Create an electronic State Bar profile
California attorneys can now pay their State Bar dues, change their addresses
and telephone numbers and submit their MCLE compliance cards online. "My
State Bar Profile," a new program offered by the bar, was launched in
November with hopes that California lawyers will provide their e-mail addresses
as well as make electronically the 48,000 annual changes in address and telephone
records that are now made on paper.
Dues bills mailed in November included specific instructions on setting up
an electronic account. An access code to create a log-on password was printed
in the upper right hand corner of each bill.
By mid-December, 5,000 attorneys had created their own profile with the bar.
State Bar dues bills are due next month
Dues bills were mailed Nov. 14 to all active and inactive California attorneys.
The dues are authorized by the state legislature and set by the State Bar Board
of Governors.
Dues for active lawyers are $390 for the coming year, and dues for inactive
members will remain at $50.
Again this year, attorneys have the option of contributing to the Foundation
of the State Bar, the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations
and the California Supreme Court Historical Society. Active attorneys may deduct
$5 from the dues bill for the bar's lobbying efforts in Sacramento and $5 for
the elimination of bias fund.
For the first time, lawyers can pay their dues online
this year. The deadline for payment is Feb. 1.
Bar committees seek lawyers for open positions
Attorneys looking for a chance to make a difference are invited to apply for
one of the more than 150 positions available on the State Bar's three dozen
committees, commissions and boards for the 2004-05 committee year. The application
deadline is Feb. 2. A full description of the committees appeared in the December
California Bar Journal.
Would-be volunteers have a wide range of options, from committees dealing with
access and fairness issues to section executive committees focused on particular
areas of the law, to the various regulatory and legal services commissions.
Most appointments carry a three-year term and applicants must be willing to
volunteer their time, expertise, experience and perspective. Volunteers are
not paid for their services but are reimbursed for approved travel expenses.
The descriptions of the committees and the application form are available at
the State Bar's website, www.calbar.ca.gov.
Interested volunteers may also contact the State Bar's Appointments Office at
415-538-2299 or by fax at 415-538-2255.
NOTE: Deadline extended to February 18
Compliance Group 1 faces Feb. 1 MCLE deadline
Members of Compliance Group 1 (last names A-G) must complete 25 hours of MCLE
credit by Feb. 1, 2004. Of that total, 12 1/2 hours can be completed through
self-study courses.
All active attorneys must complete four hours of legal ethics study, one hour
of substance abuse prevention and one hour of elimination of bias in the legal
profession.
Full details of the requirements are provided on the State Bar's web site,
www.calbar.ca.gov.
Click on "MCLE" on the right hand menu.
Five bar board seats open
Five seats on the State Bar's 23-member board of governors are up for election
this year.
They are in District 2 (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Napa, Sacramento,
Solano, Sonoma, Tuolumne and Yolo counties); District 3 (Alameda, Contra Costa,
Santa Clara and San Mateo counties); District 4 (Marin and San Francisco counties);
and District 7 (Los Angeles County, offices 1 and 2).
Any active member of the State Bar who maintains his or her principal office
for the practice of law within the State Bar district in which there is a vacancy
is eligible to run for a seat on the board. Lawyer members are elected for three-year
terms and will assume their offices at the conclusion of the 2004 Annual Meeting.
Nominating petitions will be available Feb. 2. For additional information,
contact Billie Sivanov at 415-538-2274.
Seniors translated into three more languages
Seniors & the Law: A Guide for Maturing Californians was recently translated
into Korean, Vietnamese and Tagalog. The brochure is now available in those
languages as well as English, Spanish and Chinese.
To order, send an e-mail to seniors@calbar.ca.gov
and state your name, complete mailing address (P.O. Boxes are not acceptable),
the number of copies ordered and choice of "English," "Spanish," "Chinese,"
"Korean," "Vietnamese," or "Tagalog" version for each number, and a daytime
phone number.
If you do not have access to e-mail, please include the required information
above and send to The State Bar of California, Attn: Seniors & the Law,
180 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94105-1639.
Openings on ABA House of Delegates, Judicial Council
The State Bar is seeking applicants for one position on the Judicial Council
and for six appointments to the ABA House of Delegates.
The Judicial Council appointment begins Sept. 15, 2004, and expires Sept. 14,
2007. Meetings are held six to seven times a year; the annual time commitment
is about 300 hours for meetings and assignments. Members are reimbursed for
approved travel. In making the appointment, the bar board of governors will
consider the applicants' demonstrated leadership skills and ability to effectively
represent the lawyer perspective on the council.
The terms of six State Bar delegates to the ABA House of Delegates expire this
year. New appointees will serve two-year terms from Aug. 10, 2004, to Aug. 8,
2006. State Bar delegates may be reappointed but can serve no more than three
consecutive terms. They are expected to attend the ABA midyear and annual meetings,
participate in conference calls and become broadly participant in ABA activities.
They are required to pay their own travel expenses.
Deadline for applications is Feb. 2.
Applications must be submitted to the bar's Appointments Office, 180 Howard
St., San Francisco, CA 94105; or by fax to 415-538-2255. Further information
is available at www.calbar.ca.gov
(selected links to Committees and Commissions and to Other Entity Appointments),
or by calling 415-538-2299.
