More than 4,000 lawyers and legal professionals are
expected to gather later this month in San Diego for the State Bar’s Annual Meeting,
where new bar leaders will be sworn in, attorneys who have done outstanding pro bono work
will be honored and participants can earn educational credits.
From Sept. 14-17, the Hyatt Regency and the Marriott Hotel and Marina
will be overtaken by members of the bar and their families as they take advantage of
low-cost MCLE classes and enjoy the cultural and leisure activities offered by the
southern California city.
 Kicking
off the weekend is the Thursday luncheon, sponsored by the Foundation of the State Bar,
featuring Ronald M. Shapiro of Maryland, one of the most respected agent-attorneys in
baseball. Shapiro’s dispute resolution talents have facilitated solutions to human
relations problems and issues in governmental and corporate disputes. He is the author of
The Power of Nice and hosts a series of primetime NBC-affiliate TV specials.
Later that day, recipients of the State Bar Presi-
dent’s Pro Bono Service Awards and the winner of the Loren
Miller Legal Services Award will be honored at the president’s reception from 7 to 10
p.m. at the San Diego Aerospace Museum in Balboa Park. Honorees will include individuals
from each of the nine State Bar districts, as well as law firms from northern and southern
California, and outstanding retired attorneys who have volunteered their services to the
public. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Laurie Zelon will receive the Loren Miller award.
(See page 1.)
Tickets to the event include hors d’oeuvres, wine-tasting and a
self-guided tour of the museum’s exceptional exhibits.
Pamela Samuelson, professor at the University of California at
Berkeley, is the speaker at the Friday luncheon and will discuss the challenges that new
information technologies pose for traditional legal regimes in an address entitled,
“Will the Internet Transform the Legal Profession?” Samuelson, who has a joint
appointment to the School of Information Management & Systems as well as in the School
of Law, recently announced the creation of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology,
where she will serve as co-director.
Friday wraps up with the 26th California Women Lawyers’ annual
dinner, where the organization will honor Beth H. Parker of San Francisco and Sharon
Kalemkiarian of San Diego as recipients of the Fay Stender Award. U.S. District Judge
Marilyn Hall Patel and Assembly-woman Sheila Kuehl will speak at the dinner.
After a few days of sitting in meetings, a chance to get the old
ticker pumping and refresh “the little gray cells” will be offered early
Saturday morning with a 5K power walk along the scenic shoreline at Seaport Village. The
timed run is open to all levels, and guests are encouraged to participate. The entry fee
includes a T-shirt, light refreshments and awards.
 Palmer Brown Madden of Contra Costa County will be sworn in later Saturday as
the 75th president of the State Bar, following Chief Justice Ronald George’s annual
state of the judiciary address. In addition, five new members of the bar’s board of
governors will take their seats at that time.
The luncheon that day will feature the annual Morrison Address. The
speaker had not been confirmed at press time, but past speakers include Kenneth Starr,
Esther Lardent and Abner Mikva.
The long day ends with the Bench & Bar dinner dance, featuring
entertainment by Haute Chili and musical comedy troupe Frivolous Motions.
The Sunday lunch features Sarah Weddington, a respected Texas
attorney who served as a state legislator and as former President Jimmy Carter’s
special assistant on women’s issues.
Other highlights of the meeting include the annual confab of the
Conference of Delegates, which will debate resolutions affecting all areas of law in
California and hear from Attorney General Bill Lockyer, an art show including works
ranging from painting and drawing to photography, and exhibitions by more than 100
companies and organizations involved in the legal profession.
 During the four-day meeting, 162 educational programs will be offered, the vast
majority with MCLE credit. Every attorney attending will have the opportunity to earn up
to 18 hours of MCLE credit during the long weekend. For the first time, an audio clinic
will be available to participants so they may earn credit at any time during the four-day
meeting.
Presented by the bar’s education sections and other specialty
groups, the courses range from a discussion of DNA testing to fees to mediation to domain
name disputes.
A full listing of the courses can be found in the Annual Meeting
Preview, online at www.calbar.org/annualmeeting. |
