California Lawyers Association  

Description:

The program will cover procedures in state and federal courts for retention, discovery, and presentation of experts at trial and provide a methodology for maximizing the effective use of experts at trial.  

Faculty:

Peter Isola:

Peter Isola represents investors, lenders, loan servicers, foreclosure trustees, and other parties in the defense of claims involving real property, including actions based on alleged violations of California's Homeowner Bill of Rights (HBOR) and Unfair Competition Law (UCL). Mr. Isola also represents businesses and professionals in various sectors as lead counsel in trials and binding arbitrations. His practice focuses on the resolution of disputes in state, federal and bankruptcy courts. Mr. Isola is an original member and former Co-Chair of the Business Law Section's Business Litigation Committee, in which he remains a member. Mr. Isola has edited, authored, and contributed to publications of the Business Law and Real Property Law sections of the CLA.

Harold A. Justman

 Harold Justman was a practicing real estate attorney from 1976 to 2012. From 2013 to 2016, he was an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate at Menlo College in Atherton. Mr. Justman is a licensed California Real Estate Broker. He began serving as an expert witness in 1979. He has qualified as a trial expert witness on the standard of care of real estate brokers and other real property matters in the Superior Courts for the counties of Alameda, Marin, Merced, Contra Costa, Shasta, Santa Cruz, Fresno, Placer, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, San Diego, San Mateo, San Francisco, San Joaquin and Sonoma and in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Mr. Justman has co-authored articles in the California Real Property Law Journal, including "Foreclosure Law in California" [vol. 31, no. 4 (2013)] and "Loan Modification Law in California", [vol. 32, no. 2 (2014)]. 

California Lawyers Association 

Cross Border Divorces: Where Breaking Up Is Harder To Do

Family Law Section

Description:

 Divorce is often a long and complicated process even between couples of the same nationality, but the problems grow exponentially when couples have connections to different countries. With divorce rates still hovering at 50% globally, and increasing numbers of people with spouses from another country, Global Family Wealth Strategist Joan Crain explores the issues when, inevitably, some cross-border marriages breakdown.  Key issues include:

• Choosing where to file for divorce 
• Different treatment of alimony, property settlements and trusts between jurisdictions
• Tax considerations
• Collecting the assets and actually enforcing the divorce decree 

Faculty:

Joan Crain: 

 Joan Crain is a senior director for BNY Mellon Wealth Management. As a global family wealth strategist, Joan works closely with wealthy families and their advisors to provide comprehensive wealth planning
Joan joined the firm in 2001 and has more than 25 years of experience working with large multi-national and multi-generational families. She specializes in cross border planning, business succession and family governance. She is frequently invited to speak to clients and professional groups such as the American Bar Association, the Hong Kong American Chamber of Commerce and numerous estate planning councils throughout the United States, Canada, the Middle East and Asia. She has recently been featured in various publications and broadcast media including The Wall Street Journal, Trusts & Estates magazine, the American Journal of Family Law and CNBC-Asia.

Joan received her MBA (Finance) from Rollins College, her Bachelor of Education from Queens University, and her Bachelor of Music from McGill University. She holds the designations of Certified Financial Planner, Certified Trust & Financial Advisor and the international trust and estate designation TEP.

Joan is past chair of the board of directors and current member of the investment committee for the Community Foundation of Broward. She was a founding contributor to The GCC Governance Code of the Family Business Council-Gulf. She is also on the Executive Committee of the Florida Bankers Association, and is a liaison between the Trust Division and the Florida Bar.

Kelly Robbins, Moderator

Contact us at (877) 880-1335

Email Us

Sonoma County Bar Association

Survivors as Advocates: Disaster Impacts on Legal Professionals

Survivors of disasters are the best suited to deliver services in the local disaster area, however, they are at risk for secondary traumatic stress due to their own exposure and being with their clients’ reactions.

This Training Will Cover:
~ Disaster Impacts: Collective and Individual
~ Disaster Impacts on the Legal/Mental Health Systems
~ Signs and Symptoms of Secondary Traumatic Stress
~ Tools for Mitigating Risk: Building Resiliency
~ Resources for the Advocates and Their Clients.