Fee arb trainings scheduled Jan. 8, Feb. 5
Recent developments in fee arbitration will be discussed at training programs
in Los Angeles and Novato sponsored by the State Bar's Committee on Mandatory
Fee Arbitration. The free trainings offer 2.75 hours of MCLE credit, including
one hour of legal ethics and 1.75 hours of general credit, and are open to State
Bar fee arbitrators, those from the Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Napa, Marin
and Sonoma County bar associations and lay people and lawyers interested in
joining the program.
Among the topics for discussion are how to write an enforceable award, conflicts
of interest, disclosure requirements and how to control the proceeding.
The Los Angeles training will be held Jan. 8, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., State Bar offices,
1149 South Hill St. To reserve a space, contact Anthony Forrette, 415-538-2074
or anthony.forrette@calbar.ca.gov.
The Novato training will be held at the Inn Marin, 250 Entrada Dr. To reserve
a space, call Lynn Pfeiffer at 415-499-1314.
For additional information, call Jill Sperber, 415-538-2023.
Applicants sought for two legal services boards
The State Bar is seeking applications from attorneys interested in serving
on the board of directors for Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC) and
the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA).
Two three-year positions in Sacramento County and one each in the Butte and
Shasta regions are open on the LSNC board, and applicants must practice in the
county or region where the vacancy has occurred. The 36-member board meets five
times a year and the term of office will be from April 20, 2004, to April 19,
2007. Deadline for receipt of applications is Jan. 9.
One three-year position will open on the 57-member LAFLA board in July. The
board meets at least four times a year. The deadline to apply is Feb. 15.
Applicants must submit a letter and resume. The information should include
attorney bar number, work experience, community activity and educational background.
The materials should be sent to Chris Zupanovich, State Bar of California, 180
Howard St, San Francisco, CA 94105; or chris.zupanovich@calbar.ca.gov.
Questions may be directed to 415-538-2534.
A Week in Legal London
The Litigation Section offers California lawyers an opportunity to discover
new insights into law from the English prospective in 2004.
"A Week in Legal London," scheduled June 28-July 2, offers an opportunity
to experience the inner workings of the English legal system, expand litigation
skills and engage in discussions with distinguished members of the London legal
community. Participants will attend sessions at the Royal Courts of Justice,
the Old Bailey and the High Court of Justice and attend luncheons at historic
Inns of Court, generally exclusive to members of the British legal community.
The registration fee for the "Week in Legal London" is expected to be $1,995
per program registrant; the fee includes daily luncheons, two receptions, the
formal closing dinner at historic Trinity House, education program and materials.
Accommodations will be available at one of London's newest five-star luxury
hotels, the Renaissance London Chancery Court Hotel, for an additional fee.
Promotional material will be sent to members of the Litigation Section this
month with more detailed information about the educational programs, MCLE credit
and travel arrangements. Contact the Litigation Section, 415-538-2546, for further
information.
How to market diversity
The State Bar's Office of Legal Services, Access & Fairness Programs, along
with the California Minority Counsel Program and The Practising Law Institute,
presents "Creating Visibility: Practical Advice for Marketing Your Firm's Diversity"
on Jan. 13 at PLI in San Francisco. The one-day seminar is designed to help
lawyers and law firms promote their visibility and showcase their legal expertise
to potential clients, individuals, other firms and corporations using mass media
and technology.
For more information, go to www.cmcp.org or call CMCP at 415-782-8990.
Five pamphlets updated
Five consumer education pamphlets produced by the State Bar as part of its
Get the Legal Facts of Life outreach effort have been updated and are available
to the public. They are: Can the Law Help Protect Me from Domestic Violence?;
How Do I Use the Small Claims Court?; What Should I Know if I Am Arrested?;
What Can I Do if I Can't Pay My Debts?; and What Should I Know About Divorce
and Custody?
The pamphlets are online at the bar's web site, www.calbar.ca.gov,
by clicking on "public services," "consumer information" and "pamphlets." Also
online is the order form. To order one pamphlet, send a stamped, self-addressed
envelope. Two to 99 of any combination of pamphlets are available at a cost
of 50 cents each. One hundred copies of the same pamphlet are free for non-profit
legal services providers serving low-income Californians, are $20 for other
non-profit organizations and cost $40 for all others.
Checks or money orders payable to the State Bar of California should be sent,
with your request, to State Bar of California, Attn: Pamphlets, 180 Howard St.,
San Francisco, CA 94105.
Leadership events scheduled this year
The State Bar's Office of Legal Services, Access & Fairness Programs will
hold a one-day forum on effective leadership to take the place of its mid-year
meeting.
In addition, the office has announced a new Leadership Academy that will select
12 attorney scholars and train them in the skills and dynamics of leadership.
Scholars will be selected on their potential for leadership and ability to serve
a diverse community.
No mandatory dues will be used for either activity.
The one-day forum will be held June 5 in San Diego. Details will be provided
later.
The academy will span one year and consist of four workshops, three in conjunction
with major State Bar events. Participants will be expected to complete a major
project demonstrating their mastery of leadership skills and commitment to serving
diverse communities. Travel expenses and registration to State Bar events will
be covered. The deadline to submit an application is Feb. 2.
The academy is funded by voluntary contributions, in part by the Foundation
of the State Bar.
For more information or to receive an application, go to www.calbar.ca.gov
or contact Rod Fong at rod.fong@calbar.ca.gov
or 415-538-2143.
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