August 2016 - Let's Hear From You

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by Todd G. Friedland

Letters, we get letters, we get letters every day. Well, in this case, emails to heytodd@ocbar.org. So let’s see what’s on people’s minds. First up is a report from the OCBA Real Estate Law Section from Maryann Cazzell from June:

Our most popular programs so far this year, were Attorney Pete Wittlin’s Annual Update of the Top Ten Real Estate Cases and Statutes (from 2015) presented in April, and our Landlord-Tenant Update (for 2016) presented by Attorney George Liddle in May. Pete’s program has been presented every year for decades, is very informative, includes an awesome handout, and is always well attended. George is a dynamic and entertaining speaker—very humorous while also being very direct—and an unlawful detainer practitioner who is extremely knowledgeable in his subject matter. Some of our more notable upcoming programs include our June 28th program on “Due Diligence in Commercial Real Estate Transactions” to be presented by Attorney Marcelo De Frenza, and our July 26th program on Updates in the Property Tax Assessor’s Office, presented by Orange County Assessor Claude Parrish.

Next is a June report on activities at the Corporate Counsel Section from Christina Zabat-Fran:

Our goals for our section are to (1) address topics at the core of in-house practice, and (2) develop meaningful opportunities for dialogue and greater connection amongst in-house attorneys and their partners in practice. Our programming is purposeful, experimental in some ways, and overall we are hopeful that this both draws more corporate counsel and transactional attorneys into the active OCBA fold, as well as strengthens communications between the legal and business communities. Case in point: our special joint meeting with the ADR Section included section members’ sharing their mediation “pet peeves” for the packed, sold-out program. Bill Caplan, of IVAMS, Rutan & Tucker, and Chapman Law, gave a lively and in-depth presentation on mediation style and techniques, thoughtfully integrating our section’s input with a talk about perceptions and outcomes. Thanks so much to all participating members from both sections, ADR Section Chair Mike Balmages for his partnership, and OCBA President Todd Friedland for joining us with motivating welcoming remarks (that exceeded his two-minute request, of course, but that’s okay). Corporate counsel is active, engaged, and ready for what’s next; our OCBA community can expect many more collaborations in the future.

Lisa McCall from the Appellate Law Section reported:

I believe our most popular program so far had to be Justice Rylaarsdam’s retirement luncheon. Our notable upcoming programs are the staff appreciation luncheon at the Court of Appeal, where we host lunch for all of the court staff, and the U.S. Supreme Court Preview in October, where we will award Nancy Kendrick, retired managing attorney at the Court of Appeal, the Justice Sills Award for Appellate Excellence, and hear a debate about the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court term from Dean Chemerinsky and Professor Eastman. We recently lost a very prominent and well-respected appellate attorney, William Kopeny, and would like to put on a program to honor him.

The Family Law Section has also been busy. According to Tom Tuttle:

The Family Law Section has 600 members and is averaging 167 attendees for the first six luncheons of the year. The Section has had a number of great programs this year, including one put on by the Dept. of Child Support Services, one on Bankruptcy and Family Law, and one regarding business/corporate documents and Family Law Judgments. There will be an evening seminar about evidence on October 26, 2016. Save the date.

Here’s an email that came in to heytodd@ocbar.org:

Hey Todd, I am a junior lawyer and want to join the OCBA, but money is tight. Any suggestions? Sincerely, Down and Out in Laguna Hills (name changed to protect the innocent).

Well, Down and Out, don’t look at OCBA membership as an expense, look at it as an investment in your future. The low cost of OCBA membership opens doors to countless hours of MCLE that you would otherwise pay for. It also opens doors to great networking opportunities. What price would you pay to get a lead on a new client, shake hands with a future employer, or have people (who give referrals) learn who you are? I’d pay a lot more than the current OCBA dues. Besides, junior attorneys don’t pay full price. Dues for new admittees are just $40 and just $75 for attorneys practicing only a few years. And membership in the Young Lawyers Division is only $10. Consider it an investment in your future and join now.

Hey Todd, let’s grab a drink sometime! Best, Three Fingers Scotty (name changed to protect the identity of anyone who would be willing to be seen drinking with me).

Hey Scotty, a drink sounds great. You can catch me at the OCBA Charitable Fund’s Raise Your Glass fundraiser on August 25, 2016 at Big Canyon Country Club. Not only will we be raising money to sustain the many great causes supported by the Charitable Fund, but there will be a great number of wines being poured for tasting. I always discover a couple new gems at this event. Hopefully I will see you there.

Hey Todd, do you get many emails at heytodd@ocbar.org? Trudy Levindofske, OCBA Executive Director.

No Trudy, I don’t. I’d like to see the inbox full, but some days all I get are communications from Groupon, Facebook, and Twitter.

Todd G. Friedland is the OCBA’s 2016 President. Todd Friedland is also a business litigation partner at Stephens Friedland LLP in Irvine. Compliments, complaints, requests, referendums, questions, concerns, and psychobabble may be sent to heytodd@ocbar.org, todd@sf-lawyers.com, or @heytoddocba.