Hats off to Justice Arthur Gilbert, PJ Vince O’Neill and APJ Brian Back for hosting the New Admittee Swearing-In Ceremony held in CR#22 June 7. It was light, humorous, intimate and thoughtful. One State Bar official from the Bar Examiners voiced aloud it was the best ceremony he’d ever attended. There were 11 new admittees, 11 speakers and Joseph Dunn, new State Bar CEO, was one of them in addition to Joe Strohman, Christina Stokholm, Katie Pietrolungo, Wendy Lascher, and Jill Friedman representing our bar… In related news, law school graduates in the class of 2010 have set a new record, and it’s not a good one. Only 68.4 percent of the 2010 grads were able to land a job requiring bar passage, the lowest percentage since the legal career professional group NALP began collecting statistics… Marc Charney received the Ventura County Leadership Academy Founder’s Award May 19 at the annual Leadership luncheon. The award recognizes an individual who has played an important role in fostering and providing community leadership in various organizations over many years…

Who’s on the cover of California Lawyer Magazine? Barbara Macri-Ortiz and Jessica Arciniega are featured in an article about “Lawyers Without Law School.” The article may be found at www.callawyer.com, page 18…  Judge Julie Lynch notes an unfortunate juxtaposition at the new court house in Franklin County, Ohio. The courthouse i “If you wear dresses, you’re on notice that you might want to take the elevator, as I will be doing,” said Lynch. Court officials are aware of the issue, and they are discussing whether they will need to change the design. Really?…  The Barristers held a bar-wide logo contest with the winning entry receiving a free bar membership in perpetuity.  There were a dozen or so submissions but the Barristers’ board concluded the winner was Celene Valenzuela.  Many of you will recognize Celene because she has been an Administrative Assistant with the bar association and the vlsp, inc. since ’06. Her myriad activities include graphic designer and her logo can be seen on page 18 above the Barristers’ Corner.  BTW – she’s getting hitched Dec. 10…

Rebeca Mendoza hosted her daughter’s artwork, “New Beginnings,” a showing of paintings and celebration of Summer June 23.  If you missed it, Andrea Vargas’ efforts may be viewed at www.andreavargasstudio.com… An attorney is accused of keying and leaving notes on cars that were not parked properly at a downtown Seattle parking garage. Ronald Mattson, 63, is charged with malicious mischief after security officials at Columbia Center allegedly caught him keying a car during a sting operation.  Mattson admitted damaging the cars and leaving the notes.  On one of the notes, Mattson penned, “Take some parking lessons you idiot,” on a car with wheels over the line…  If you want to be a new member of the Jerome H. Berenson Inn of Court, during the 2011-2012 campaign, call me for an application at 650.7599.  Better yet, complete the application within this issue of CITATIONS and get it to me ASAP as teams are being formed…

John Negley is relocating his office to the Court of Appeal building effective July 1. The new address is 200 E. Santa Clara, Suite 200, Ventura, 93001. His firm is changing its name to Negley Law. John.negleylaw@gmail.com… Facebook has sued several affiliated internet companies for using the phrase “Face Book of Sex” to promote their adult networking service. The federal suit names as a defendant Various Inc. and three subsidiaries. Filed in the Northern District of California, the complaint says the defendants operate Facebookofsex.com and affiliated websites in a “blatant attempt” to capitalize on the Facebook name…  Rivera Maya Mexico? Matt LaVere at 642.6702 or goldenringlaw@aol.com… Guernsey Island, United Kingdom? Lawrence Noble at 658.6266 or lawrence@noble4law.com…

Steve Lee completed the Eugene Marathon on May 1.  It began at the U of O Duck campus and finished on the historic Hayward Field.  His time of 3:14 is commendable and good enough to qualify him for the Boston Marathon…  The Kentucky Bar Association Board of Governors is recommending that famous mass tort lawyer Stanley Chesley be disbarred for his role in a $200 million fen-phen settlement that ended with prison sentences for two other lawyers.  Chesley had charged $20 million to help settle the case for the plaintiffs’ lawyers, though his contract entitled him to receive about $13 million, according to a hearing officers report…  Looking for Jill Singer? Working for Gordon Edelstein et al. and opened up shop at 816 Camarillo Springs Road, Suite I. 888.764.7579 or jill@geklaw.com…

The Ventura County Asian American Bar Association honored Superior Court Commissioner Ferdinand “Dino” Inumerable at its 4th Annual Installation and Scholarship Awards Banquet held on May 13 at the Topa Tower Club. Commissioner Inumerable is Ventura County’s first Asian American judicial officer.He is also a founding member of VCAABA. Kudos to event organizer Kata Kim and association president, John Fukasawa… An unidentified law student who sued his parents for a $588-a-month stipend after they cut off his allowance has been ordered by a family court judge in Malaga, Spain, to move out and get a job. However, the parents, who work in a restaurant and as a garbage collector in Andalusia, in the southern part of the country, will continue to pay their son $292 per month for two years to cover the cost of his food. They are also making monthly payments on his car…Italy? Kate Neiswender at kmn-law@sbcglobal. net or 654-1557…

Brian Philpott has become a principal with Koppel Patrick Heybl & Philpott… The state attorney general is calling for a California attorney known as the “Tax Lady” to be jailed for contempt of court, contending that Roni Deutch shredded as many as 2.7 million documents and failed to pay clients refunds totaling $435,000 in violation of a court order in a civil suit. In a filing, AG Kamala Harris asked a Sacramento County Superior Court judge to jail Deutch and fine her for contempt. She also called Deutch, whose law firm reportedly grossed over $25 million last year, a “predator for profit” in a written statement…About a quarter of lawyer moms leave the workplace, compared to about 6 percent of women with medical degrees. University of Chicago economist Jane Leber Herr noted the difference when analyzing a a national survey of college graduates and a sample of Harvard alumnae, the WashingtonPost reports…Recognizing contributions to further water conservation, the United Water Conservation District recently honored Bill Hair with the 15th Annual Richard V. Laubacher Water Conservation Award for demonstrated innovation and leadership in water conservation. Bill has been involved inVentura County water issues throughout his 50-plus years of law practice…