Wendy Wheelwright, Project Manager, California HOPE

Wendy Wheelwright has been a skilled clinician within Community Mental Health for the past 20 years. She is currently the Project Manager for California HOPE, a FEMA-funded program to support the emotional recovery of disaster survivors. Additionally, she serves as the Quality Improvement Manager for Sonoma County Behavioral Health Division, overseeing system level policy and process improvements. Previously, she served as the Workforce Education and Training Coordinator, facilitating staff development, credentialing, and clinical fidelity of specialty programs. Prior to assuming her role at Sonoma County, she worked with Progress Foundation overseeing the start-up, day-to-day operation, and expansion of the Crisis Residential Unit from a single 6-bed program to multiple 10-12 bed programs. Wendy also has extensive experience as a Forensic Therapist, working with mandated treatment programs, Probation, CPS, and Victim Assistance. She maintains a small private practice in Santa Rosa, specializing in Trauma-Based Disorders. Wendy has a strong passion for teaching and currently holds a faculty position with the University of San Francisco, teaching in the Masters in Counseling program on weekends and evenings.

Date: Friday, November 30, 2018

 

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

 

Presenter(s): Wendy Wheelwright, Project Manager, California HOPE

 

Place: SCBA Office, 111 Santa Rosa Ave., Ste. 222, Santa Rosa, CA 95404.
Parking for this seminar is ONLY available in the Public Parking Garage at 555 First Street. Do not park in the parking lot at 111 Santa Rosa Avenue.

 

MCLE: 1.0 Unit Participatory MCLE Credit in Competence Issues

 

Registration Fee: $60–SCBA Members; $75–Public;

Student: $20 (The student discount is now available online for SCBA Student Members. Students who are not members of SCBA may utilize the student discount by downloading the registration form and submitting it with proof of current enrollment to the SCBA Offices. For more information on becoming a member of SCBA, please contact Susan Demers at (707) 542-1190 ext. 18.)

 

 

Click Here to Register

 

Click Here to Download the Registration Flyer

 

 

 

Sonoma County Bar Association

Introduction to Easement Law

Sonoma County Bar Association    

Fiduciary Income Tax Returns 101

Ms. Fritsche will discuss estate income tax returns and how they differ from trust income tax returns. She will review the different types of reporting trusts and provide a general overview of taxation. There will also be a discussion on selected topics related to fiduciary income tax returns, including the effect of the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Joni Fritsche, CPA, AEP
Managing Director, Tax
Burr Pilger Mayer, Inc.

Ms. Fritsche has thirty-four years of CPA firm tax and accounting experience. Her practice is currently focused on the areas of estate and trust planning, administration, and taxation. Ms. Fritsche works closely with attorneys, private fiduciaries, executors, closely-held business owners and private client services to oversee the orderly transfer of assets to beneficiaries, taking into consideration the tax aspects of such holdings and transfers. She also provides tax advisory services to high net-worth individuals.

Date: Friday, November 16, 2018

 

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

 

Presenter(s):
Joni Fritsche, CPA, AEP, Managing Director, Tax
Burr Pilger Mayer, Inc.

 

Place: SCBA Office, 111 Santa Rosa Ave., Ste. 222, Santa Rosa, CA 95404.
Parking for this seminar is ONLY available in the Public Parking Garage at 555 First Street. Do not park in the parking lot at 111 Santa Rosa Avenue.

 

MCLE: 1.0 Unit Participatory Credit in General Law

 

Registration Fee: $60–SCBA Members; $75–Public;

 

Student: $20 (The student discount is now available online for SCBA Student Members. Students who are not members of SCBA may utilize the student discount by downloading the registration form and submitting it with proof of current enrollment to the SCBA Offices. For more information on becoming a member of SCBA, please contact Susan Demers at (707) 542-1190 ext. 18.)

