorneys can both visit some of the area's attractions and bone up on the newest developments in their legal practices.

Several thousand lawyers are expected to attend this year's Oct. 10-13 convention, which celebrates the State Bar's 75th anniversary.

Cuomo

Ivins

Highlights include addresses by syndicated columnist Molly Ivins and New York gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo, as well as Chief Justice Ronald George's annual State of the Judiciary address and the inauguration of James Herman as the bar's new president.

Participants can earn up to 20 hours of MCLE credit, have access to an Internet Cafe in the exhibition hall at the Monterey Conference Center and those with an artistic bent may submit their work for exhibition at the 75th art show.

Meltzer

The four-day event kicks off Thursday, with a luncheon featuring best-selling author Brad Meltzer, author of The Tenth Justice and Dead Even. A graduate of Columbia Law School, the entertaining Meltzer has just completed his third book, The Millionaires.

A complimentary opening night reception Thurs-day precedes the California Women Lawyers dinner with Molly Ivins as its speaker. Tickets are $85 and may be purchased on the Annual Meeting pre-registration and ticket fee form, or reserved online at www.cwl. org or by calling 916/646-3114.

A State Bar breakfast, co-sponsored by the Business Law Section, begins Friday's events. Helane L. Morrison, district administrator of the San Francisco office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is the breakfast speaker. The Friday luncheon will feature an address by Cuomo.

The day wraps up with the presentation of the President's Pro Bono Service Awards and the prestigious Loren Miller Legal Services Award, followed by the president's reception at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

This ticketed event ($60 for adults, $30 for children) opens the entire aquarium to State Bar guests, and features the new "Jellies: Living Art" exhibit, opened in May. The exhibit includes jellies never exhibited before in North America, innovative artwork and even a walk-through jelly swarm. The Splash Zone exhibit allows you and your children to dive into coral reef and rocky shore animal homes.

The ticket includes complimentary wine from the St. Francis Winery and Vineyards in Sonoma, hors d'oeuvres and shuttle bus transportation from the convention hotels, as well as admission to the world-renowned aquarium.

Santa Barbara attorney James Herman will be sworn in as the bar?s 75th president Saturday morning, and six new members of the bar's board of governors and the new CYLA board members also will begin their terms.

ABA President Robert E. Hirshon will discuss "Beyond Billable Hours" at the annual Morrison luncheon Saturday, and the day ends with the bar's 75th anniversary gala, an evening of good food, music and dancing. Entertainment will be provided by "Lakeside," an R&B group remembered for its hits of the late '70s and early '80s. Cost of the event is $65 per person; to purchase tables, contact Jayna Blackwell at jayna. blackwell@calbar.ca.gov.

The extra calories from the banquet can be dealt with the following morning at a 5K run/power walk along Monterey's scenic bayside recreation trail. The $25 entry fee includes a t-shirt, light refreshments and awards.

The convention wraps up with a luncheon address by Justice Craig T. Enoch of the Supreme Court of Texas.

The Conference of Delegates convenes Friday through Sunday at the Hyatt to debate resolutions affecting all areas of law in California.

The conference is expected to consider a resolution at its meeting to separate from the State Bar and incorporate as an independent non-profit entity, called the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations. Its new status will enable the conference to lobby without restriction, independent of the bar.

New this year is the Access and Fairness Summit, which will be held Saturday to celebrate progress in achieving increased diversity in the profession. The summit will conclude with a reception where the first State Bar Diversity Awards will be presented.

For most attendees, MCLE credit is the draw, and the Annual Meet-ing offers low-cost, one-stop shopping for those in the market. More than 200 courses will be offered, beginning Thursday morning and continuing until noon Sunday.

Attorneys whose last names begin with the letters H-M might be particularly interested since they face a compliance deadline of Feb. 1, 2003.

Offerings cover the full spectrum of legal practice, from disability rights to elder law, from ethics to rainmaking, from juvenile dependency to chemical dependency. There are courses on time management, technology, stress, identity theft, retirement planning and attorney's fees. Hate crimes, client trust accounts, domain names, legal writing, avoiding contempt of court. And just plain "Really Interesting Lawyer Stuff" (Thursday, 2:15).

Meetings and classes will be held at the Hyatt Regency Monterey, the DoubleTree Hotel, the Monterey Marriott Hotel and the Monterey Conference Center. A single registration fee admits participants to all educational programs.

You can save money and have the best chance of enrolling in the programs of your choice by registering by Sept. 12. The pre-registration deadline is Sept.27.

The Annual Meeting Preview, containing a complete listing of continuing education programs, registration and housing information and descriptions of all events, was mailed in June to all section members and attorneys who have attended the convention during the past five years. The Preview also is available online at www.calbar.ca.gov.