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Member benefits offered at CalBar Connect

The State Bar recently introduced a members-only Web site, CalBar Connect, for attorneys to link to affinity partners who offer discounts and programs to help them save money in their practices. The program is part of the bar’s member services and benefits initiative that is expected to produce non-dues revenue to support member services and the Lawyer Assistance Program.

CalBar Connect (calbar.ca.gov/calbarconnect/) links directly to the partners, the products offered and to other State Bar member services and benefits. The bar has contracted with major providers of financial services, insurance programs, office supplies, package delivery and apparel:

  • The financial partner, Bank of America, will offer a full range of products, including consumer and business credit cards, debit cards, lines of credit, mortgage loans, small business banking and other merchant services. The bank also brought its lawyer trust accounts into early compliance with new state regulations that require banks holding IOLTA accounts to offer an interest rate comparable to interest rates offered on other consumer products.
  • Insurance partners include Marsh Affinity, Liberty Mutual and AI&PS, which offer products including professional liability, life, AD&D, business, auto, home, disability and long term care insurance.
  • UPS, Office Max and Brooks Brothers will offer discounts to members.

Fee arb trainings slated

Two training sessions for prospective and current volunteer attorneys who arbitrate attorney-client fee disputes for mandatory fee arbitration programs through the Monterey and Solano county bar associations and the State Bar will be held in September and October. The Monterey training is Sept. 24, from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m., and the Solano training is Oct. 2, from noon - 3 p.m.

Both sessions are free in exchange for an application to enroll as a fee arbitrator in the program and offer 2.75 hours of MCLE credit, including one hour of legal ethics.

The trainings will cover such topics as how to write an enforceable award, arbitrator disclosure requirements, fee disputes with and without a written fee agreement and controlling the proceeding.

To reserve a place at the Monterey session, which will be held at the Monterey College of Law (former Fort Ord site), 100 Col. Durham Blvd., Seaside, call Elaine Richelieu at 831-663-6955 or e-mail richelieu@aol.com.

The Solano training will be held in the jury selection room of the Solano Justice Building, 321 Tuolumne St., Vallejo at the city and county library. To reserve a place, call Julie Hilt at 707-422-5087 or e-mail scba@solanobar.org.

For additional information (not RSVP), contact Jill Sperber at 415-538-2023.

Calling all artists

All members of the bench and bar who draw, sculpt, work in ceramics or photography are invited to participate in the Fifty-sixth Annual Meeting Bench and Bar Art Exhibit. The artwork will be showcased at the bar’s annual meeting in September.

Awards will be given in the following categories — oils and acrylics, portraits and figures, watercolors, prints, drawings, mixed media, ceramics, sculpture and photography. Art show rules and entry blanks can be downloaded at calbar.ca.gov/cal bar/annualmeeting, or obtained by calling 415-538-2210. All entries must be submitted by Aug. 27.

State Bar Foundation seeks board members

The California Bar Foundation is seeking applications for several positions on its board of directors for terms beginning Jan. 1. Attorneys, judges and members of the public who have an interest in the foundation’s charitable mission, who have previous board, public or community service, and/or who are knowledgeable about charitable fundraising are invited to apply.

The foundation distributes grants to nonprofit organizations, courts and bar associations for law-related projects; awards scholarships to law school students who intend to pursue public interest law careers; and supports an array of other educational programs. More information is available at calbarfoundation.org.

Members of the board of directors serve two-year terms and are expected to attend approximately five meetings per year and actively participate on at least two committees. All board members are expected to participate in fundraising and annually make a personally significant financial contribution to the foundation.

The application deadline is Aug. 15. Applicants must submit a resume and a statement of interest and qualifications by mail, fax or e-mail to: Leslie Hatamiya, Executive Director, California Bar Foundation, 180 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94105; 415-856-0788 (fax); lhatamiya@calbarfoundation.org.

Ethical rules for trusts and estates practitioners

The State Bar Trusts and Estates Section has published a revised Guide to the California Rules of Professional Conduct for Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Counsel.

Because neither the California Rules of Professional Responsibility nor the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct provide adequate guidance to California attorneys who practice trusts and estates law, the section published the guide in 1997. The new edition reflects the many developments in the field since then.

To order online, go to calbar.ca.gov/trusts and follow the prompts.

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.

Moving? Tell the bar

If you move your office, you are required to notify the State Bar within 30 days. You may change your address at calbar.ca.gov>member services>address change.

Faxes or mail must include a copy of one piece of identification. Mail to Membership Records, 180 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94105. Fax to 415-538-2576.

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