Sonoma County Bar Association

Date: Monday, December 3, 2018

Time: Check-In: 11:45 am; Presentation: 12:00—1:00 pm

 

 

Last year’s “#Me too” movement, decisions by the U.S. and California Supreme Court on the validity of arbitration clauses, and continuing efforts to clarify the calculation of wages have resulted in a passel of proposed employment legislation in 2018 for the future. Join the Labor and Employment Law Section in discussion of laws signed by the Governor for 2019, as well as new regulations affecting labor and employment issues.

 

 

https://www.sonomacountybar.org/?p=10536

 

 

 

CEBBLOG

November 25, 2018

Julie Brook, Esq. 

 

 

 

 https://blog.ceb.com/2018/11/26/what-to-do-a-month-before-trial/#more-21797

 

 

 

 

Getting Ready for Trial--the Last 90 Days

Michon M. Spinelli, Esq. Partner, Ropers Majeski Kohn Bently (RMKB)

Please join us at RMKB's Redwood City office, 1001 Marshall Street, Suite 500  to learn what to do in the 90 days before trial.

 

RMKB's Redwood City office is located at the corner of Marshall St. and Marshall Ct., on the fifth floor.

Parking:  There is metered street parking on Marshall Street and free parking behind the building. Enter on Walnut between Veterans Blvd. and Marshall Street.

 

When:

November 28, 2018 

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

 

Location:

1001 Marshall Street, Suite 500 Redwood City, CA 94063

 

Registration

• Member – $25.00

  Voting & Associate members

• Non-Member – $35.00
• Student Member – $23.00 

Register

 

 

ABA Journal News 

By Debra Cassens Weiss

Posted November 19, 2018, 11:16 am CST

 

 

The ABA has announced new legal assistance hotlines for victims of California wildfires in Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

 

The number for fire victims in Butte County is 1-800-345-9491, while the number for fire victims in Ventura and Los Angeles counties is 1-877-301-4448, according to press releases by the ABA and the State Bar of California.

 

The hotlines were announced after the California bar warned fire victims that they could be approached by people posing as lawyers, Bloomberg Law reported. The bar also advised consumers that California law bars lawyers from soliciting clients at an accident scene or hospital.

 

Hotline hours are weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PT. People who qualify for assistance are matched with volunteer lawyers who can help with issues such as landlord/tenant problems, mortgage and foreclosure issues, insurance claims, FEMA claims and contractor fraud.

 

The hotline is a joint project of the Disaster Legal Services Program of the ABA Young Lawyers Division, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the State Bar of California, Legal Services of Northern California and Ventura County Legal Aid.

 

The State Bar of California has online legal resources for fire victims here. The latest information on the wildfires, including victim totals, is here and here. As of Monday morning, 77 people had died in the Camp Fire in Butte County, and three people had died in the Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

 

Lawsuits blaming utility companies for the wildfires already have been filed, Law.com reports.

 

A suit filed in San Francisco on Tuesday alleged that PG&E Corp. was liable for the Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise.

 

The suit says the fire began when a high-voltage transmission line failed and ignited a vegetation fire. The suit says PG&E had a duty to maintain its aging infrastructure and could have satisfied its obligations by putting electrical equipment underground in wildfire-prone areas, increasing inspections, and developing protocols to shut down electrical operations in emergency situations.

 

A lawsuit filed on Thursday blames Southern California Edison for the Woolsey Fire. The suit alleges the fire began in two places, beneath power lines and next to a power substation. The suit contends the company failed to maintain its overhead electrical lines, failed to shut down power during “red flag” weather conditions, and failed to clear vegetation.

 

The lawyer who filed the suit against Southern California Edison is Alexander Robertson, a Simi Valley resident who told Law.com that fire already had burned through homes across the street by the time firefighters knocked on his door. His law firm, Robertson & Associates, was under a mandatory evacuation order.

 

 

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/aba_announces_hotline_for_california_fire_victims_california_bar_warns_of_f

 

 

 Morrison & Foerster has created the free 2018 California Wildfires Helping Handbook.  The Handbook provides general and practical information for people, small businesses, and other organizations affected by the fires, and covers many issues including FEMA, consumer fraud, housing, employment, SBA loan assistance, and insurance.  There is also a chapter on Lawyer Referral Services and Legal Aid if you find you need further information or assistance.

 

California State Notary Public

Saturday, January 19, 2019
8:00am - 5:00pm

SF State Downtown Campus
835 Market Street, 6th Floor

 

This one-day course provides all of the required training necessary to become a California notary public. By the end of this course, students will know all the information necessary to pass the State Notary Public exam and fully function as a successful commissioned Notary Public. Notaries public must be California residents; at least 18 years old; pass this course; read, write, and understand English; and pass a background check.

This course is certified by the California Secretary of State and taught by an approved California notary education provider. Per California requirements, late arrivals will not be allowed entry.

