Archive for category: News

When: Thursday December 12th, 2024, 12:00 – 1:15 PM

Where: Zoom 

MCLE: 1.0 Hour Ethics

The use of artificial intelligence tools raises many ethical issues for attorneys in the areas of confidentiality, competence, supervision of non-lawyer personnel, communication with and billing of clients, and candor to tribunals. We will consider sections of the California Rules of Professional Conduct and Business and Professions Code that may affect attorneys’ engagement with AI and provide practical guidance for its ethical use in the practice of law. In addition, we will discuss federal cases concerning the dangers of AI-generated “hallucination” output, the use of large language models for interpreting contracts, statutes, and other legal documents, and a sampling of judges’ local rules concerning the use of AI.

Speaker: Michael D. Harris, SoCal IP Law Group

Michael Harris is a partner in the Westlake Village office of SoCal IP Law Group. His practice focuses on litigation, prosecution, and licensing in the areas of patent, trademark, and copyright, and on advising clients about enforcing their IP rights and avoiding infringement. Mr. Harris began his career as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office before moving to private practice with IP-centric firms in the Los Angeles area. He has served as president of the Century City Bar Association and on the Board of Governors of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Mr. Harris earned his undergraduate degree in engineering from Purdue University and his law degree from Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C.

Reservation:
To receive the meeting link via email, please respond by Tuesday, December 10th to Marietta Jablonka at sblawdirector@gmail.com AND to Chris Kopitzke at ckopitzke@socalip.com
You can also find the meeting link HERE

Cost: $20.00

Mail checks by Tuesday, December 10th payable to Santa Barbara County Bar Association, 15 W. Carrillo St., Suite 106, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

To Pay Online: Click the link HERE

Questions? Please email sblawdirector@gmail.com

Click here to view our refund policy.

SPECIAL EVENT: WELL-BEING IN LAW WEEK
WEEK-LONG EVENT BY ZOOM

Co-Hosted by Robin Oaks, SBCBA Director of Well-Being,
Attorney at Law and Well-being Coach/Trainer/Consultant

Monday, October 28 Through Friday, November 1, 2024; Each Day at Noon – 1:15 pm

Five days of nationally recognized speakers presenting about well-being in law each – at noon by Zoom (click the link here). Earn MCLE Credits (5 hrs. total.) Wellness Competence, Ethics and Elimination of Bias.

Come listen to and engage with a stellar line-up of nationally recognized presenters sharing wellness and well-being strategies and specific topics of interest for all legal professionals.

Lawyer MCLE Credits for Each Presentation
AND Daily Drawings for Fabulous Prizes!

COST:
Weeklong Package: $120 Members, $30 Individual Session
$140 Non-Members/$35 Individual Session
$90 Weeklong Package for Students/Legal Staff/$25 Individual Session
Click the link here to register online.

Day One:

DATE/TIME: Monday, October 28, 2024, Time: 12:00 – 1:15 pm BY ZOOM
MCLE CREDIT: 1/2 hour WELLNESS COMPETENCE: 1/2 hour ELIMINATION OF BIAS
TOPIC: Unlearning Silence to Unleash Our Talents and Support Legal (and Life) Success

Elaine Lin Hering, J.D., facilitator, speaker, and author of Unlearning Silence, How to Speak
Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully:

Ms. Hering will explore how we silence ourselves, we silence others, and how we are silenced by those at work and in our lives. She’ll highlight the many meanings of silence, its negative impacts, and how unlearning silence can support success as legal practitioners and life
satisfaction.

Day Two:

DATE/TIME: Tuesday October 29, 2024, Time: 12:00 – 1:15 pm BY ZOOM
MCLE CREDIT: 1 Hour WELLNESS COMPETENCE
TOPIC: Psychological Well-being for Legal Professionals: What is it and how do we find it?

Dr. Nicole Alea Albada, Ph.D., Professor/Researcher UCSB Psychological and Brain Sciences Dept., Director for Education and Outreach, Center for Aging and Longevity Studies, Director of the Thinking About Life Experiences (TALE) Lab:

Dr. Albada will explore how psychologists measure well-being, and outline how our minds and well-being pathways across our legal career timelines affect fostering and experiencing well-being.

Day Three:

DATE/TIME: Wednesday, October 30, 2024 Time: 12:00 – 1:15 pm BY ZOOM
MCLE CREDIT: 1/2 hour WELLNESS COMPETENCE, 1/2 hour ETHICS
TOPIC: How Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence Impact Judicial Decision-making and Ethics, and Buffer Law Practice Stressors

Judge Jeremy Fogel, Director of Berkeley Judicial Institute, Berkeley Law School.

Judge Fogel will explore the factors affecting judge’s decision-making, and ways to address the stressors legal practitioners face, while sharing how mindfulness and emotional intelligence skills – and compassion, positively promote ethical and civil conduct and optimize legal outcomes.