Egypt and The Pyramids? Nabil Sakla at nsakla@aol.com or 701.8275…Supreme Court litigators don’t speak much more than the justices during oral arguments, according to a first-hand participant, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Justices are “pushing 50 percent” in the number of words spoken at oral argument, Alito told lawyers at a Law Day gathering in St. Louis on May 16. As a result, he said, oral arguments aren’t all that important, despite a popular belief to the contrary. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch coveredAlito’s speech, in which he covered the top 10 misconceptions about the Supreme Court…With a combined total of 80 years of public service, the Brodies are retiring from the Ventura County Superior Court. Celebrate with them on Friday evening, July 15 at the Ventura Beach Marriott with cocktails and dinner beginning at 6:00 p.m. Questions and reservations may be made with Victoria.Borjesson@ventura.courts. ca.gov or 654.2965…Celebrity Eclipse London/Royal Wedding? Howard Evans hbevans@roadrunner.com or 988.1551…

Erik Feingold completed the Breathless Agony Century in allegedly decent time May 7th. The cycling race is billed as “Toughest Century in Southern California” since the course is 114 miles and includes 12,000 feet of climbing. He didn’t finish first, nor did he come in last…A law graduate at North Carolina Central University delivered a commencement speech May 13 that touted the virtues of living an average life over the quest for fame and fortune. But the speech by Preston Mitchum, 25, was below averagein one respect: He admits that he copied the speech, some of it word-for-word, from a YouTube video made by a student at Binghamton University in New York. Mitchum told the newspaper that he meant to credit Anthony Corvino, but he omitted it “out of nervousness and anxiousness and excitement.”…VC Superior Court is training Pro Tems June 2 with a 3 CLE course from 2-5 p.m. Brenda.McCormick@ventura.courts.ca.gov or 654.3620…

New admittee swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for June 7, beginning at 4:00 p.m. inside Courtroom #22…Long law articles wore lawyer Keith Jaasma out, so he tried haiku. Jaasma, an IP lawyer at Houston’s Patterson & Sheridan, started the website at supremecourthaiku.com in February 2010 with a plan to write a haiku for every U.S. Court opinion. Jaasma says he didn’t even tell his wife about the website because “I thought it was potentially such a dumb idea.” A self-taught poet who co-foundedthe UCLA Entertainment Law Review while a student there in the early 1990s, Jaasma gets his poetic inspiration from the abstract section of Supreme Court opinions. For instance, a recent post about Snyder v.Phelps reads: “Church so full of hate–Pickets soldiers’ funerals–Protected Discourse.” The site currently gets about 20 hits daily. And marketing, it seems, is an intended outcome. Or, as he writes: “Some ask: Why haiku?–Why seventeen syllables?–No time for real blog…”

Women Lawyers of Ventura County in conjunction with Santa Barbara County Women Lawyers are sponsoring a “Women and Wine Mixer” on the evening of June 21 at the Corktree Cellars in Carpinteria.More info? Jennifer Yates at j.yateslaw@gmail.com …

In case you are wondering, Joel Mark is the new managing partner at Nordman Cormany Hair & Compton… India? Nepal? Michele Castillo at michele.castillo@ventura.org  or 805.654.2201.  Austria, Slovakia, Czeck Republic, and Hungary? Dien Le at dien@calawcounsel. com or 818.889.2299. Toronto? Cheri Kurman at ckurman@normandowler.com or 654.0911…LA Times ran an article April 2 – www.latimes.com  – about a group of legal experts who examined five of the U.S. Supreme Court’s worst rulings. Numero Uno? Korematsu vs. United States, the 1944 high court ruling upholding the evacuationorder against Japanese American after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Others include Dred Scott v. Sandford and Buck v. Bell… If you are searching for Jon Light, Karen Gabler, Glenn Dickinson, Gannon Johnson, and Lou Cappadona, they can be found at 760 Paseo Camarillo, Suite 400 in Camarillo – 805.248.7208 too…

Judge Ed Brodie was selected as one of the recipients of the Oxnard Knights of Columbus Public Safety Award for 2011. The award was presented at the group’s Public Safety Night held April 11…Seeking to satisfy a tax debt of over $300,000 owed by a former New Hampshire lawyer who stole over $1 million from clients, the IRS is planning to sell James Hobbs’ home. Authorities say Hobbs, 52, apparently spent most or all of the money on personal expenses. He is serving a 10- to 20- year term in prison for forgery, perjury and theft. More than half of the $1 million reportedly came from the estate of a deceased attorney who expected the money to be used to care for his disabled daughter…Simi Valley lawyer Randy Sundeen was elected to the USA Field Hockey Board of Directors. The board oversees 250 clubs in the U.S. and the men’s and women’s national team programs. Randy’s son, Tyler, is a member of the men’s national team and is training for the Pan Am games in October…

Spotted at the March Madness Final Four games in Houston was Mark Hiepler with his two sons…A hearing officer had recommended only a six-month suspension for Arizona attorney Charna Johnson, who admittedly had claimed to serve as a medium channeling the thoughts of a client’s dead wife to him but denied sexual involvement with the man. But the disciplinary commission of the state supreme court said a one-year suspension was merited, based on additional misconduct, and Arizona’s top court agreed. Because Johnson lied in another disciplinary proceeding and said she had not claimed to channel the dead to a female client for whom she drafted a will that left the client’s assets to herself, the punishment was increased… Mayakoba? Yucatan? Greg Herring at gherring@fcoplaw.com or 659.6800. Turks and Caicos? Dan Palay at djp@palaylaw.com or 641.6600…

Debora Vierra has been appointed to the Executive Board of Directors of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA) for the 2011-2013 term. Debora is also serving on the CELA Political Appointments Committee which makes recommendations to Gov. Brown regarding State Board and Commission appointments…I spotted in my daughter’s Pacific Coast Horse Riding Association Directory the Equine Law firm of Hey & Hey in Redwood City– www.blueribbonlaw.com …Contending that he was “grossly overbilled” for a negligent defense in an insider trading case, the jailed former CEO of Qwest Communications International Inc. has sued over his legal bill of more than $25 million. Joseph Nacchio, who is serving a 70-month prison term for illegally selling $52 million in Qwest stock in reliance on insider information, complains that his defense lawyers even billed him for their underwear…Do participate in the 28th Annual Law Day 5K scheduled for May 21 at the VC Government Center. Proceeds benefit the VCBA/VLSP, Inc. and official starter is VC Sheriff Geoff Dean. www.active.com to register…

