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THE GAVEL
&
QUILL
SAN GABRIEL VALLEY
LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE
The San Gabriel Valley Lawyer Referral Service is a non-profit organization,
jointly created and maintained by the Pasadena Bar, Eastern Bar and San Gabriel
Valley Bar Associations, that provides access to skilled, courteous and attentive
attorneys who provide legal services to clients from communities throughout the
San Gabriel Valley. We provide a valuable service to the public and to our panel
members.
We invite attorneys throughout the San Gabriel Valley to join our team of
qualified lawyers. When considering joining, please consider the following:
• The San Gabriel Valley Lawyer Referral Service is certified by the State Bar
of California and meets the standards set forth by the American Bar
Association.
• We were established in 1967. Since then, the Service has referred thousands
of cases to hundreds of skilled panel members practicing in no less than 18
areas of law.
• Trained staff only refers cases that match your experience and interests.
• As a panel member, you receive pre-screened referrals for a small fraction of
the cost of advertising and promoting your practice.
In particular, we are looking for attorneys who speak Spanish,
Cantonese and Mandarin in all areas of law.
For a Membership Application and a copy of our Rules and
Regulations, please visit our website at sgvlawyer.org. Completed
Applications can either be mailed to us at 1175 East Garvey St.,
Suite 105, Covina, CA 91724, or e-mailed to [email protected].
●MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS●
SAN GABRIEL VALLEY BAR ASSOCIATION
DATE: NO MEETING OR WEBINAR
TIME:
PLACE:
PROGRAM:
SPEAKER:
MCLE:
___________________________________________________________________
EASTERN BAR ASSOCIATION
DATE: JANUARY 21, 2021
TIME: PROGRAMS PROMPTLY START AT 5:00 P.M.
PLACE: WEBINAR (No In-Person Meeting)
PROGRAM: “Ethics” 5:00 P.M.
SPEAKER: Ashood Mooradian, Esq.
Former State Bar Prosecutor
PROGRAM: “Bias” 6:00 P.M.
SPEAKER: Clark Freshman, Professor at Law
University of California, Hastings & Freshman Training
PROGRAM: “Competence” 7:00 P.M.
SPEAKER: Lita Abella
Sr. Analyst, Lawyer Assistance Program
MCLE : 3 Hour Self-Study Event
Visit the EBA Website to Register
EBA Website: ebalac.org
Phone: 626-967-3115
________________________________________________________________________
PASADENA BAR ASSOCIATION
FOR CURRENT EVENTS VISIT
THE PASADENA BAR ASSOCIATION (PBA)
WEBSITE: www.pasadenabar.org Phone: 626-793-1422 Fax: 626-793-2370
At its meeting on November 19, the Board of Trustees set in
motion a new commission to conduct an in-depth examination of the State
Bar’s attorney discipline process system, a core function of the State Bar,
and recommend how to further improve its effectiveness and fairness. The
Board approved the charter and composition for the Ad Hoc Commission on
the Discipline System.
“While the Board of Trustees and State Bar staff remain focused on and
committed to continuous improvement in the discipline system, this commission
will broaden that process—bringing in outside experts and stakeholders for a
renewed look at how we can further optimize this work and ensure that public
protection is the always guiding force in the discipline system,” said Brandon
Stallings, Chair of the Board’s Regulation and Discipline Committee. “This is a
continuation of the Board’s efforts to ensure transparency, accountability, and
fairness in carrying out the State Bar’s mission.”
In recent years, the State Bar has implemented numerous reforms in the
discipline system to increase efficiency and focus resources on protecting the most
vulnerable victims of both attorney misconduct and those who defraud the public
by holding themselves out to be attorneys. A new set of recommendations to
address racial disparities in the discipline system, on which the Board
received updates at this meeting, prompted the Board at its September meeting to
undertake a more comprehensive re-examination of the agency’s discipline policies
and procedures.
The commission will evaluate changes in the Office of Chief Trial Counsel
since 2016, focusing on:
• Procedural justice and the experiences and perceptions of complaining
witnesses and respondents;
• Workload and operational efficiency of case processing;
• Case prioritization and case-flow management; and
• The efficacy of the system for preventing future attorney misconduct.
The commission will also review related research that the State Bar has
completed and planned. The commission may examine the structure of the State
Bar Court, principally issues involving its independence and autonomy.
Board of Trustees Inaugurates Discipline System Commission
Board of Trustees Inaugurates Discipline System Commission (continued)
In preparing its recommendations for further reforms, the commission will focus
on the dual goals of ensuring both public protection and fairness in the discipline
system.
