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BOG ballots mailed; vote by
July 1
Ballots were mailed to all eligible voters in
four State Bar districts at the end of April and must be returned by
July 1. Fifteen candidates are running for five seats in the four
districts. They are:
 District 4
(San Francisco and Marin counties): Laura Goldin, 48, a partner in the
San Francisco firm Rothschild & Goldin; Marie F. Hogan, 52,
NextCard Inc. senior counsel; Roderick A. McLeod, 53, a partner with
Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP; Robert H. Perez, 65, supervising
attorney with the San Francisco Department of Child Support Services;
and Matthew N. White, 47, a San Rafael sole practitioner and of
counsel to Keegin, Harrison, Schoppert & Smith.
District 7,
Office 1 (Los Angeles County): Stephen J. Ipsen, 41, deputy district
attorney and Matthew St.
George, 52.
District 7,
Office 2: Michelle "Mickey" Katz, 60, a certified family law
specialist and family law mediator, and David M. Marcus, 49, partner
with Marcus, Watanabe, Snyder and Dave LLP.
District 8
(Orange County): Richard L. Dombrow, 58, of Santa Ana, a family law
sole practitioner; Grace E. Emery, 75, of Orange, a sole practitioner
in employment law; Jack P. Holmes, 41, of Fullerton, a sole
practitioner who specializes in business litigation, personal injury
and immigration law; Richard W. Millar Jr., 63, of Newport Beach,
partner with Millar, Hodges & Bemis; and Joel S. Miliband, 49, of
Irvine, a partner with Rus, Miliband & Smith.
In District 6 (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara,
Kern, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties), James O.
Heiting ran unopposed and was automatically elected. Heiting, 53, is a
partner with Heiting & Irwin in Riverside.
Information about the candidates is available at
the State Bar's website: www.calbar.ca.gov.
Winners will take office Oct. 10 at the bar's
annual meeting in Monterey. New board members are elected by attorneys
whose place of business is in the bar district in which an election is
held.
Nominations sought for four
State Bar awards
The State Bar is seeking nominations for three
awards presented annually to California attorneys who have provided
substantial free legal assistance to the state's low income
residents. In addition, a new award honoring efforts toward promoting
diversity in the legal profession has been established.
Nominations are being accepted for the following
awards:
President's Pro Bono Service Awards: Recognizes outstanding pro bono
legal service contributions made by an individual attorney or a team
of attorneys from each of the nine bar districts. The award is
presented in these categories: corporate (employed by a corporation),
government (employed by a local, state or federal agency), retired and
recently admitted (first four years of practice).
In addition, small (2-10), medium (11-99) and
large (100+) law firms will be honored for their contributions. A
branch of a law firm is also eligible for nomination.
Loren Miller
Legal Services Award: Honors an attorney who has demonstrated
long-term commitment to legal services and who has personally done
significant work in extending legal services to the poor.
Jack Berman
Award of Achievement: Honors a young lawyer (first five years of
active State Bar membership or age 36 and under) who has provided
outstanding service to the legal profession and public, and dedication
to issues of concern to new and young lawyers.
Diversity
Award: Honors outstanding efforts made by a bar association and an
individual attorney in promoting diversity in the legal profession.
The deadline to submit applications is June 7.
Guidelines and nomination forms may be accessed on the bar's web
site, www.calbar.ca.gov, or by
contacting Kate O'Connor, 415/538-2141, Kate.OConnor@calbar.ca.gov;
or Rodney Low, 415/538-2219, Rodney.Low@calbar.ca.gov.
Fee arb training scheduled in
San Francisco July 17
Recent developments in fee arbitration will be
discussed at a training program in San Francisco sponsored by the
State Bar's Committee on Mandatory Fee Arbitration. The free
training offers 2.75 hours of MCLE credit, including one hour of legal
ethics.
The training is scheduled for July 17, from 5:30
- 8:30 p.m., in the Sequoia Room of the Judicial Council Conference
Center, 455 Golden Gate Ave. It is for arbitrators for the Bar
Association of San Francisco as well as State Bar fee arbitrators.