After a ton of pulling, tugging and underhandedness, Judge David Long has agreed to a “function” honoring his retirement and service only if the proceeds benefit the bar’s pro bono program, VCBA/VLSP, Inc. Mark your calendars–September 16 at the Tower Club…Bail has been set at $200,000 for a 33-year-old Missoula man accused of using divorce papers to start a fire that burned down his estranged wife’s beauty salon. Prosecutors say Shawn Gawronski was sitting in his truck, gun in hand, near the burning salon when deputies arrived. He was arrested a short time later, and court records say he acknowledged spreading gasoline throughout the building and using his divorce papers to get the fire going… Movie Quote of the Month: “The odds of a plaintiffs lawyer winning in civil court are two to one against. Think about that for a second. Your odds of surviving a game of Russian roulette are better than winning a case at trial. Twelve times better. So why does anyone do it? They don’t. They settle.”–From Jan Schlichtmann (John Travolta) explaining his work as a personal injury lawyer in A Civil Action, 1998…Do plan on attending the VCTLA “Trial Lawyer of the Year” dinner May 24. Bill Grewe at 642.7101 or wgrewe@rkmlaw.net …

Appointed to the Municipal Court in 1995 by Pete Wilson and elevated to the Superior Court again by Mr. Wilson in 1997, the Honorable David Long is retiring on May 16th to focus on golf, travel and collecting even more jokes… One of my favorite lawyers, Ed Buckle, is also retiring soon after 40 years in practice. He is trying with all his might to donate his library to anyone interested after being turned away by a number of institutions. It just doesn’t feel right to trash 385 volumes, so anyone interested can just pick them up at etb93001@yahoo.com or 653.2505…A prosecutor for a central California county has resigned after his superiors discovered he had been working despite a nearly-year-old warrant for his arrest. The Merced Sun-Star reports that a bench warrant for the arrest of Merced County Deputy District Attorney Matthew Shelton was issued last April for failing to appear in court for speeding and driving on a suspended license. Yet Mr. Shelton continued working, handling misdemeanors and felony cases, including a homicide. The newspaper says the 43-year-old may have broken laws prosecuting cases while suspended by the State Bar in 2008. He had been with the office since 2007…Looking for Matt LaVere? Now at Goldenring & Prosser at 642.6702…

Carribbean Cruise on Azamara? Don Hurley at donald_hurley2008@yahoo.com… Carribean Cruise on Celebrity? Rick Rabbin at rsr0109@sbcglobal.net…Lech, Austria? Tony Strauss at ars@strausslawgroup.com or 641.9992. Tony has penned a trip story and an excerpt from his adventure appears in this month’s edition of CITATIONS while the full story appears online at vcba.org…Martin Marootian died Feb. 25 at the age of 95. He was a retired pharmacist who stood up for Armenian genocide victims as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that resulted in a $20-million settlement from the New York Life Insurance Company for failing to honor claims on policies sold to thousands of Armenians slain during the last years of the Ottoman Empire. In 1999 Marootian joined a legal battle to force New York Life to honor policies purchased by more than 2,000 Armenians, most of whom perished in what historians have described as the first genocide of the 20th century… Compelling local and international story involving lawyer Jim McDermott and his legal matter in an article by Ken Silverstein inside Foreign Policy Magazine at foreignpolicy.com/articles.2011/02/22/teodorins_world?page=0,0. He calls himself a Prince from the country of Equatorial Guinea and his name is Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue…

License Plate of the Month: Ron Harrington spotted this plate on a Mercedes – MEDI84U, navigated by Jack Draper…A unique anniversary occurred Feb. 22. It had been five years to the day since Justice Clarence Thomas last spoke at oral argument. “One thing I’ve demonstrated often in 16 years is you can do this job without asking a single question,” he recalled in a speech three years ago…Back in 2002, Linda Lowney drafted a will for her client, Thor Tollefson, that provided for his estate to go to his sister and two nieces in Norway. But by 2005 the 54-year-old California attorney had become involved with Tollefson, 85. He gave her $339,000, with his nieces’ consent, and the two got married in 2006, using a confidential license, reports the SF Chronicle. Later that year, Tollefson asked for a divorce, as the couple continued to live separately, and in 2007 he moved into a nursing home and died. Now a State Bar judge is calling the marriage a sham and has ordered Lowney suspended from practice… Susan Simmons Seemiller is now working as a senior attorney for the Court of Appeal, Division 6. She may be reached susan.seemiller@jud.ca.gov…

Quote of the Week from George Galbraith: You can see it also in Daley v. County of Butte (1964) 227 Cal.App.2d 380,392 – “Clients should not be forced to act as hawk like inquisitors of their own counsel, suspicious of every step and quick to switch lawyers. The legal profession knows no worse headache than the client who mistrusts his attorney. The lay litigant enters a temple of mysteries whose ceremonies are dark, complex and unfathomable. Pretrial procedures are the cabalistic rituals of the lawyers and judges who serve as priest and high priests. The layman knows nothing of their tactical significance. He knows only that his case remains in limbo knows only that his case remains in limbo while the priests and high priests chant their lengthy and arcane pretrial rites. He does know this much: That several years frequently elapse between the commencement and trial of lawsuits. Since the law imposes this state of puzzled patience on the litigant, it should permit him to sit back in peace and confidence without suspicious inquiries and without incessant checking on counsel.”…A Kansas City Royals fan has lost his lawsuit that claims he suffered a detached retina when he was hit by a flying, foil-wrapped hot dog tossed by the team’s lion mascot, Sluggerrr. Jurors deliberated for slightly more than an hour before finding the team not liable for injuries suffered in September 2009 by John Coomer, who had three surgeries to repair his eye. Coomer was a long-time fan who had attended 175 games. A lawyer for the team had argued Coomer should have taken more responsibility for his own safety. The Chicago Tribune called the tossed hotdog a “wayward weener” and a “fateful frank,” while the Kansas City Star called it a “flung frank.”…Barrister board member and secretary, Matt Purcell, is organizing a legal clinic at the Ventura Salvation Army. You want to assist once a month? He may be reached at mattmpurcell@hotmail.com…

John Negley and the Barristers are hosting a CLE event April 4. Chris Hamilton will discuss the broader range of financial reporting. Call Celene at 650.7599 to register or simply email her at bar@vcba.org…Lawyers accused of stealing more than $25,000 from their clients would have a consumer alert placed prominently at the top of their State Bar profile page under a proposal being circulated for public comment. The State Bar has identified 160 cases involving 60 lawyers of alleged misappropriation of more than $25,000. Total alleged misappropriations amount to $11.5 million…It’s official. Katie Pietrolungo will assume her new role as Vice Chair of the California Young Lawyers Association effective 9.26…