The commission’s members will be chosen to reflect the state’s diversity and
include key institutional entities that focus on public protection. The State Bar
expects to open the application process for the commission in early December, and
the new group is expected to begin its work in early 2021. The Board directed the
commission to present a final report on its findings and recommendations no later
than June 30, 2022. The Board anticipates receiving interim updates and proposals
from the commission before the final deadline.
Accreditation Rules Revamp Approved for Public Comment
Among other actions taken at its November meeting, the Board approved to
circulate for a 60-day public comment period a major revamp of the Rules for
Accredited Law Schools. The proposal results from an intensive effort undertaken
by the Committee of State Bar Accredited and Registered Schools beginning in
April 2019. The revamped rules proposal was built around four key purposes for
accreditation: consumer protection and transparency; student success; diversity,
equity, and inclusion; and preparation for licensure and professionalism.
Requirements that did not serve one of these core purposes were eliminated, with
the intent of focusing the efforts of both law schools and the State Bar on what
matters most to ensure positive student outcomes. The effort represents one of the
final Admissions-related initiatives stemming from the Board’s review of its
governance and oversight of State Bar subentities, a process that began with
the Governance in the Public Interest Task Force report in 2017.
Supreme Court Issues Order for Remote, Online February Bar Exam
Before the Board meeting adjourned, Interim Executive Director Donna
Hershkowitz shared the California Supreme Court’s newly issued order to
administer the February 2021 California Bar Examination online. The exam will
take place on February 23 and 24, with the State Bar given discretion to grant in-
person testing for those with approved testing accommodations that cannot be
effectively provided and securely administered in a remote environment, and for
those with other extenuating circumstances preventing them from taking the exam
remotely.
Reprinted with Permission from the State Bar of California
ATTENTION
FREE REFERRAL SERVICE ATTORNEY MEMBERSHIP!
(FOR MEMBERS OF THE EASTERN BAR OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY, SAN GABRIEL VALLEY and PASADENA BAR ASSOCIATIONS)
The San Gabriel Valley Lawyer Referral Service is in need of bilingual attorneys in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys who speak fluent Spanish, Mandarin, French, Vietnamese or other foreign languages.
San Gabriel Valley Lawyer Referral Service is offering FREE REFERRAL SERVICE MEMERSHIP FOR THE FIRST YEAR.
You must be a first—time member.
We are also offering to all attorneys who wish to become first-time referral service members, a six-month free trial period. If at the end of six months you would like to continue as a member, we will send
you a statement for your membership fee ($150.00 for the first panel and $50.00 for each additional panel).
If you are interested in joining, please go to our website at sgvlawyer.org
Click on “Join Us” on the Home page, then download our Rules and Regulations and Application for Membership.
Mail the completed Application to our office at 1175 East Garvey Street, Suite 105, Covina, CA 91724 If you prefer, you may call our office at 626-966-5530
and we will be pleased to send you the Application packet and answer any questions.
UPCOMING
EASTERN BAR ASSOCIATION
MCLE PROGRAMS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021, 5:00 P.M.
Program: “Effectively Using Legal Investigations”
Speaker: Kelly Cory, Keystone Investigative Services, Inc.
THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021, 5:00 P.M.
Program: “Tax Update”
Speaker: Theresa C. Hansen, CPA
Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, all EBA events will be held via Zoom Webinars until we are able to meet in-person.
To register for the above Zoom Webinars, visit the EBA website at ebalac.org
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
FROM OUR OFFICE TO YOURS
Wishing you all the joys of the season,
and happiness and prosperity
throughout the coming year.
ATTENTION READERS
Looking for a new staff member? Do you offer special services? Or do you have office space for rent?
Having a problem getting the word out?
Put an ad in the next issue of the Gavel & Quill!
This Gavel & Quill is sent to over 250 San Gabriel Valley law
offices and is posted on the San Gabriel Valley Lawyer
Referral Service website (sgvlawyer.org).
Placing an ad in the Gavel & Quill is the easiest way of
reaching the legal profession.
We offer quarter page, half page, or full page ads at affordable prices!
If you already have a template, send it over to our office and we can publish it in the next issue of the Gavel & Quill.
OR
If you just don’t have the time, let us know what you want and we can create something for you!
FOR QUESTIONS OR INFORMATION CONTACT OUR OFFICE
AT 626-966-5530
MIKE PLEASE INSERT THE LAW LIBRARY PAGE HERE.