 

 

Click Here to Register

 

Click Here to Download the Registration Flyer

 

 

 

Sonoma County Bar Association   

Competent to Stand Trial?

Issues Related to California Penal Code 1368 & 1370

This Presentation Will Cover:
~ The Statutory Framework of 1368 et seq.

Before the doubt:
~ The Prosecutor’s Role in Competency Proceedings.
~ Defense Counsel’s Role: Identifying Competency Issues/Representing the Incompetent Client.

After the doubt:
~ Placement: Outpatient, Jail Based Competency, and State Hospitals
~ Restoration Proceedings: Medication, Treatment, and Non-Restorability.

Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2018

 

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

 

Presenter(s):

Anne Masterson, Chief Deputy District Attorney
Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office

 

Alexa Stone, LCSW, Behavioral Health Clinician
Sonoma County Department of Health Services

 

Emily Mann, LMFT
California Forensic Medical Group, Inc.

 

Lynne Stark-Slater, Chief Deputy Public Defender
Sonoma County Public Defender’s Office

 

Place: SCBA Office, 111 Santa Rosa Ave., Ste. 222, Santa Rosa, CA 95404.
NOTE: Parking for this seminar is ONLY available in the Public Parking Garage at 555 First Street.
Do not park in the parking lot at 111 Santa Rosa Avenue.

 

MCLE: 1.0 Unit Participatory Credit in General Law

 

Registration Fee: $60–SCBA Members; $75–Public;

 

Student: $20 (The student discount is now available online for SCBA Student Members. Students who are not members of SCBA may utilize the student discount by downloading the registration form and submitting it with proof of current enrollment to the SCBA Offices. For more information on becoming a member of SCBA, please contact Susan Demers at (707) 542-1190 ext. 18.)

 

Click Here to Register

 

Click Here to Download the Registration Flyer

 

 

 

Sonoma County Bar Association  

Serving on Nonprofit Boards: Good Governance & Guidelines for Attorneys

Join us for an interactive discussion of the fiduciary duties imposed on directors of nonprofit organizations, the ethical duties imposed on lawyers, the potential issues that may arise for attorneys serving on nonprofit boards and strategies for mitigating such risks.

Joy Durand, Dickenson, Peatman & Fogerty

Ms. Durand joined DP&F in 2015 and is an associate in the firm’s Intellectual Property Group. She is responsible for trademark enforcement and litigation in federal court and the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Ms. Durand also prosecutes trademark applications before the USPTO. Ms. Durand earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Saint Mary’s College of California, her Master’s degree in Business Administration from Sonoma State University and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. As a law student, Ms. Durand had the unique opportunity to work as an extern to the Honorable Ming Chin of the California Supreme Court, and as an intern in the office of the general counsel for the San Francisco Giants. Ms. Durand currently serves on the Board of Directors of Burbank Housing and Cardinal Newman High School.

Jeremy L. Little, Carle Mackie Power & Ross, LLP

Mr. Little is an experienced real estate and business transactional attorney in his firm’s food and alcoholic beverage group with an emphasis on business formation, land use, raising capital, alcoholic beverage compliance, contracts, trademarks, and the purchase and sale of related companies. In that role, he has counseled food, beer, wine, cider, and spirits companies in their formation, growth, and reorganization, including the sale of their companies and the acquisition of other companies. He has also negotiated, drafted, and closed capital raises, and business and real estate transactions. Mr. Little has guided companies through the gauntlet of regulations imposed by the ABC, TTB, and other city, county, state, and federal bureaucracies. He also advises companies and individuals on the sale, purchase, and use of real estate including easements, leases, and development agreements. Mr. Little has served on numerous boards most currently for the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Date: Monday, November 5, 2018

 

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

 

Presenter(s):
Joy Durand, Dickenson, Peatman & Fogerty
Jeremy L. Little, Carle Mackie Power & Ross, LLP

 

Place: SCBA Office, 111 Santa Rosa Ave., Ste. 222, Santa Rosa, CA 95404.
Parking for this seminar is ONLY available in the Public Parking Garage at 555 First Street. Do not park in the parking lot at 111 Santa Rosa Avenue.