Jill Friedman has assumed the role of President of the Ventura County Women Lawyers following the exemplary two-year term of Jodi Prior. She’ll be capably assisted by Charmaine Buehner, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer Robert Guerra. BTW – the California Women Lawyers announced that President-Elect Patricia Sturdevant of Sacramento has been selected as its new President…Bored, a 14-year-old Virginia high school student admittedly did a dumb thing in the cafeteria during lunch period. He blew small plastic pellets at fellow students through a plastic pen tube, striking three. “They flinched. They looked annoyed,” Andrew Mikel told the Washington Post. Now the Spotsylvania High School freshman is paying a steep price for the prank: He has been expelled for the remainder of the year, he says, charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault. A Virginia civil liberties organization known as the Rutherford Institute is appealing the disciplinary action in state circuit court…

Cheri Kurman, of Norman Dowler, has a weekly radio show – Grey Matters – dedicated to our nation’s caregivers and for those they care. Each week hear interviews with experts locally and around the country addressing the issues involved in aging and what people should know as both a caregiver and someone receiving care. Grey Matters airs Fridays, 4:30-5:30 p.m., and Saturdays, 3:00-4:00 p.m. Live stream it at am1400coach.com or listen to podcasts at greymatters.podomatic.com Immediate Past President of Barristers, Doug Goldwater, became a Partner at FCOP January 1. That being written, most of you already know that after 37 years with Lascher & Lascher, Wendy Lascher has joined the firm as a partner while Aris Karakolas enters as an associate…

Rric Reed has landed with Anderson Kill Wood & Bender…Gerry Spence has a Trial Lawyer’s College lasting three weeks in Jackson Hole. The sessions are July 8-August 1 and September 8-October 2. The tuition is a hefty $3,750 and there’s a Death Penalty Seminar for $1,750 June 11-19. www.triallawyerscollege.com State Bar data indicates there are 860 lawyers who earn less than $20,000 a year…Andres Garcia became a first-time daddy February 2. Andres Gabriel was born at 1:29 a.m. and weighed 7 pounds and 13 ounces. Young dude was 21 ¼ inches prompting dad to proclaim: he has nice length/wingspan, big hands/feet, broad shoulders, and the body of a swimmer or a shooting guard.” Momma Veronica doing well too. Andrew works for CRLA…

Ron Perry has departed the CRLA branch in Oxnard and is taking some well deserved time off…Honduras? Caroline Hurtado at churtado@andersonkill.com.  She traveled to Tegucigalpa to visit orphanages and to work with attorneys to try to get legal standing for the children so they can be adopted.  http:encounterlife.org/doc/experience_ Honduras_2011b.pdf…A Virginia (does everything happen in Virginia) lawyer who practiced law with his wife was shot and killed by police after he fired shots in an eight-hour standoff at his home. The lawyer, Richard Ferris of Chesterfield, was “highly regarded” for his civil and family law practice…The eighth time was the charm for an applicant who failed the New Hampshire bar seven times between 1991 to 2007 before finally passing in 2008. But when it came time for the character and fitness interview, G.W. was found wanting. In addition to concerns about criminal charges and a lack of candor, the Committee on Character and Fitness was not positively impressed either with the applicant’s $140,000 in outstanding student loans or that he apparently been largely unemployed for the last 20 years…DPD Willy Quest represented the United States at the 31st International Tennis Federation Seniors World Team Championships held February 21-26 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Willy played at Duke in the early 1990…

Rick Marks’ son, Kyle, passed the July bar and was sworn in during a December ceremony.  He has joined forces with his dad in Westlake and is a graduate of Southwestern Law School.  Kyle plans to practice real estate litigation, title insurance defense and escrow representation.  Kyle may be reached at marks@kbrdmpc.com. ..DLA Piper is planning a merger with its Australian partner DLA Phillips Fox to become the world’s largest law firm. The merger, targeted to take place May 1, is subject to a partnership vote that will create a firm with over 4,000 lawyers…U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe has a theory about people who view child pornography. About 50 years from now, scientists will discover that child pornography consumption by “a gene you were born with,” Sharpe said as he  sentenced a defendant to six years in prison in December 2009. “And it’s not a gene you can get rid of.” Now a New York-based federal appeals court has ruled that Sharpe’s theories justify resentencing for the defendant…

The Ventura County Mexican American Bar Association have selected Rebeca Mendoza  as president. Rennee Dehesa has agreed to serve as Vice-President while Andres Garcia will serve as Secretary. Rebeca fills the large shoes belonging to Jessica Arciniega who served admirably… Lou Vigorita is one of four VCBA members traveling to Los Altos Mar. 11-13 for the annual “Silent Retreat for Members of the Legal Profession.” If you are ready for three days of introspection, contact lvigorita@yahoo.com…

Need 4 hours of CLE? The Ventura County Paralegal Association is hosting a gathering  March 5. jknupp@normandowler.com… The VCPA gave the vcba/vlsp, inc. a $500 donation to bar prez Joe Strohman during the Bar Leaders Planning Session…

In case you reside on the moon, Judge John Dobroth retired Jan. 3 after 24 years on the bench. Did you know he was a former world-class high jumper ranking second in the United States and fifth in the world as a member of the United States Track & Field Teams, 1963-1972? He continues to compete, and recently established the best mark in the world in the men’s high jump competition for his age group at the 2010 USA Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships… The parents of a former junior high school basketball player have filed a federal lawsuit in Indianapolis that argues a team haircut policy violated their son’s right to wear his hair the way he wants. Patrick and Melissa Hayden said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that their son was kicked off the Greensburg Junior High team after he refused to cut his hair to comply with team rules, which require that players’ hair be above their eyebrows, collars and ears. The Haydens want the court to rule the policy is unconstitutional… These fine lawyers among us are volunteering their time and legal expertise at the Oxnard Armory Legal Clinic for the homeless: Andre Nintcheff, Josephine Banuelos, Ken Hamilton, Laurie Nintcheff, Robert Guerra and Ron Perry. Eileen McCarthy is spearheading the effort…