IT’S IN PDF FORM AND I CAN’T SEEM TO COPY AND PASTE TO INSERT IN
THIS PAGE
MANDATORY FEE ARBITRATION BULLETIN
If you have uncollected legal fees, the San Gabriel Valley Lawyer Referral Mandatory Fee Arbitration
Program can help. We all know that before an attorney may sue a client for fees, the B&P Code requires
that the attorney advise the client of the right to fee arbitration. But did you know that under California
law, the attorney cannot initiate the arbitration or compel the client to participate in the process?
The only way an attorney can compel a client to arbitrate a fee dispute is if the parties have so provided in
the retainer agreement. If your agreement does provide an arbitration clause, update it now! (A suggested
fee arbitration clause for your retainer agreements may be found below)
The San Gabriel Valley Lawyer Referral Service Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program offers fee
arbitration services for all Los Angeles County attorneys. In 2006 the SGVLRS adopted comprehensive
new rules for arbitration of attorney fee disputes. These rules expanded the fee arbitration program and
made the resolution of the fee disputes uniform, user friendly and timely. Under the rules (depending on
the amount in dispute) the parties may have a one or three person panel of experienced arbitrators.
Wherever possible, the SGVLRS tries to provide arbitrators with experience in the area of practice of the
attorney(s) whose fees are subject to the dispute. It promises prompt and expeditious handling of each
dispute by a knowledgeable and available staff.
FEE ARBITRATION CLAUSE
The dispute resolution provision of Attorney-Client Agreement may take various forms: One possible
form is set forth below. Certain governing principles should be considered with regard to a fee arbitration
provision for an Attorney-Client Fee agreement. They are:
• Before a dispute over legal fees arises, the parties may agree, in the Fee Agreement or otherwise
that all fee disputes will be submitted to arbitration under Business and Professions Code Sections
6200 through 6202, but they cannot agree at the time that the arbitration will be binding.
• Before a dispute over legal fees arises the parties may not agree that they will mediate a fee
dispute.
• After a dispute over legal fees arises, the client and the attorney may agree to non-binding and/or
binding fee arbitration.
• For any disputes that do not involve attorneys’ fees (e.g. malpractice), the parties may agree at
any time, including in the Fee Agreement, and without waiting for a dispute, to begin arbitration
proceedings.
SAMPLE FEE ARBITRATION CLAUSE
In the event of a dispute between you and our firm regarding our firm’s fees, upon the request of either
party, the dispute shall be resolved by arbitration under Business and Professions Code Section 6200
through 6206 with the San Gabriel Valley Lawyer Referral Service or another State Bar of California
approved Fee Arbitration Program reasonably acceptable to you and our firm. The arbitrator(s) shall
apply the law of the State of California. Unless we agree to binding arbitration after a dispute arises, any
arbitration award is not binding on our firm or you, and to the extent permitted by law, our firm and you
have the right to pursue any other available remedy within 30 days after the mailing of a non-binding
arbitration award.
Board of Directors
SAN GABRIEL VALLEY LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE
President Raul Sabado
Vice President John Peck
Secretary Josh Potter
Treasurer Tracy Wong
Assistant Treasurer Carl Herbold
SAN GABRIEL VALLEY BAR ASSOCIATION
President Anthony Seto
Secretary Michelle L. F. Montgomery
Treasurer Michael Fedrick
EASTERN BAR ASSOCIATION OF L.A. COUNTY
President Amanda Cajen
Vice President Shannon Knight
Treasurer Laurie Harrold
Secretary James Bostwick, Jr.
Past President Elizabeth Courtney
PASADENA BAR ASSOCIATION
President Mark Khalaf
President-Elect Carey Caruso
First Vice-President Jesse A. Arana
Second Vice President Lisa Z. Liu
Treasurer Elect Pamela Tedeschi
Secretary Arash Hashemi
Executive Director Christopher C. Chaney
The Gavel and Quill is a monthly publication of the San Gabriel Valley Lawyer Referral Service, the
Pasadena Bar Association, the San Gabriel Valley Bar Association and the Eastern Bar Association of Los
Angeles County. Its Purpose is to inform members of the sponsoring bar associations of matters of interest to
them. We welcome and encourage articles and comments from the membership.
Please address your contribution to:
1175 East Garvey Street, Suite 105, Covina, CA 91724-3677
(626) 966-5530 ▪ (626) 442-6973 ▪ (909) 599-3847
Website: http://sgvlawyer.org.
Email: [email protected]
FAX 626-915-4755