 

The state Notary exam is offered immediately following the class. For the exam bring:

• a check or money order for $40 made out to the Secretary of State
• a CA Driver’s License, CA State I.D. card or a U.S. Passport
• a 2x2 photograph
• two #2 pencils

Instructor: Randall Kirby, CA Notary Training Center

 

Register:

Winter registration starts November 5. Register on the 6th floor or by calling 415.405.7700 [option 5]

$150 (.7 CEU) | PLS 9169 Section 01 | Class Number 1053

 

 

 

AIDS Legal Referral Panel

 

Implicit Bias in Employment

 

Sponsored by the State Bar’s Labor & Employment Law Section

 

 

• Thursday, November 29th, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
• Presented by Hina Shah, Esq. – Golden Gate University
• Bar Association of San Francisco – 301 Battery Street, 3^rd Floor, Board Room, San Francisco, CA 94111
• 1.0 Ethics CLE Credits / 1.0 Elimination of Bias CLE Credits = 2.0 CLE Credits total
• Overview: Professor Hina Shah, Director of the Women’s Employment Rights Clinic at Golden Gate University School of Law, will present on how implicit and explicit biases based on race, ethnicity, gender and other protected categories, such as those living with HIV/AIDS, show up in the employment arena especially in the legal profession – from hiring and promotion decisions to how it impacts the litigation of discrimination claims. Professor Shah will address our ethical duties and what actions we can take to end and remedy the harms created by these unfair biases.
• •  

This is a free training open to all attorneys, paralegals, law students, and those interested in the legal field. We hope to see you there!

 

 

 

Sign Up Now!

To Register: Email mcle@alrp.org

 

 

Legal Talk Network 

 

Nov 14, 2018

How California’s Consumer Privacy Act May Impact Your Legal Team

Joel Wuesthoff and Samantha Kim discuss the new California data privacy mandate and explore specific rights that the law grants to California consumers regarding the privacy of their data.

   

In June 2018, the Governor of California signed into law a privacy bill with significant implications for any organization worldwide that possesses or collects personal information on California citizens. Referred to as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, the law, which will take effect on January 1, 2020, already has companies working hard to understand its implications and to identify actions they need to take to achieve compliance.

 

In this episode of The Robert Half Legal Report, host Charles Volkert, senior district president at Robert Half Legal, is joined by two members of the company’s consulting solutions practice – managing director Joel Wuesthoff and director Samantha Kim. They discuss the new California data privacy mandate, explore specific rights that the law grants to California consumers regarding the privacy of their data and examine which types of businesses – and law firms – are subject to the legislation. They also review key steps organizations should take to ensure they attain compliance with the law by the January 2020 deadline.

 

 

Featured Guests

Samantha Kim

 

Samantha Kim is a director with Robert Half Legal’s consulting solutions practice, based in New York City. She served as a deputy district attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Alameda county and Contra Costa county, prior to joining Robert Half. She earned a law degree from the University of Santa Clara School of Law.

 

 

Joel Wuesthoff

 

Joel Wuesthoff is a former practicing attorney, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and a managing director for Robert Half Legal.

 

Your Host

Charles Volkert

 

Charles Volkert is senior district president of Robert Half Legal,

 

 

 

https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/robert-half-legal-report/2018/11/how-californias-consumer-privacy-act-may-impact-your-legal-team/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 CAPA Officers for 2019 

American Bar Association 

By Debra Cassens Weiss

Posted November 14, 2018, 4:30 pm CST

 

 

Photo by Visual3Dfocus/Shutterstock.com

 

ABA President Bob Carlson is applauding a bill that would expand the protections of the Fair Housing Act to prevent discrimination based on a person’s lawful source of income.

 

Last year, the ABA House of Delegates adopted policy urging the implementation of such legislation and opposing prejudice against people who rely on government support to make ends meet, Carlson said in the Nov. 14 letter.

 

Carlson praised the bill in a letter to its sponsors, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who posted press releases here and here. The bill, called the Fair Housing Improvement Act of 2018, would bar housing discrimination based on income source or veteran status, according to the press releases.

 

“Every year, families are denied housing opportunities simply because their lawful and sufficient income is not accepted by a property owner,” Carlson wrote. “These denials occur often for persons who rely on support from the government for their housing.”  

 

Fifteen states and more than 72 jurisdictions currently prohibit source-of-income discrimination in some form, according to Carlson.

 

Landlords sometimes reject people because they receive Supplemental Security Income or military-service-connected disability compensation, the letter said. In such cases, the rejection may be pretextual and intended to exclude people who have disabilities.

 

The discrimination most often occurs, the letter said, when landlords refuse to accept tenants who use the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Such vouchers provide federal rent subsidies to make private-market housing affordable. In some places, almost 50 percent of people receiving the vouchers are unable to use them before they expire.

 

Vouchers for veterans, which are a subset of the program, are called Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers.

 

“We stand ready to work with you in advancing this vitally important legislation,” Carlson wrote.

 

 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/aba_backs_legislation_that_would_bar_housing_bias_against_people_based_on_I