The Ventura Superior Court’s local rules have been revised effective Jan. 1 and may be spotted at www.ventura.courts.ca.gov./pdf/files/venturacountycourtrules.pdf … Awakened at about 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day by the sound of breaking glass, a Minnesota judge and former prosecutor opened his safe and got out his Glock as his wife called 911. Armed with the .45-caliber pistol, St Louis County Judge Shaun Floerke, who serves as assistant chief judge of the 6th Judicial District, found a highly intoxicated man who had allegedly broken in through a window and held him at bay near his home’s entryway until authorities arrived… Justice Arthur Gilbert’s name was mentioned in an LA Times story Jan. 7 about California Supreme Court Justice Moreno’s resignation as a possible appointment…

Seoul? Tokyo? Sam Gasowski at sam.gasowski@dts.com…A northern Kentucky lawyer has turned underwear salesman with the goal of offering a solution for modest airline passengers. Attorney Marc Carey’s t-shirts, undies and briefs contains strategically placed emblems designed to blur a person’s private parts in airport scanners. The costs start at $14.99 and the emblems for men and women are patriotic stars and eagles, while kids’ t-shirts sport a happy face. www.scannershirts.com…Movie Quote of the Month: “Margo: Oh my God, what are you doing? Elle: Reading about the LSATs. Serena: My cousin had that. Apparently you get a really bad rash on your…” From Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (2001)…The Barristers’ Annual Dart Night is scheduled for Feb. 17, beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the ever-so-lovely Bench Warmer. Dart Night is being conducted about a month earlier so as not to compete with March Madness. See the flyer stuffed inside CITATIONS. Specific questions may be asked of Taylor Waters, master dart man, at taylor. waters@ventura.org …

There will be no monthly VCTLA dinner meeting this month as officers and board members encourage the membership and others to assist the 2011 Mock Trial Competition. Want to assist? kent.kellegrew@ventura.court.ca.gov …  An Ohio lawyer has been suspended for overbilling local courts for her representation of poor clients. The attorney, Kristin Stahlbush of Toledo, will be suspended for two years, with the second year stayed if she completes a oneyear probationary period. According to the Ohio Supreme Court, Stahlbush billed the courts in Lucas County for more than 24 hours a day on at least three different days, and more than 20 hours a day on five other occasions…Monique Hill will be leaving us shortly to take a position with the Monterey County Public Defender’s Office.  Her departure date is unclear, but likely after she completes an existing murder trial… 

Chief Deputy DA Greg Brose is retiring after 27 years of service and there’s a bash for him scheduled Feb. 2, beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside Spanish Hills CC – Patty O’Donnell at 662.1724 and $50 gets you in. Greg has been a long-time member of the bar’s vcba/vlsp, inc. advisory board…A right-wing New Jersey blogger has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for making death threats against three federal judges in Illinois. Hal Turney was sentenced late December and the case stems from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 2009 by three judges that upheld a district court decision dismissing lawsuits that  challenged handgun bans in Chicago. Turner protested the decision with inflammatory remarks posted online. Prosecutors say he crossed the line by declaring, “These judges must die!”…The only state without a law school, Alaska needs one to help make legal services more available and affordable. Rep Scott Kawasaki is calling for both a law school and a medical school to be established at the University of Alaska…After setting fire in an East Side 9.11 memorial, a drunken Harvard Law School grad got a no-jail deal over the objections of Manhattan prosecutors who wanted him canned for a year. Brian Schroeder, 26, will instead serve 100 hours of community service for breaking into Memorial Park and setting a fire that he then fed by tossing teddy bears…

J. Marc Dion was present for the birth of Ryan on Dec. 16 at 9:16 p.m. Ryan weighs in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces. Wife Serena doing very well. So are the rest of the troops – Emily, Macy, Cate, and Riley…Apparently unhappy about being sentenced to a 26-year prison term followed by another three years due to his violation of probation in a prior drug case, a defendant dropped the F-bomb. “F— y’all” he shouted and the judge held him in criminal contempt on the spot and sentenced to another 12 months…

Justice Steven Perren and Assistant PJ Vince O’Neill presided over the new admittee swearing-in ceremony held 12.7 in CR #22. 13 new lawyers stood and stated their names, where they attended law school and introduced their support group. On a lighter note, Perren recognized that a Michigan State Law School grad was sitting next to a University of Michigan Law School grad and stressed the importance of civility… Movie Quote of the Month: “Sarah, you’re a witness. And it’s the defense’s job to show the jury that you’re a rotten witness because you’ve got a rotten character.” Rape victim Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster) gets coached by the district attorney (Kelly McGillis) in The Accused (1988)…Need a new photo of yourself in our Legal Services Directory? There will be a photographer in the bar offices 1.12 all day. Schedule an appointment at bar@vcba.org… Michael Wolfram is the new President of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee replacing the efforts of Marge Baxter. Mike may be reached at 491.2770 or mwolfram@wolframworkplacelaw.com…

Bret Anderson has agreed to continue as President of the East County Bar Association – banderson@fcoplaw.com…All you N-Zers – Need your MCLE credits enhanced before the February 1 deadline? Check out the VCBA calendar for eight course offerings. Collaborative Family Law is hosting an all-day affair 1.7. To score eight hours, including two Ethics, call Celene at the bar at 650.7599 or bar@vcba.org. Further program details can be had by contacting Rebbecca Calderwood at 650.6361 or Julie Marciel at www.jlclvta@sbcglobal.net. The keynote speaker? The nationally recognized mediator Forrest “Woody” Mosten, Esq…Victoria Kolakowski is making history, just by doing her job. For over 20 years, she’s worked as an attorney. This week, she declared victory in a very close race for Alameda County Superior Court, making her the first transgender trial judge in the country. She began her transition in 1989, and faced discrimination. Initially, she was not allowed to take the bar exam and was told that she was not of sound mind. She appealed that decision and won. When marriages were legal for a few months in 2008, Kolakowski married her wife, an editor at the Bay Area Reporter… Welcome aboard new VCBA board members elected to two-year terms: Bret Anderson, Alva Arzu, Linda Ash, Michele Castillo, Marc Dion, Erik Feingold, Alyse Lazar, Susan McCarthy, Katie Pietrolungo, Eric Reed, and Christina Stokholm…November 2010 marked Al Vargas’s 12th musical production in three years with Life at Ventura College…

