Product Description:
From the underlying substantive law to practical aspects of asset protection planning (i.e., what works and what does not, is it ever too late to plan), this program will teach you everything you need to know about protecting your assets from plaintiffs and creditors. We’ll cover specific planning strategies and solutions, including planning with community property, business entities and domestic and foreign trusts. Special emphasis will be placed on protecting assets in a troubled economy, including protection from lenders holding personal guarantees.

The seminar will cover how to protect specific assets common to all clients: houses, bank and brokerage accounts, rental real estate, businesses and professional practices and retirement plans. Course materials will serve as a treatise on asset protection as well as an exhaustive reference source for many of your planning needs and will outline and diagram the discussed planning techniques and structures.

Product Description:
If the current draft for the Industrial General Permit for storm water discharges is adopted, the provisions would require significantly increased enforcement in storm water management, monitoring, and reporting in most industrial facilities, including manufacturing, oil and gas, mining, hazardous waste treatment/storage/disposal, landfills, recycling, steam electric power, transportation, and sewage/wastewater treatment.

Our panel of experts will explore the key elements of the new draft permit and the steps required to comply with the new provisions.

Product Description:
Join the LACBA Litigation Section to learn about the fundamentals of e-discovery. Panelists Allan D. Johnson and Amy J. Longo will discuss best practices in preservation and collection, search tools and techniques, and privilege assertion. This program is designed for anyone in need of a refresher in e-discovery and for new attorneys and support staff. If you are not able to join us for the live event, join us online by signing up for the webcast. You will not want to miss this opportunity to hear straight from the experts!

Allan D. Johnson is a Senior Attorney in the Commercial Litigation Section of the Law Department at Southern California Edison Company (“SCE”). Allan serves on SCE’s eDiscovery Support Team, which consults with and assists SCE personnel and outside counsel in matters involving electronic discovery. Allan also conducts training for SCE personnel regarding e-discovery best practices and procedures.

Before joining SCE, Allan was a member of the Electronic Discovery & Document Retention Practice at O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Allan has authored several e-discovery articles, including California Enacts Electronic Discovery Rules: New Electronic Discovery Act Brings State Practice in Line With Federal Law, BNA’s Digital Discovery & E-Evidence Report (August 2009). Allan is co-author of the practice guide Electronic Discovery Practice Under the Federal Rules (BNA 3rd ed. 2010). Allan is an Adjunct Professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles and is a regular guest speaker on e-discovery issues in law school courses and continuing legal education seminars.

Amy J. Longo is a partner in the Financial Services Practice at O’Melveny & Myers LLP and one of the founders and leaders of the Electronic Discovery and Document Retention Practice. Amy represents corporations, their directors and officers in ERISA and other class actions, derivative suits, and a range of complex litigation, as well as internal investigations and enforcement matters. In addition, Amy counsels public and private companies on their document retention policies and best practices for electronic discovery and litigation response plans.

Amy was listed in Legal 500 United States (2009 and 2010), noting that she is praised for her "particular expertise in e-discovery and document retention issues, as well as being a great litigator." She has been recognized numerous times as a "Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Star." Amy writes and lectures frequently at a national level. She serves as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University's School of Law.

Product Description:
LACBA’s Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee will present its 8th annual ethics seminar on Saturday, December 3, 2011. This seminar gives participants both the opportunity to learn about important ethics issues that have a direct impact on the practice of law from the top practitioners in the field and acquire 4 hours of ethics MCLE at the same time.

The first segment reviews the important ethics highlights of the past year from the courts, legislature, and statewide ethics committees. Panelists John Amberg and Jon Rewinski have presented this popular talk for the past seven years.

Next, the Rules of Professional Conduct have always been a trap for the unwary. Joan Mack and Robert Sall discuss the relationship between these rules and legal malpractice.

Conflicts of interest are a critical part of the practice of law – they often present problems to attorneys when talking to prospective clients, and opportunities to opposing counsel who use disqualification motions to distract the other side. Mark Hansen and Robert Kehr will lead this discussion.

Finally, David Brandon and Richard Burdge, Jr. will speak on attorney's fees from the retainer agreements, to their reasonableness, to the obligation to return unearned fees, and to fee arbitration when the client and attorney have a dispute about whether the fees are owed or have been earned.

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Program Schedule

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Registration and Breakfast

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Review of ethics highlights of 2011
Panelists : John Amberg of Bryan Cave and Jon Rewinski of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell.

10:00-11:00 a.m. The relationship between the Rules of Professional Conduct and legal malpractice.
Panelists: Joan Mack of Caldwell Leslie & Proctor and Robert Sall of the The Sall Law Firm.