Day Four:

DATE/TIME: Thursday, October 31, 2024, Time: 12:00 – 1:15 pm BY ZOOM
MCLE CREDIT: 1 hour WELLNESS COMPETENCE
TOPIC: Successfully Overcoming Procrastination and Writer’s Block

David Rasch, PhD, psychologist and author of The Blocked Writers Book of the Dead: Bring Your Writing Back to Life!:

Lawyers, judges, law students, and law professors often struggle with starting, sustaining, and completing legal writing projects. Dr. Rasch and attorney Meehan Rasch explore the complexities of the legal writing process, common issues, and practical tools for improving writing productivity.

Day Five:

DATE/TIME: National Love a Lawyer Day Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, Time: 12:00 – 1:15 BY ZOOM
MCLE CREDIT: 1 hour WELLNESS COMPETENCE
TOPIC: A Cardiologist’s Holistic and Evidence-based Guidance for Managing Stress and Lawyering and Living “Whole-Heartedly”
PRESENTATION: Dr. Jonathan Fisher, M.D., FACC, author of Just One Heart, A
Cardiologist’s Guide to Healing, Health, and Happiness (2024)

Dr. Jonathan Fisher, a practicing cardiologist, will present about the mind-body and heart connection and the “seven timeless traits of the heart” for stress management, successful legal practice – and life satisfaction. Highlighting the similar stressors that doctors and lawyers face, Dr. Fisher will share the science and strategies that he teaches his patients and colleagues, and he learned from his own quest discovering the roots of healing, health, and happiness.

COST:
Weeklong Package: $120 Members, $30 Individual Session
$140 Non-Members/$35 Individual Session
$90 Weeklong Package for Students/Legal Staff
Click the link here to register online.

Click here to view our refund policy

GIFTS FROM COMMUNITY DONORS FOSTERING WELL-BEING IN LAW
FIVE DAY SBCBA WELL-BEING IN LAW WEEK EVENT DRAWING

Gifts will be randomly drawn from each of the following well-being categories at the end of each talk. Five lucky winners EACH day! Must be present (by Zoom) to win the drawing gifts.
Good Luck – Be well!

Fostering Well-Being Fun Connections 

• Gift Certificate for 4-some for golf and carts, after 11am ($376 value) at Santa Barbara Golf Club, Santa Barbara, CA
• Gift Certificate ($200) for Namaste Indian Bistro restaurant. Santa Barbara, CA.
• Gift Certificate ($50) for Los Arroyos restaurant. Santa Barbara and Goleta locations.
• Gift Certificate for 1 hour individualized private golf coaching lesson with Michael Koskin: Golf Pro at Sandpiper Golf Club, Goleta, CA.
• Gift certificate ($175) for Santa Barbara Salt Caves; meditation in pink Himalayan salt cave rooms, massage/facials, sound healing sessions, unique/locally made health & cooking products.

Well-Being Support Experiences

• 1 hour phone consultation ($250 value) with Stephanie Kerst, certified Building Biology Environmental Consultant (BBEC); Sage Living; expert, science-based individualized advice for minimizing EMF exposure and for creating environmentally safe/healthy home and work spaces.
• Gift Certificate ($105 value) for 5 yoga sessions/classes at Yoga Soup. Santa Barbara, CA
• Gift Certificate ($95); for one full session or two people for half sessions at The Light Zone with Hana Haig; offering red LED light sessions for addressing inflammation, pain, skin rejuvenation, wound issues, and mood/metabolism regulation. Santa Barbara, CA
• 1 session ($100 value) thirty minutes with Cecily Longo, MFT; counsel/demonstrate re: Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT); a mind-body practice strategy for emotional and nervous system self-regulation and stress management. Santa Barbara, CA
• Gift Certificate ($50) Island Seed & Feed; safe, natural garden, pet, seed, farm supplies: principles of urban sustainability, organic horticulture and community responsibility. Goleta, CA

Wellness Body-Mind Services

• Gift Certificate ($275) for Zen Spa (Facials/Skin Treatments). Santa Barbara, CA
• Gift Certificate ($150) for Evolutions Medical & Day Spa (Facials/Massages). Santa Barbara
• Gift Certificate ($100) for Patricia Folk (LMT) deep tissue/Swedish massage session. Goleta, CA
• Gift Certificate ($140) for Joanne Station (LMT) 75 minutes integrative therapeutic massage session (“Serving the Women of Santa Barbara”). Goleta, CA.
• Gift Certificate ($135 value) for Cielo Spa for one Custom Facial Session. Santa Barbara, CA

Life-Long Learning and/or the Arts for Lawyers’ Well-Being

• Gift Certificate: Ensemble Theatre Company ($200 value) at the New Vic – TWO tickets for any ETC production for any time through the year (November 1, 2024 through November 30, 2025)
• Books: The Best Lawyer You Can Be; A Guide to Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual Wellness (Compiled by Steward Levine) ABA Law Practice Division AND Positive Professionals: Creating High Performing Profitable Firms Through the Science of Engagement by Anne Brafford, ABA Law Practice Division.
• Books by the Well-Being in Law Week Speakers:
  • Book: Just One Heart, A Cardiologist’s Guide to Health Healing and Happiness by Dr. Jonathan Fisher (2024)
  • Book: Unlearning Silence, How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully, by Lawyer Elaine Lin Hering (2024)
  • Book: The Blocked Writer’s Book of the Dead – Bring Your Writing Back to Life, by David Rasch, Ph.D.

