Online law school faces a long road to respectability
As the first graduates of the world's first online law school prepared to take the California bar exam last month, it appeared that their success on the test eventually may play a part in the acceptability of cyber legal education.

Alameda Judge Kawaichi wins Aranda Award
Twenty-four-year-old Catosha Woods didn't come from a family with ties to the legal profession. In fact, the Louisianian and third-year student at U.C. Berkeley's Boalt Hall Law School is the first in her family to attend any kind of professional school.

Midyear meeting addresses issues faced by bar leaders, minority lawyers
Supreme Court Justice Ming Chin and Speaker of the Assembly Herb Wesson will be the featured speakers at the State Bar's Midyear Meeting and the California Minority Attorneys' Conference at the end of the month in Long Beach.

Firms with state contracts must make ‘good faith' effort to do pro bono work
Law firms that contract with the State of California for legal services in excess of $50,000 are now required to certify that they will make a good faith effort to provide pro bono services during each year of the contract

Ethics Update
In an order filed Jan. 10, the Supreme Court of California approved an amendment to the discussion section of Rule of Professional Conduct 3-310. The amendment adds a new paragraph to the discussion section clarifying the rule's intended application to certain representations in the insurance defense context.

State Bar observes 75th anniversary
The achievements of pioneers in the practice of law in the state, as well as a look at how the legal profession has changed over the years, are chronicled in a special section commemorating the 75th anniversary of the State Bar of California.