|
|
|
| Bar dues, MCLE restored |
 |
| Supreme Court upholds bar's MCLE program in its entirety |
|
By NANCY McCARTHY
Staff Writer |
|
| After a two-year hiatus, it's back to school for California attorneys,
although fewer continuing education hours will be required and the program faces further
scrutiny by a State Bar-appointed commission. In a 5-2 decision, the Supreme Court
reversed a lower court at the end of August and found the State Bar's minimum continuing
legal education (MCLE) program constitutional. Ten days later, Gov. Gray Davis signed the
bar's fee bill, reducing the education requirement from 36 to 25 hours over three years
and junking the exemption for retired judges, although the court upheld that exemption.
The legislation also requires four hours of ethics instruction and eliminates the law
practice management requirement. The MCLE commission will study all program requirements
and is expected to report next year.
Following the court ruling, the bar's board of governors extended the deadline for some
50,000 procrastinators to fulfill the old requirement and set new deadlines for compliance
with the new 25-hour standard.
In its decision, the court held that the MCLE program does not violate equal protection
rights by exempting law professors, retired judges and elected state officials.
"Although the wisdom of some or |
See MCLE RULING |
|
| Governor signs $395 fee bill, ending 2-year political battle |
|
By NANCY McCARTHY
Staff Writer |
|
| With little fanfare and almost no media coverage, Gov. Gray
Davis, with a stroke of his pen, signed legislation last month that ended nearly two years
of layoffs, cutbacks and a state of perpetual uncertainty for California's mandatory bar. The
new bill sets State Bar annual dues for most California lawyers at $395, reduces from 36
to 25 the number of MCLE hours required over a three-year period, restricts lobbying and
prohibits the use of mandatory fees to fund the Conference of Delegates and the bar's
special interest education sections.
"This is very good news for us," said former bar president Raymond C.
Marshall. "I am extremely gratified that we have the fee bill and a restructured and
reorganized bar."
"It's a great day for the bar," added new president Andrew J. Guilford.
"Now the bar can do its good work, but we have to be careful not to repeat the
mistakes of the past."
Reduction in dues
Under SB 144, co-authored by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, and Assemblyman Robert
Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, the dues are significantly reduced from the $458 authorized in the
1997 measure vetoed by former Gov. Pete Wilson. At their highest level, the annual fees
reached $478.
The new bill, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2000, also offers reduced fees |
See GOVERNOR SIGNS |
|
| A man for all seasons leads the bar into a new century |
|
 Andy Guilford's office
serves as a microcosm of all that is important to him: Family photographs, bookshelves
crammed with biographies, lawbooks and mementoes of courtroom victories, a cabinet filled
with CDs ranging from baroque music to the Rolling Stones, walls covered with his memories
and achievements.Baseball, the Episcopal church, music, Winston Churchill and Don
Quixote, lawyers and the law - all are represented in this corner of the third floor of
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton in Costa Mesa.
 Guilford, sworn in as the 74th president of the State Bar this month, is a man
of myriad interests for whom there are not enough hours in the day. "So much to do,
so little time," he laments.
On a day when radio talker Dr. Laura Schles-singer has sued one of his clients,
Guilford's phone machine contains 34 messages. He returns some, of-fering up sound bites
in which he calls Dr. Laura a bully. The case consumes much of the day, but |
See GUILFORD |
|
| Reprieved for one year, but lawyers still must comply |
|
| Thousands of California lawyers who put off compliance with continuing
education requirements got a reprieve last month when the bar's board of governors
extended the deadline for at least a year. The good news for those who are up-to-date is
a reduction in the number of hours required by new deadlines; the bad news for
procrastina- |
See MCLE COMPLIANCE |
|