Past President Kendall VanConas hosted the annual board of directors holiday party 12.8 at Brophy Bros which attracted 30 plus including Doug Goldwater’s seven month old twins, Knox and Clayton…On 12.8 the Senate convicted U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous on four articles of impeachment, making him the eighth judge to be removed from office through impeachment. Porteous was accused of accepting gifts from those with cases before him, including two lawyers who gave the judge $2,000 and then won a court ruling in their favor. He won’t be getting his $175,000 annual pension either…A new law school is on the drawing board in the corridor between New York City and Washington, D.C., where the University of Delaware is proposing to open its doors to fledgling legal eagles in 2015. The law school would be located in Newark…New Ventura County Asian American Bar Association officers are: John Fukasawa, President; Kata Kim, Vice-President; Brian Nomi, Treasurer; and Shan He, Secretary…

President Joe Strohman will host the 21st Annual Bar Leaders Conference 2.5 at the Courtyard by Marriott…Michael Planet is on the agenda and if you are one of 35 section, committee and affiliate leaders, you’re invited – jstrohman@fcoplaw.com… Attorney William Schopf ’s fall schedule included a working trip to the Toronto Film Festival in September and preparation for a major trial starting in November. “I haven’t had the situation yet where I have to tell the judge, ‘I need a continuance because I’ve got to go to Cannes,’” he says, but one can imagine such a conflict in his future. That’s because the 62-year-old co-founder of Schopf & Weiss in Chicago takes more than a passing interest in cinema. Twenty-four years ago he in cinema. Twenty-four years ago he bought a building that houses a jewel box of a movie house, the historic 750-seat Music Box Theatre in Chicago. One investment led to another, and today his movie business is on a winning streak. Music Box Films, an independent distributor he started three years ago, snared the U.S. distribution rights to the Millennium Trilogy, the Swedish-language films based on the late Stieg Larsson’s best-selling crime novels including The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo…

Sandra Robertson’s last FT day with FCOPLaw is December 31. She has been associated with them since 1982. She’ll continue work on a part-time basis… Amber Rodriguez is now hangin’ her hat at 107 Figueroa, Ventura. Her office # is 643.4200 and can be had at lawofficeofamberrodriguez@yahoo.com.  Amber is also expecting her second child in May….

Rebeca Mendoza is the new President of the Mexican American Bar Association following an exemplary run by Jessica Arciniega. Andres Garcia will remain Treasurer…The winner of this year’s American Crossword Puzzle Tournament didn’t follow in his parents’ legal footsteps, but he has their intellectual abilities.  Dan Feyer is a pianist, a director in musical theater, and has an amazing talent to quickly solve crosswords. He demonstrated for the New York Times, completing the newspaper’s difficult Saturday crossword in 5 minutes and 29 seconds. His father is a San Francisco bond lawyer and his mother is a law professor at Hastings…An Ohio judge is allowed to have Facebook friends, the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the state’s top court held 12.9. But doing so requires “constant vigil,” the board states in its written opinion, because “a judge must maintain dignity in every comment, photograph and other information shared on the social network.”…After 27 years with our District Attorney’s Office, lucky Greg Brose’s last day is 2.4 and then it’s off permanently to the Big Island in March. He started his career in the Riverside DA’s office in 1977…

The Barristers Annual Judges’ Pizza Night and Winter Coat Drive was chock full of success at a new venue, Café Fiore in Ventura. Justices, judges and commissioners in attendance were Gilbert, Perren, Coffee, Walsh, Bysshe, Young, Borrell, Kellegrew, Ayers, O’Neill, Bennett, Cody, McGee, Smiley, White, Hirsch, Back, Baio, Johnson, Riley, and Wright. That be 21 in all, a record! A generous $575 was raised for the Coat Drive, too. Want to donate? Laura Bartels at lvkbartels@aol.com. Hats off to John Negley for managing the event and a SO for President Doug Goldwater and president elect Christina Stokholm for marketing and ensuring a fun time for all…

Emeritus Attorney Gerald Cline celebrated his 70th birthday along with the other EAs at a training 11.15. His birthday cake? Compliments of EA Tina Rasnow…A San Diego Superior Court judge has agreed to resign after being censured by the Commission on Judicial Performance for a pattern of intemperate behavior towards lawyers and defendants. Judge DeAnn M. Salcido agreed to resign immediately to avoid formal proceedings against her. The resignation became effective 11.18. Salcido was charged by the commission with making mocking, rude and slightly off-color comments from the bench. For example, Salcido told a defendant that he would be “screwed” if he violated probation and “we don’t offer Vaseline for that.”…David Tredway attended Game One of the World Series in The City…

Chiapas, Mexico? Gilbert Romero at gilbert.romero@ventura.org. Quemado, New Mexico? Karen Darnall at k-darnall@earthlink.net. Helena, Montana? Brian Nomi at briannomi@yahoo.com Recommended Reading of the Month: The Santa Suit, by Christopher Brian Halvorson. Spurned by Santa Claus as a little boy, Henry Milton grows up to be a street-hustling lawyer. When a client arrives at Henry’s office wanting to sue Kris Kringle, Henry accepts the case as a cheap publicity stunt. But when Santa shockingly appears in court with a team of elf lawyers, he must fight the trial of the century. 106 pages. $10. www.blackrhinopress.com… Jon Light had a letter to the editor appear in The Star 11.7. About a homeless man he befriended many years ago in the Camarillo Starbucks…

President-Elect of the bar association, Joe Strohman, completed the SB International Half Marathon in 2:08:04…Your bills for the 2011 State Bar dues will be mailed 12.1 and the deadline for payment is 2.1.11. The fee for active lawyers is $410 and includes $315 as the annual fee, $40 for the Client Security Fund, $25 for disciplinary activities, $10 for the Lawyers Assistance Program, $10 for technology upgrades. Failure to pay dues by the deadline will trigger a $100 late payment penalty. BTW, those lawyers whose last names end with N-to-Z (Group 3) also have until 2.1 to report completion of their 25 hours of MCLE…Judge Mark Borrell, Erik Feingold, Rick Loy, and Tom Beach all completed the annual Levi Leipheimer’s Gran Fondo 10.2. The gnarly 103 mile ride with 8500 feet of vertical gain is a tuffy and characterized as California’s most challenging century. On 8.18 Tom won his age group in the So Cal Cycling Association Time Trial Championships…

Carmen Ramírez will be sworn-in on the Oxnard City Council December 7 beginning at 7:00 p.m…The Ventura County Superior Court held its first session of the Veterans Court on 11.1 in Courtroom #37. The specialized court will hear criminal cases involving veterans who suffer from the effects of combat-related psychological injuries or substance abuse. Robert Sherman at 654.2964…Threats are rising against administrative law judges who hear Social Security disability cases. There were at least 80 threats against the judges in the past year, an increase of 18 percent. Many of the judges hear cases in leased office buildings, where just one security guard is assigned for protection. Randall Frye, a Charlotte, N.C., administrative judge who is president of the judges union, told the AP the kind of threats being made are more significant than the numbers. “There seem to be more threats of serious bodily harm, not only to the judge but to the judge’s family,” he said…

