Feeling unfulfilled at work? Try this workshop
The State Bar Lawyer Assistance Program will offer a six-week workshop, beginning
later this month, offering strategies for lawyers to improve their career outlook. “Learn
Key Strategies to Take Your Career to the Next Level” will be held Tuesday
evenings in Los Angeles from Oct. 16 – Nov. 20.
The workshop will address career goals, development of skills to eliminate
barriers to success, ways to maintain motivation to achieve goals, creation
of a game plan and a connection with a supportive community of other professionals.
It will be led by two career counselors and a private practice therapist and
coach. There is a $75 fee, payable to the State Bar.
For further information and to register, contact Richard Carlton, 415-538-2355,
or richard.carlton@calbar.ca.gov.
Attendance will earn one hour of MCLE credit.
MCLE compliance deadline
Members of MCLE compliance group 3 — last names N through Z — face
a Feb. 1, 2008, deadline to complete 25 hours of continuing education courses.
At least half the requirement must be fulfilled with participatory courses
and up to 12.5 hours may be self-study. Four of the hours must be completed
in ethics courses, and one hour each is required in elimination of bias and
detection and prevention of substance abuse.
Members of Group 3 who miss the compliance deadline will be assessed a $75
late fee Feb. 2, 2008.
All Group 3 attorneys, including those who are exempt, must submit a compliance
card. Exempt attorneys include officers and elected officials of the state
of California, fulltime professors at law schools accredited by the ABA and/or
the State Bar, attorneys and administrative law judges for the federal government
and the state.
Compliance may be reported online, through the My State Bar Profile feature
on the bar’s home page, calbar.ca.gov; or by returning the compliance
card that will be mailed with the annual fee statement next month.
Complete information about MCLE requirements is available on the Web site
or by e-mailing mcle@calbar.ca.gov or
calling 415-538-2130.
Fee statement will be mailed next month
The annual State Bar fee statement will be mailed to active and inactive California
lawyers Nov. 15. The 2008 bar dues for active attorneys will be $400 and for
inactive lawyers, the dues are $115. The active fee remains the same as last
year.
Payment is due Feb. 1, 2008, and can be completed online. Full details will
be on the statement.
As in past years, attorneys are encouraged to donate to the California Bar
Foundation, the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations and
the California Supreme Court Historical Society. This year, members also may
donate to the recently created Justice Gap Fund, which will help underwrite
eligible legal aid programs in California.
Lawyers who earn less than $40,000 from the practice of law may qualify for
a 25 percent waiver.
If fees are not paid online or postmarked by Feb. 1, a late penalty will be
assessed — $100 for active lawyers and $30 for inactive members.
Create an online profile
California attorneys have the opportunity to handle membership matters with
the State Bar electronically by creating My State Bar Profile on the bar’s
home page.
If you have lost your access code, call the Member Services Center at 888-800-3400.
Doing so will allow lawyers to pay their bar dues and submit MCLE compliance
online, as well as access important forms such as change of address or change
of status, obtain a duplicate bar card and keep abreast of the latest developments
in professional responsibility.
To create a profile, you will need the eight-digit access code printed on
the front of the 2007 annual fee statement. Just go to the bar’s home
page, calbar.ca.gov, and click on the link in the left-hand menu to register
as a first-time user.
Bar publishes revised consumer pamphlets
The State Bar has revised and reprinted four of its popular consumer
education pamphlets and has translated a fifth into Spanish.
The revised pamphlets are: Do I Need Estate Planning?, Do I Need a Living
Trust?, What Should I Do if I Have an Auto Accident? and Can the Law Help Protect
Me from Domestic Violence?
How Can I Resolve My Dispute Without a Trial?, a pamphlet that explains the
alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process, has been translated into Spanish.
To order the pamphlets, send an e-mail to pamphlets@calbar.ca.gov or
visit the State Bar Web site, calbar.ca.gov and click on Consumer Pamphlets
in the right-hand menu.
New group created to ensure judicial impartiality
Chief Justice Ronald George announced the creation last month of a Commission
for Impartial Courts, designed to study and recommend ways to ensure judicial
impartiality and accountability. The group includes members of the judiciary,
court executive officers, attorneys, government and business officials and
members of the public.
It will be divided into four individual task forces that will address judicial
selection and retention, candidate campaign conduct, campaign finance and public
information and education. The commission will be led by an 18-member steering
committee chaired by Associate Justice Ming Chin.
“We are forming the commission in response to developments in other
states that have changed the tone, tenor and cost of judicial elections,” George
said in a statement. “The manner in which judges are selected, retained
and removed from office can have a serious impact on the independence of the
judiciary. It is essential that we make every effort to avoid politicizing
the judiciary so that public confidence in the quality, impartiality and accountability
of judges is protected and maintained.”
The group is to present its recommendations to the Judicial Council in two
years.
Sign up for e-briefs
The State Bar offers “e-briefs,” a short summary of recent news
developments or announcements of interest to lawyers. The electronic mailings
are provided on a timely basis, usually twice a month. To subscribe, go to “e-briefs” listed
under “News” on the home page of the State Bar’s Web site,
calbar.ca.gov.
Opt out of list sales
Attorneys who wish to remove their names from lists the State Bar provides
to qualified outside entities may do so by logging on to Member Login at calbar.ca.gov.
After registering with My State Bar Profile, go to “Account Information” and
select “Update my mailing preferences (opt out).” Members also
may e-mail their opt out request to memrec@calbar.ca.gov.
Include your bar number.
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