 

MCLE: 1 Unit Participatory MCLE Credit in General Law

 

Registration Fee: $60–SCBA Members; $75–Public;

 

Student: $20 (The student discount is now available online for SCBA Student Members. Students who are not members of SCBA may utilize the student discount by downloading the registration form and submitting it with proof of current enrollment to the SCBA Offices. For more information on becoming a member of SCBA, please contact Susan Demers at (707) 542-1190 ext. 18.)

 

Click Here to Register

 

Click Here to Download the Registration Flyer

 

 

Congratulations to the 2019 Board and Officers!

Marin County Bar Association

Meet our Marin County Judges

Enjoy lunch with friends old and new as we honor our Marin County Judges.
Register early! This is one of our most popular events of the year.

Questions for the bench?
Please email your questions to info@marinbar.org by Oct 17th.

Plated Lunch

Please make your meal selection during registration:
Chicken Caesar Salad
Cobb Salad
Grilled Salmon Salad

Contact

Kiersten Ross | Email
Mee Mee Wong | Email

Date and Location

Wednesday | October 24, 2018
11:45A-1:30P

McInnis Club Restaurant
350 Smith Ranch Rd
San Rafael, CA 94903

ABA Journal News 

Legal Ethics

ABA ethics opinion offers guidance on data breaches

By Jason Tashea

Posted October 17, 2018, 4:20 pm CDT

Image from Shutterstock.

Lawyers have to safeguard client data and notify clients of a data breach, and the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has issued a formal opinion that reaffirms that duty.

In Formal Opinion 483, issued Tuesday, the standing committee also provided new guidance to help attorneys take reasonable steps to meet this obligation.

“Lawyers today face daunting challenges from the risk of data breaches and cyber attacks that can lead to disclosure of client confidences,” says Barbara S. Gillers, chair of the standing committee. “Formal Opinion 483 offers helpful guidance on how the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct should inform lawyers’ approaches to these risks in order to comply with the duty to protect client information.”

This opinion builds on the standing committee’s Formal Opinion 477R released in May 2017, which set forth a lawyer’s ethical obligation to secure protected client information when communicating digitally.

“When a breach of protected client information is either suspected or detected, Rule 1.1 requires that the lawyer act reasonably and promptly to stop the breach and mitigate damage resulting from the breach,” Formal Opinion 483 says.

To that end, this week’s new formal opinion only discusses the breach of client data, not other data breaches that may also require action on the part of an attorney or firm.

The ethics opinion implicates Model Rule 1.1 (competence), Model Rule 1.4 (communications), Model Rule 1.6 (confidentiality of information), Model Rule 1.15 (safekeeping property), Model Rule 5.1 (responsibilities of a partner or supervisory lawyer) and Model Rule 5.3 (responsibilities regarding nonlawyer assistance).

Like many ethics opinions regarding technology, this opinion does not endorse particular hardware or software, but rather presents “reasonable” steps a lawyer could take.

“As a matter of preparation and best practices, however, lawyers should consider proactively developing an incident response plan with specific plans and procedures for responding to a data breach,” states the opinion. “The decision whether to adopt a plan, the content of any plan and actions taken to train and prepare for implementation of the plan should be made before a lawyer is swept up in an actual breach.”

These recommendations are to be tailored to a lawyer’s particular needs and potential threats.

The opinion states that these efforts may include restoring or implementing technology systems where it is practical, but also declining a technology solution if a task does not require it. The idea here being that internet-enabled services increase a firm’s vulnerabilities. The opinion also recommends, in a footnote, that firms should have data retention policies that limit their possession of personally identifiable information.

The opinion ends on a somber reminder that even if attorneys follow the Model Rules and make “reasonable efforts” to prevent disclosure and access to client information, they may still experience a data breach. “When they do, they have a duty to notify clients of the data breach under Model Rule 1.4 in sufficient detail to keep clients ‘reasonably informed’ and with an explanation ‘to the extent necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation,’” the opinion closes.