11:00 – 11:15 a.m. Break

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Conflicts of interest from writing disclosure letters to disqualification motions.
Panelists: Mark Hansen of Seyfarth Shaw and Robert Kehr of Kehr Schiff & Crane.

12:15-1:15 p.m. Attorney’s fees from the retainer agreement to fee arbitration.
Panelists: David Brandon of Morris Polich & Purdy and Richard Burdge, Jr. of The Burdge Firm.

Product Description:
Suzan Anderson of the State Bar will discuss rules and case law governing the fiduciary duties applicable to client trust accounts, including what must (and what cannot) go into a client trust account, the difference between advance fees and a true retainer, and record keeping and reconciliation issues.

One hour of MCLE credit and one hour of ethics credit will be offered for this program.

Product Description:
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is designed to establish a coherent regulatory scheme over broker-dealers and investment advisers. This program will discuss the Dodd-Frank Act’s revised regulation of broker-dealers and investment advisers, and specifically address the act’s impact on the regulation of hedge funds.

Product Description:
This timely program will address the many steps and structures being used to acquire distressed debt secured by real property and thereafter obtain ownership of such real property through workouts or foreclosure. The discussion should be of interest to lawyers and business people alike given the vast amount of commercial property that now is, or soon will be, saddled with debt that can’t be repaid either because the property income is insufficient or the property value has decreased significantly.

While in many instances the best way to gain control over these properties is through the lender rather than the owner, acquiring distressed debt is a different process, and includes different pitfalls, than acquiring property directly from the owner.

In addition to describing these processes and pitfalls, we will also be describing the transactions that are happening now and what we expect to see in the future.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR WEBCAST PARTICIPANTS Webinar registration for this program closes on 4/18/2011. Early registration is required. Login information will be forwarded to each webinar registrant 24 hours before the event, so please ensure that your email address is correct. To receive full CLE credit for viewing the webinar, registrants must login individually (it is recommended that registrants login 5 minutes early).

Product Description:
The panelists will discuss the Ralph M. Brown Act, Sections 54950 et seq. of the Government Code, which governs open meetings for local legislative bodies and provides consequences for its violation. When does the law apply, and what do practitioners need to know about assisting their clients, local bodies, or private parties that deal with local bodies, in avoiding violations of the Brown Act?

This program will provide one hour of Ethics credit.

Product Description:
Learn firsthand from our panel of industry experts the deal terms and financing structures that will work for you and your clients in today's environment. The following subject matters will be discussed:

• How capital will be deployed in 2012.
• The current state of the M&A market and the debt and equity markets.
• Which deals are being financed.
• The deal terms and financing structures that will work best for your deal.

Product Description:
This two-day conference helps attendees build a solid foundation of the tools and skills needed to effectively litigate in state and federal courts in Los Angeles. The conference’s programming provides invaluable insights to lawyers of all experience levels, firm/practice sizes, and backgrounds—from law students and young lawyers just starting out to seasoned attorneys refreshing their knowledge.

In addition to the inherent value of the knowledge provided by the conference, Nuts & Bolts provides attendees with half of the 25 hours they need to satisfy their state bar CLE requirement.

Instruction is provided by some of the best lawyers and judges in the Los Angeles legal community. This is a great opportunity to receive expert advice (in a hands-on setting) on how to handle the typical aspects of civil litigation.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

8:30 - 10:30 AM
Drafting Complaints and Responsive Pleadings
Topics will include: planning and shaping the plaintiff's or defendant's case; state/federal forum selection; do's and don'ts in preparing complaints, answers and responsive pleadings; motions to dismiss and demurrers; local rules and dealing with clerks; cross complaints and counterclaims; arbitration or mediation demands; removal and remand.

Speakers:
Brian D. Huben, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
David Battaglia, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Product Description:
This program is a primer on perhaps the most important phase of any litigation: how to enforce the judgment.

Learn how to determine the best way to execute on the assets of judgment debtors before they’re gone, put liens on the judgment debtors’ assets so that you may become a “secured creditor,” obtain assignment orders to collect from third parties, effectively use judgment debtor and third party examinations to collect on your judgment, navigate through the obstacles of exemptions and the rights of third parties, enforce judgments from other jurisdictions, and maximize your chances of recovery if a bankruptcy is filed.

The emphasis is on the practical “how to” with the event’s speakers, which include Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Matthew C. St. George (before whom all significant post-judgment matters downtown are heard), long-time attorney practitioners, and a speaker experienced in preparing and serving levies in compliance with the law and Sheriff’s Department requirements.

Product Description:
This program will explore the often adversarial intersection of antitrust and labor issues, and the related strategies underlying the present disputes between the NFL and the NBA and their respective players’ associations. Our all-pro panel will offer a play-by-play recap of events to date, summarize the litigation highlights, explain the issues, and try to predict the final scores. This promises to be a lively discussion so plan to be courtside.

