Schedule

Grants Pass Litigation: What next for the Unhoused Population?

The recent U.S. Supreme Court case in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson found that cities and local governments can enforce laws regulating camping on public property, without violating the Eighth Amendment's ban on "cruel and unusual punishment."  The panel will feature attorneys who worked on Grants Pass before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit's earlier, now abrogated, decision in Martin v. City of Boise, which held that Boise's anti-camping ordinance violated the Eighth Amendment.  The panel will explore the broader implications of Grants Pass, examining its potential influence on policies across the U.S. and on how cities may handle homelessness moving forward.  The conversation will highlight the constitutional and human rights issues at play, particularly the balance between public order and rights of the unhoused. 

General Credit: 1.0 CLE

Speakers:  Howard Belodoff, Bradley Hamburger

Introduction and Moderator:  Lucie Hollingsworth

Forgiveness & Healing Conflict 

Forgiveness and healing conflict are part of a paradigm shift taking place in the law. These topics are not only on the cutting edge of dispute resolution, but also integral to the well-being of lawyers by reducing stress and burnout and expanding emotional intelligence and professional fulfillment. Learn the underlying concepts of this transformational work and how it can benefit clients immensely.  Hear how one litigator/mediator transformed her work to be energizing and not exhausting, with examples from different types of cases. See specific steps practitioners can take to use forgiveness principles not only in mediation but throughout the practice of law. Take away resources to help in developing these skills in everyday practice.

Civility in the Legal Profession (Specialty Credit): 1.0 CLE 

Speakers:   Barbara Monty, Eileen Barker 

Introduction:  Scott Buell

KEYNOTE Hour:  Joshua P. Davis 

Whether AI may become conscious, how it may become conscious, and why it matters for ethics and law.

The role of AI is only likely to grow in the near future—making ever greater incursions into our work, our lives, and our laws. However, a potential limitation on AI is its current (apparent) lack of consciousness. So we will ask whether AI will become conscious, how it might become conscious, and what effects that could have on the role it should play in making legal and moral judgments.  

Legal Ethics (Specialty Credit):  1.0 CLE

Speaker:  Joshua P. Davis 

Introduction: Morgan Daly

Creating Diverse, Inclusive Workspaces and Confronting Unconscious Bias

Principles of unconscious bias in the workplace. What is it? What are the various dynamics at play in the workplace as it pertains to Unconscious or Implicit Bias? This workshop will provide fundamental knowledge, tools, and resources to identify, address, and minimize unconscious bias in the workplace and your cases.  Dr. Joseph-Mathews will discuss some of the natural conflicts that can arise when employees, clients, or opposing counsel of diverse backgrounds come together. This presentation will demonstrate how differences in communication styles, leadership, and backgrounds, coupled with the impact of media and other societal influences, can lead to stereotypical profiles of co-workers, supervisory staff, clients, and opposing counsel alike.

Implicit Bias (Specialty Credit):  1.0 CLE

Speaker:  Dr. Sacha Joseph-Mathews 

Introduction:  Kristine Fowler Cirby

Reclassification of Marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, Emphasizing its Use in Medical Treatment

The Attorney General recently initiated a process in May of 2024 to reclassify marijuana from a schedule I to schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Habib Bentaleb will lead a panel discussion on the current status of the proposed rule change, and what impact reclassification would likely have on the production, sale and use of marijuana in California. He will also give you an update/discussion on hemp and the intersection with the cannabis industry 

Cannabis Legislative Update: There's been a flurry of legislative and political actions governing the cannabis industry. Come hear from some of the most experienced practitioners in the field how these changes will impact cannabis operators in California.

General Credit: 1.0 CLE

Speakers:  Habib Bentaleb, Alison Malsbury, Lauren Mendelsohn, Lara DeCaro

Introduction: Nestor Schnasse

Substance Abuse in the Legal Profession: Prevention, Detection, and Treatment

In this presentation, David Mann provides a review of the brain chemistry of addiction and alcoholism, as well as a discussion of the behavioral and health consequences of the disease.  Insights are offered into the personality traits of attorneys and the qualities of the legal profession that combine to make lawyers significantly more susceptible to addiction, and more difficult to treat, than the general population.  The presentation includes a case study of an addict attorney, as well as a self-diagnosis exercise for attorneys to utilize if they are concerned that they may have a problem which needs to be addressed.  Concluding remarks are directed towards both systemic and individual solutions to the problem, with references to specific strategies and resources available to attorneys.  Mr. Mann approaches this very serious topic in a manner that incorporates humor and irony and invites attorneys to engage in a bit of sometimes much needed self-reflection.

