State Supreme Court reinforces basic freedoms
This was a big year for the California Supreme Court, perhaps its biggest year this decade. It would be impossible to overstate the importance of the Court’s decision in In re Marriage Cases (2008) 43 Cal.4th 757, where the Court struck down California statutes that limited marriage to a union “between a man and a woman.” The case is important not only because of its result and its political significance, but also because of the subsidiary legal holdings leading to the result and the style of reasoning employed in the decision.

The best in pro bono are honored
A San Diego lawyer who lost his home in a 2003 wildfire organized his neighbors and staffed a help desk at the disaster relief center when fires ravaged the county again last year. One of the largest law firms in the state donated an astonishing 23,000 free hours, worth an estimated $11 million, to hundreds of indigent clients in northern California. The 82-year-old retired chief counsel for a state agency has volunteered regularly for 13 years at a legal help hotline for senior citizens.

These are just a few of the attorneys and law firms to be honored with the 2008 State Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award.

Researcher sues bar for exam data
Personal and academic information about applicants for the California bar examination is collected by the State Bar under assurances of confidentiality and limited use and therefore cannot be released to a UCLA researcher seeking the data, the State Bar argued in papers filed with the Supreme Court last month.

Fee arb trainings slated for September and October
Three training sessions for prospective and current volunteer attorneys who arbitrate attorney-client fee disputes for mandatory fee arbitration programs through the Monterey, Solano and Kern county bar associations and the State Bar will be held in September and October.

Last names H-M: fulfill your MCLE requirement at the Annual Meeting
The State Bar will return to Monterey at the end of the month for its 2008 Annual Meeting, where members of MCLE compliance group 2 (last names begin with H-M) can fulfill their entire requirement.

2007- 08 Exhibitor Directory
The businesses and services listed here support the State Bar through various means, most notably as exhibitors at the State Bar's Annual Meeting. Visit them online or via phone to serve your individual needs.