Please note that this program will be offered as a live program as well as a webcast. If you register for the webcast option, you will receive an email with instructions along with a link to the webcast after your registration is complete.

The Section is pleased to offer an opportunity for attendees of this program to network professionally with Section members and law practitioners, from both sides of the bar, the bench, and the expert witness box. This gathering will be held just prior to the program, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the same site.

Product Description:
This two-hour program will provide an opportunity to learn about two important areas of concern in the legal profession, prevention of substance abuse and elimination of bias. The two presentations will give you a head start on fulfilling your New Year’s resolutions to improve the legal profession, and they’re presented just in time to fulfill one hour of hard-to-get MCLE credit for Prevention of Substance Abuse and Elimination of Bias.

Presentation 1: Why are Lawyers so Unhappy?
Speaker: Dr. Alex Y. Yufik

This presentation will focus on substance abuse and mental illness in the legal profession, as well as conditions which may result in an attorney's reduced ability to function psychologically, socially, occupationally or interpersonally. In addition, coping strategies and treatment solutions will also be discussed.

Dr. Alex Yufik is a Board Certified Forensic Psychologist and a licensed attorney. He obtained his law degree from Villanova University School of Law and his doctorate in clinical psychology from George Washington University in D.C. Dr. Yufik is employed by the State Bar of California as a Case Management Supervisor at the Lawyers Assistance Program, where he supervises other clinicians in the program and conducts evaluations of attorneys who require monitored recovery and treatment for substance abuse and/or mental illness. He also assists the State Bar Court and Office of Chief Trial Counsel regarding attorneys who face disciplinary proceedings and have mental health problems.

In his private practice, Dr. Yufik sees patients, conducts forensic evaluations in criminal and civil cases such as, competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, sex offender evaluations, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and psychological injury.

Presentation 2: Discrimination Based on Sexual and Gender Identity
Speaker: Mia Frances Yamamoto

This presentation will focus on State and Federal Anti-Discrimination Statutes; Human Relations: Hiring, firing, advancement and restroom accommodations for transgender persons; Transgender students and schools; Transgender persons and police courts and prisons; Transgender records, status and identity.

Mia Frances Yamamoto (formerly Michael F. Yamamoto) was named Criminal Defense Attorney of the Year by the Los Angeles County Bar Association and one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in California by the California Daily Journal. This well-known UCLA School of Law alum has tried over 150 jury trials, including 2 death penalty trials. In addition to being a noted criminal defender, she is also an influential community advocate, a Court TV commentator, winner of various lifetime achievement awards, including the 2008 ABA Spirit of Excellence Award, and a mentor to many in the legal profession who have made local and global impacts in criminal defense, human rights, and diversity.

Product Description:
A distinguished panel of experts in elder law, taxation law, and legal ethics will discuss how to best protect assets acquired during your earning years to preserve them for you and your loved ones.

The speakers will discuss IRAs, SEP IRAs, Keoughs, 401Ks, 403(b)s, eligibility for Social Security and Medicare, and estate planning documents for yourself, a well spouse, or a disabled spouse or child, including healthcare documents to authorize and implement your wishes for end-of-life planning.

The panelists will also discuss retiring from a law firm or selling a legal practice and the applicable rules of professional conduct relating to withdrawing from representation, the handling of client files, fee issues, law firm retirement payments, handling proceeds from the sale of a practice, and IRS considerations.

The speakers will include:

Joseph E. Deering, Jr.
Deering & Sands

James Morris, CPA and Tax Attorney
Lamb, Morris & Lobello, LLP

Ellen A. Pansky, Legal Ethics Expert and State Bar Certified Legal Malpractice Specialist
Pansky Markle Ham LLP

Patricia A. Lobello (Moderator)
Lamb, Morris & Lobello, LLP

Product Description:
A panel of experienced technology law practitioners (external and in-house) and regulators will cut through the hype over social media risks. Moderated by Tanya L. Forsheit, founding partner, InfoLawGroup LLP, this program will identify the laws and guidance, federal and state, that may be implicated by corporate, employee, and consumer use of social media, analyze recent guidance from the Federal Trade Commission and proposed legislation on online behavioral marketing and the use of testimonials and endorsements online, discuss practical strategies for organizations to mitigate the risks associated with social media use for marketing, both public-facing and internal, Outline key components of effective social media policies, and explore a hypothetical dilemma in the social media space facing corporate counsel and regulators.

Thank you to our sponsor

Product Description:
Analysis and practice tips on recent foreclosure cases:

- Who Does What?

- Who Holds What?

- Who Can Foreclose?

- Who Can Obtain Relief From Stay?

- What is MERS?

- How Do You Prove or Disprove These Issues?