NOTES: The new admittee swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for December 7 beginning at 4:00 p.m. inside CR#22. It’s compelling and entertaining…The VCTLA Holiday Party is also set for the 7th beginning at 5:30 p.m. up top the Tower Club. Contact Celene at bar@vcba.org or calling Jim Prosser at 642.6702…The VCBA board of directors Holiday Celebration is happening 12.8 starting at 5 p.m.at Brophy Bros– Kendall at kvanconas@atozlaw.com… Need a general CLE this month? Intellectual Property has one December 9th at noon at the bar office contact bar@vcba.org…

From a Ninth Circuit decision 11.16: “It behooves litigants, particularly in a case with a record of this magnitude, to resist the temptation to treat judges as if they were pigs sniffing for truffles.” In Re: Oracle Corp. Sec. Litig…Local lawyers Mike O’Brien and Mark Hancock, whose combined bar number is still a fraction of today’s barely legal lawyers, joined forces on the tennis courts recently to go 4-1 and win the 4.0 consolation final at the Pierpont RC. In the one match they did lose, the duo went down 4-6 in the third set of an 8 a.m. match after winning a 3-setter the night before. Asked to comment on their wins, O’Brien and Hancock wanted to highlight the fact that they also beat the 4.0 champions in their pre-tournament warm-up match. Fans at the PRC are still shaking their heads at the spectacle of a Hancock/O’Brien belly bump, a true multi-sensory experience.

Did I mention that I could have been mistaken?  And that hasn’t happened since 1995.  A couple hundred brave souls attended my bash 10.7 and helped us raise raise just over $4,000 for the vcba/vlsp, inc. Shout-outs to Kendall VanConas, Wendy Lascher, David Shain, and Chris Miyasaki for coordinating the event.  Did you know bar staff forked over $50 each to attend and work it?  Thanks to Verna Kagan, Alice Duran, Alex Varela-Guerra, Celene valenzuela, and JP McWaters. I’m proud to say I closed the Tower Club bar…  Patricia Herzog, a self-taught lawyer who helped change California divorce law in 1985 by arguing that a wife who put her husband through medical school deserved to share in his future earnings after they divorced, has passed. She was 88.  The very notion “blew everybody’s mind,” Herzog to the LA Times in 1994… Mexico City?  Terence Geoghegan at tg@iswest.com…  Flathead Lake, Montana? Phil Drescher at pdrescher@nchc…El Salvador and Zanzibar?  Andres Garcia at agarcia@crla.com…

Boss of the Year? Why none other than Leslie McAdam of FCOP. Nominated by Carol Sautter, she enned the winning nomination for Mike Case in 2003 too.  Leslie and Carol have both been with the firm since 2002. This wildly successful event started in 1960 with Edwin Beach walking away with the very first plaque. Last year’s winner? David Tredway. Judging panelists?  Michael Planet and Brenda McCormick… Website of the Month: www.justinconseil.fr/index.php?page=accueil#accueill–A  rapping French notaire, a semi-government official who handles the transfer of property through marriage, divorce, death, etc.  Very funny…

VCTLA board member Greg Johnson has been acknowledged as a finalist for the 2010 Street Fighter of the Year Award.  The winner will be announced during the Consumer Attorneys of California Annual Convention Installations and Awards Dinner on Saturday, November 20 in San Francisco.  Speaking of CAOC news–David Shain was elected to the 2011 board of directors…  This lawyer lives among us!–A prominent Irvine lawyer has been charged with impersonating his next-door neighbors, and creating fake web pages advertising services from the neighbors’ home. Franklin Casco Jr., 49, pleaded not guilty in June to 10 felonies, including one count each of conspiracy and stalking, as well as four counts of identity theft. I know, I know, due process, but yuck…Andres Garcia, son of long-time Ventura lawyer Robert Garcia, became the Directing Attorney of the Oxnard Migrant Unit of the local CRLA legal aid office October 1…

Anderson Kill Wood & Bender lawyers Caroline Hurtado and Katie Pietrolungo competed in their first triathlon on October 3.  The race extended from Venice to downtown LA and included a .9 mile swim, 24 mile bike ride and a 6.2 mile run.  They placed 30th out of 47 in the coed Olympic Relay Division…Brett Drouet is the newest fresh face inside the Anderson Kill Wood & Bender Ventura offices starting 9.27… Susan Goytia-Miller will be showing off her dance skills Tango style 11.19 at 6:00 p.m. atop the Tower Club.  “The Passion of Tango,” presented by Jorge Visconti and his new Argentinean Tango Show begins after dinner. Susana can be reached at 407.1587…  State of California’s largest law firms? Latham & Watkins at 624; Morrison & Foerster 546; Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith 501; O’Melveny & Myers 462; and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton 441.  These are just California lawyers, not firm wide.  Latham has 2,000 firm wide and Morrison has 1,100…

William Gorenfeld had his letter to the editor published in the September issue of California Lawyer. A response to Gerald Uelmen’s squib. Callawyer.com… State Bar President Howard Miller announced that after a nationwide search, the Board of Governors of the State Bar has selected former State Senator Joseph L. Dunn to be the new executive director of the State Bar.  Joe begins his tern 11.1… Greg Paraskou, Santa Barbara County’s Public Defender for the past half-decade, retired 10.1 after a long and highly acclaimed career…

An American Bar Association committee has recommended that the ABA consider accrediting law schools outside the United States according to The National Law Review.  The committee, composed of law professors, attorneys, judges, and law school deans, distributed its report to State Supreme Court Justices, ABA Leaders and top law school administrators.  Broadening the ABA’s accreditations overseas would be in line with the globalization of the legal profession, the committee said.  The panel cited figures from the National Conference of Bar Examiners that show between 4,000 and 5,000 foreign trained lawyers sit for the bar each year in the U.S….Larry Hines’ novel is now on Amazon. You can go to Amazon.com books and search by author and title or http://www.amazon.com/Beneficiary-Novel-Justice-Savaged-Biased/dp0578052369.  It is in paperback for now and the Kindle will be online in a few weeks…