Among the topics for discussion are how to write
an enforceable award, conflicts of interest, disclosure requirements
and how to control the proceeding.
To register, contact BASF ADR Services at
415/982-1600 (phone) or 415/477-2388 (fax). For more information, call
Jill Sperber, director of the State Bar Office of Mandatory Fee
Arbitration, at 415/538-2023.
Low pass rate - 33.4%
- for February bar exam
Only 33.4 percent of the applicants who took the
February 2002 bar exam passed, the lowest pass rate in several years.
The Committee of Bar Examiners also announced
that 200 (56.3 percent) of the 355 attorneys who took the Attorneys'
Examination passed.
The committee said 1,361 of the 4,070 applicants
were successful. Of those numbers, 32.2 percent were first-time
test-takers, and 47.9 percent of that group passed the exam.
Among the 2,758 repeat test-takers, only 26.5
percent passed.
Legal services board is looking
for a new member
Attorneys interested in serving on the board of
directors for Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC) are invited
to submit an application to the State Bar. One three-year position is
open in the Butte Region, which includes Butte, Plumas, Glenn, Tehama
and Colusa Counties. Applicants must practice or reside in one of
these counties. Deadline for receipt of applications is July 5.
Legal Services of Northern California is a
non-profit Legal Services Corporation-funded program created to
provide legal assistance to low-income residents of 23 northern
California counties. The 36-member board meets five times a year to
make policy decisions governing the program's operations.
Interested attorneys should apply by letter and
include a resume outlining work experience, community activity and
educational background. The materials should be sent to Chris
Zupanovich, State Bar of California, 180 Howard Street, San Francisco,
CA 94105. Questions may be directed to 415/538-2534 or chris.zupanovich@calbar.ca.gov.
The State Bar has a new website
address
The State Bar has changed the address of its
website to www.calbar.ca.gov.
In addition, staffers' e-mail addresses are changed to the
individual's first name, period, last name@calbar.ca.gov. The bar
has revamped its website and introduced the first phase last month.
More changes to make the site more interactive
with members will be introduced in the coming months.
Comment sought on plain English
jury instructions
The Judicial Council Task Force on Jury
Instructions recently released a new set of civil jury
instructions for public comment. The task force is interested
in reactions to style, format, legal accuracy, clarity and usefulness
of accompanying notes and commentary.
The deadline for sending in comments is Sept. 4.
Information about the instructions and how to
submit comments is available at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/invitationstocomment/aproposals.htm.
Written comments may be sent to Anita Kashu,
Judicial Council, 455 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102-3660.
Professional rules revision project gets underway
The board of governors has reinstated the
14-member Commission for the Revision of the Rules of Professional
Conduct in an effort to evaluate existing California Rules of
Professional Conduct. Public hearings will be held in San Francisco
June 29 and at the State Bar's Annual Meeting in Monterey Oct.
10-13.
Fee arbitrators needed
The State Bar seeks fee arbitrators for its
mandatory fee arbitration program. Voluntary arbitrators serve for a
minimum term of two years. Attorney applicants must be active members
in good standing of the State Bar of California for a minimum of five
years.
Criminal lawyers are encouraged to apply.
The application may be downloaded from the State
Bar's website, www.calbar.ca.gov.
For more information, call 415/538-2020.
MCLE compliance group 2 faces
Feb. 1 deadline
Members of MCLE compliance group 2 (last names
H-M) who are not part of an exempt group must complete 25 hours of
continuing legal education by the compliance deadline of Feb. 1, 2003.
Attorneys who comply after that date may be
subject to a $75 fine.
E-briefs offer bar news
The State Bar recently launched "e-briefs," a
short summary of recent news developments or announcements of interest
to lawyers. The mailings are provided on a timely basis. If you wish
to be put on our internet mailing list, please provide your e-mail
address to barcomm@calbar.ca.gov. |
