REGULARS

Meetings and educational programs will be held at the Hyatt Regency, the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center and the Renaissance Hotel.

The convention opens Thursday with a luncheon address by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and the chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson RiverKeeper.

A cocktail reception for attendees will be held in the exhibit hall Thursday evening, offering an opportunity to meet exhibitors and visit informally. There is no charge, and the St. Francis Vineyard of Kenwood will offer complimentary wine tasting.

CEB will hold a reception from 5 - 7 p.m., highlighted by the presentation of the Jack Berman Award, honoring a young lawyer who has provided outstanding service to the legal profession and the public and who is dedicated to issues of concern to young and new attorneys.

Pro bono awards

The annual State Bar President's Pro Bono Service Awards will be presented at the president's reception at 7:15 p.m. Winners will be named for each of the nine bar districts, two law firms (northern and southern California) and two emeritus attorneys, also from both parts of the state.

The event will be held at the Aquarium of the Pacific, where guests can explore a diversity of marine habitats, from the California coastal waters to a tropical coral reef in Micronesia to the northern Pacific. The world-renowned aquarium - more than 156,000 square feet of marine life - is designed to mirror the undulating waves of the ocean.

UCLA law professor Michael Asimow will address a Friday luncheon co-sponsored by the Estate Planning Section. Co-author of "Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies," Asimow specializes in administrative law, and teaches income tax, contracts and a seminar in law and popular culture. He wrote "Bad Lawyers in the Movies," a discussion of the connection between negative portrayals of attorneys in film and the negative image of lawyers, for the 1999 Nova Law Review.

The $30 lunch includes one hour of MCLE credit.

The Conference of Delegates will begin its work Friday at 2 p.m. and will hear from Attorney General Bill Lockyer at 4 p.m. that afternoon. The conference meets at the convention center through Sunday.

Saturday's activities begin early with a 5K run/walk along the shore. Esther Lardent, a longtime proponent of legal services to the poor, will deliver the annual Morrison Address at the Bench and Bar luncheon.

From the chief justice

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George will give his annual State of the Judiciary address Saturday at 11 a.m. at the convention center.

The chief justice will then swear in a new State Bar president as well as five new members of the board of governors, board members of the California Young Lawyers Association and the executive committee of the Conference of Delegates.

The Loren Miller Award, the bar's most prestigious honor for an attorney who has demonstrated longterm commitment to legal services and who has personally done significant work in extending legal services to the poor, will be presented before the Conference of Delegates at 2 p.m.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein will address the California Women Lawyers Saturday night as they celebrate their 25th anniversary. Tickets are $85 per person; reservations may be made through CWL at 916/441-3703 or registrants can purchase tickets from the bar's office of meeting services.

MCLE courses begin Thursday afternoon, end Sunday at noon, and will cover dozens of interest areas, from fundamental to advanced levels. They are sponsored by the bar's sections, individual committees, the Judicial Council, CEB and the bar's office of professional competence.

Topics range from time management to civility to retirement planning to Y2K issues. Attorneys can learn how to build a web site in one hour, get tips on avoiding malpractice and properly managing client trust accounts, and find answers to e-filing questions.

Seminars also will cover mediation, a user's guide to fee agreements, doing business in Mexico, interpreter services in court, new developments in DNA typing and "The Danger of the Disloyal Employee."

Courses range from the highly technical - "Fibromyalgia and Connective Tissue Diseases" - to the very general - "High Tech Court-room for the Technically Challenged: It's Easier Than You Think."

Further information about the annual meeting is available by calling 415/538-2210..