GO to the Annual Dinner & Awards Banquet November 20th and honor Mark.  O. Hiepler as the recipient of the Ben E. Nordman Public Service Award.  Deborah Jurgensen will be accepting the James Loebl VLSP Award and proceeds go to our pro bono program. Hats off to Eric Reed, dinner chair and Don Hurley, Silent Auction coordinator. Call Celene at the bar at 650.7599 or bar@vcba.org…

Ventura Family Law lawyer Deborah Jurgensen received the State Bar of California’s President’s Pro Bono Service Award from Chief Justice Ronald George Friday evening, September 24, at the plush DeAnza Ballroom of the Portola Hotel in Monterey. On hand were a couple hundred people including a number of Deborah’s amily and colleagues. She accepted the accolades in the Individual/Solo category. Congrats to Deb at  jurgensenlaw@hotmail.  com or 850.6100…A quote from the U.S. Supreme Court’s newest justice generated so many lookups on Merriam-Webster.com that the dictionary has proclaimed it one of its “Top Words of Summer 2010.” The word is “vapid,” used by Elena Kagan in a 1995 law review article. The article calls the confirmation process “a vapid and hollow charade.” At the top of the list? Refudiate uttered by Sarah Palin…The judges of the Ventura Superior Court on September 8 unanimously elected Judge Vince O’Neill as Presiding Judge and Judge Brian Back as Assistant Presiding Judge for 2011 and 2012. The new terms for both begins 1.1.2011…

Greg Herring has been accepted as a Fellow in the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. I believe he’s the only one in our tri-counties area…Attorney Meryl Chambers, Editor of Verdicts and Settlements at The Daily Journal, tells me their “Verdicts & Settlements” database (with nearly 30,000 reports) could be a valuable tool for litigators in assessing their own case. Additionally, submitting cases to the Daily Journal does present an opportunity to spotlight the achievements of our lawyers. One does not need to be a subscriber to submit a verdict or settlement for publication.  There’s an online form that allows attorneys to submit results and it’s free –www.dailyjournal.com/verdictsubmit.cfm…Proposed changes to the Local Rules of the Superior Court of California County of Ventura for January 1, 2011.  The judges would appreciate any comments or recommendations regarding these rules by October 25. To view, go to the court’s website, www.venturacourts.ca.gov, and go to “What’s New” and you’ll find ‘em. A hardcopy is available upon request to victoria.borjesson@ventura.courts.ca.gov… The 4th Annual Women Lawyers of Ventura County Legacy Dinner is set for October 21 inside the fine Tierra Sur Restaurant at the Herzog Wine Cellars.  That near-perfect location will honor Barbara Macri-Ortiz, previous winner of a vcba/vlsp, inc. Pro Bono Award, with the Legacy Award. Jessica Arciniega, current president of the Mexican American Bar Association, will be the recipient of the Holly Spevak Award. Wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres and silent auction begins at 5:00 p.m. for the reasonable price of $60. All proceeds from the silent auction will benefit the Mary Sullivan Scholarship Fund. Jodi Prior, president of the WLVC, may be reached at jodi.prior@venturacourts.ca.gov or 582.7537… This dude lives among us! A man in NYC infamous for being arrested for stealing subway trains – who has been arrested 26 times for impersonating a transit worker – was collared August 31 when he stole a bus and took it for a joyride. Darius McCollum’s mother said he has Asperger Syndrome…Kona? Leslie McAdam at lmcadam@fcoplaw.com or Andy Viets at aviets@ci.ventura.ca.us…  Michael McQueen celebrated his who-knows-what birthday August 31 by taking his entire Inn of Court Team #1 after a rehearsal to Safire for dinner…

Todd Wolfe became a first-time daddy July 29! Sophia Lilly was born 6:16 p.m. and weighed-in at seven pounds and one ounce.  Momma Emma doing just great too…Here’s some comical case names I bet you have not heard of: United States ex rel. Mayo v. Satan and His Staff (W.D. Pa. 1971); United States v. Approximately 65,695 Pounds of Shark Fins, No. 05-56274 (9th Cir. Mar 17, 2008); United States v. Article Consisting of 50,000 Cardboard Boxes More or Less, Each Containing One Pair of Clacker Balls, 413 F.Supp. 1281 (D.Wisc.1976); Death v. Graves,CGC-06-451316 (San Francisco Super. Ct. filed April 27, 2006), alleging that the defendant’s vehicle crashed into plaintiff Alan Death’s motorcycle; Death lived); United States v. 11 ¼ Dozen Packages of Articles Labeled in Part Mrs. Moffat’s Shoo-Fly Powders for Drunkenness, 40 F.Supp. 208 (W.D.N.Y. 1941) (holding product misbranded because it was not in fact a cure or treatment for  drunkenness)…After 28 years together, Rosenmund, Baio & Morrow ended effective June 1. Partner Rocky Baio has become a Ventura County Superior Court Commissioner and partner Fred Rosenmund is partially retired. Michael Morrow has opened his own practice at the same location and keeping all the phone and fax numbers.  He does have a new email: morrow@morrowlawoffice.  com. Michael remains a Patron of our Annual Law Day 5K…

VCBA Board member and Chair of the Probate and Estate Planning Section, Cheri Kurman, has announced her successful campaign to bring Certified Specialist CLE to the section was formalized by the State Bar August 27.  This means that lawyers who have Certified Specialist designation (there’s about 19 of you) in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law may now receive Specialized CLE effective at the next meeting scheduled for September 30 beginning at noontime at the Wedgewood.  Any other section interested can call this author… He broke up the room in his opening speech with a joke about his wife and cracked them up again in his closing speech with a joke about his fellow candidates. But in between San Francisco lawyer William Hebert provided enough substance on pertinent issues to win the State Bar presidency on July 24. Hebert, 49, is a partner with Calvo & Clark and his wife, Lori Schechter, is a partner at Morrison & Foerster.  Our District 6 rep, Mike Tenenbaum, was in France and absent to vote…Robert Ostrove had a Letter to the Editor appear in the LA Times Sports Section August 31. Somethin’ about the Dodgers…

And lastly, you’ll want to check this out – the bar’s website has a new and valuable feature.  It’s entitled Career Center. Go to www.vcba.org. Go to the menu bar at the top of the page and click Membership. Then click the first one up, New –Jobs and Job Postings. You’ll find an array of opportunities and vacancies. You may also post your résumé. This is good stuff, people! Take advantage.