Magazine Archive

  • President's Message
  • February 2019
A Birth of a New Section

As most of you know, the best laid plans often go sideways.  In late 2018, after all of our careful succession planning, and after the Board’s strategic planning retreat lead by our President Elect, Governor Jerry Brown changed the course of 2019 for the CCCBA.  Simply, Governor Brown appointed our President Elect, Hon. Wendy McGuire...

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  • Inside
  • February 2019
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!*

On November 1, 2018 new Rules of Professional Conduct went into effect. These new rules were the result of years of drafting and review, comments and revision and represent the first major overhaul of the rules governing attorneys in California since 1989. Many of the revisions reflect a new numbering system for the rules, which...

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  • Featured
  • February 2019
Strict New Mediation Rule Now Effective

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas (or so they say).  And what happens in mediation stays in mediation. Or does it? In 1996 Michael Cassel obtained a “Global Master License” (“GML”) to sell Von Dutch clothing.  He founded a company (“Von Dutch Originals, L.L.C.) (“VDO”) to sell clothing under that name.  Cassel thereafter lost...

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  • Featured
  • February 2019
Conflicts of Interest Under California’s New Rules of Professional Conduct

Although there seems to have been no detectable tremor in the force, on November 1, 2018, California’s first nearly complete overhaul of its Rules of Professional Responsibility (“Rules”) in nearly 30 years came into effect.  In addition to renumbering the rules to conform to the ABA Model Rules, California’s new rules enact a number of...

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  • Classifieds
  • February 2019
I’m Too Sexy . . . For My Client! New Rules on Sexual Relations Between Attorneys and Their Clients

Following years of drafting, review and revision, the California Supreme Court ordered new Rules of Professional Conduct (“Rules”) to go into effect November 1, 2018. This was the first such comprehensive overhaul of the Rules since 1989, and brought them more into line with the American Bar Association (“ABA”) Model Rules, albeit with a distinct...

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  • Featured
  • February 2019
Rule 1.18: Guess what? You have a duty to prospective clients

Until the passage of the new rules, a mix of Professional Rules, Evidence Code, Business and Professions Code and case law created limited duties to prospective clients. These duties emphasized an attorney’s duty of loyalty, confidentiality and competence and evolved from an attorney’s duty to existing and former clients. Rule of Professional Conduct 1.18 now firmly...

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