PLUS, EACH DAY FOR A LUCKY WELL-BEING IN LAW WINNER– One bag of Organic Purity Coffee, Whole Bean, from environmentally and socially responsible Purity Coffee, free of contaminants, wellness-focused blends: Balance, Protect, Flow, Ease, Calm (Total $135 value)

When: Tuesday June 25th, 2024, at 12:00 PM

Where: College of Law – Santa Barbara Campus 20 E. Victoria Street

MCLE: 1.0 Hour General with 1.0 Hour Ethics

Moderator: John Derrick

A panel of mediators will review a series of hypos bringing up tricky ethical issues that can arise in mediations — ones that can confront both mediators and litigators. Audience members will be encouraged to join in the discussion, bringing their own perspectives and experiences.

Whether you are a litigator or a mediator, or whether you do both, you won’t want to miss this stimulating and — hopefully — enlightening event!

Plus, we encourage people to raise their own ethical hypos. You can either bring one up during the session or — better still — email it in advance to johnderrick@icloud.com.

Panelists:

Judge Frank Ochoa (Ret.): Judge Ochoa served on the bench for over 32 years. During that time, he designed and implemented the Santa Barbara Superior Court’s ADR programs, and twice served as the court’s Presiding Judge. Today, Judge Ochoa is a sought-after mediator and arbitrator.

Lol Sorensen: Lol Sorensen is a skilled mediator and arbitrator experienced in resolving complex and emotionally charged disputes. He brings to this field a rare combination of skills having previously been both an accomplished litigator and a social worker.

Cost: $20 (Lunch not provided but feel free to bring your own!)
CLICK THE LINK HERE TO PAY ONLINE!

Registration: Please contact Marietta Jablonka at sblawdirector@gmail.com or (805) 569-5511.

When: March 21st, 2024, from 12:00 – 1:15 PM

Where: Zoom

MCLE: 1.0 Hour (General)

About the Event: Join us for an insightful Zoom presentation during the lunch hour as we delve into the latest updates to the California Penal Code. Our expert speaker will guide you through key updates, new legislation, and significant changes in the law that impact your criminal practice. Don’t miss this opportunity to stay abreast of the latest developments and engage in a discussion about the implications these developments may have on your practice of criminal law in California.

Speaker: Doug Ridley, Esq. 

A graduate of Pepperdine Law School, Doug Ridley worked for the Ventura County District Attorney from 1999 through 2004. Doug left the DA’s office in 2004 and began work in private practice. He owns and manages Ridley Defense, APC, working with people who find themselves in the criminal justice system. He is also an adjunct professor at Pepperdine Law School, teaching Police Practices. Doug is the Section Chair for the Criminal Section of the Santa Barbara Bar Association, President of the Private Criminal Defense Bar in Ventura County and the criminal defense representative for the Bench Bar Committee of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association.

Price: $15 Members $20 Non-Members

Contact Information/RSVP: Please RSVP to Doug Ridley doug@ridleydefense.com or Marietta Jablonka sblawdirector@gmail.com

When: Thursday, January 18th, 2024, from 12:00 – 1:15 PM

Where: Zoom

MCLE: 1.0 Hour (General)

Speaker: Lee Jay Berman, Mediator

Lee Jay Berman has been a full-time mediator for about 30 years and has repeatedly been ranked among the top in his profession nationwide. Mr. Berman founded the American Institute of Mediation after seven years as Director of Pepperdine Law School’s “Mediating the Litigated Case” program — ranked #1 nationally in its field. But as well as having a national presence, Mr. Berman has a special connection to Santa Barbara. When Judge Frank Ochoa — who will be introducing this program — established the Santa Barbara Superior Court’s ADR program in 1999, he hired Mr. Berman to be its first Director.

So be sure not to miss this unique opportunity to learn from a nationally ranked mediator who was among the pioneers of Santa Barbara ADR.

About the Event: Lawyers and judges sometimes talk of mediators “working their magic” in hard-to-settle-cases.

But the “magic of mediation” is about more than what the mediator does in terms of negotiating techniques. The magic mediators can work sometimes has more to do with who they are and what their presence is in the room than anything specific they do. Much of the magic is the mediator’s energy, embodying confidence and optimism and creating and holding space for the parties to say things they haven’t been able to communicate before.

This course will combine specific case studies with general guidance to help mediators and litigators alike create magic spaces for successful mediated outcomes.

Cost: $15 Members $20 Non-Members 

Contact Information/RSVP: To register, please email Marietta Jablonka at sblawdirector@gmail.com to register. Once registered, you will receive the Zoom link.

Questions? Please contact John Derrick at johnderrick@icloud.com or (805)284-1660.

Click the link here to view the flyer!