Prevention and Detection Competence (Specialty Credit): 1.0 CLE

Speaker:  David Mann 

Introduction: Emily Harrington 

Mental Health Well-being in the Legal Profession 

Join us for an insightful discussion exploring the unique mental health challenges faced by attorneys and strategies for finding wellbeing and work-life balance in the legal profession.  Our panelists will discuss navigating parenthood while managing a firm, strategies for mitigating stress, and personal stories about how our panelists prioritize their mental wellbeing in this highly stressful occupation.  This panel will focus on how to foster a supportive and sustainable legal career. 

Wellness Competence (Specialty Credit):  1.0 CLE 

Speakers:  Christine O'Hanlon, Diana Maier, Rodney Johnson 

Introduction and Moderator: Emily Harrington

How Ancillary Professionals Can Help Reduce Conflict in Family Law Custody Cases 

When working with children and families, it is important to consider alternative strategies to litigation and aggressive practices that emphasize winning and losing. The literature on children and divorce demonstrates that after-effects of divorce are much worse for children in high conflict families. For these reasons, attempting to minimize the contentiousness in custody cases whenever possible is crucial for the wellbeing of all family members and is in the best interests of the children involved. This program, led by three experienced neutral professionals (a psychologist and two attorneys), will provide numerous options to family law professionals outside of the court services to support parents navigating the custody and child-related issues in their cases. 

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General Credit:  1.0 CLE 

Speakers:  David Donner, Paula Lawhon, Stacey Shuster Ph.D.

Introduction: Kristine Fowler Cirby 

KEYNOTE Hour:  David Jones 

Climate change and insurance: Are we marching toward an uninsurable future?

Dave Jones served two terms as California’s Insurance Commissioner and currently serves as the Director of the Climate Risk Initiative at UC Berkeley School of Law’s Center on Law, Energy and Environment. As Insurance Commissioner, he was responsible for regulating the largest insurance market in the United States from 2011 to 2018 and led the Department’s response to California’s increasingly deadly and destructive catastrophic wildfires including the Butte, Valley, Thomas, Mendocino, Carr, Woolsey, and Camp Fires. He will discuss how climate change driven extreme weather events are impacting insurance pricing and availability in many areas of the United States, with a focus on how insurers in California have been responding to increased losses from wildfires,  proposed regulatory and legislative responses to make insurance more available, and what the future might hold for insurance availability and pricing due to the ongoing failure to reduce substantially the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change. 

General Credit:  1.0 CLE

Speaker:  David Jones 

Introduction:  Nestor Schnasse 

Understanding Home Equity Scenarios for Retirement and Legacy Planning 

The SECURE 2.0 Act, enacted in 2022, applies to IRA distributions from and after January 1, 2023.  Many aspects of the law relating to those distributions were left to the IRS Regulations to determine.

The Regulations discussed in this presentation relate to “inherited IRAs.”  There regulations were delayed for quite a while but were finally issued in July of this year (2024). The regulation left in place the 10-year “any time” rule from earlier speculation about the SECURE 2.0 Act.  This means that the beneficiaries of the Roth IRA can choose to receive as little or as much from the Roth IRA as he/she/they would like, whenever he/she/they would like, so long as the IRA is fully distributed within 10 years of the original IRA-owner’s death.  All without any income tax to the distribute(s).  Thus, Roth conversion is a form of estate planning for the benefit of the beneficiary, as well as a current benefit for the original IRA-holder.

But of course, there is a cost, an income tax cost, to the original IRA-owner to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.  And that cost is the subject of some interesting rules and some interesting financial planning. The tax and financial planning literature consider the benefits and detriments of using various sources of money to pay taxes.  In this presentation, we analyze the use of a reverse mortgage credit line as the source. As this presentation will show, using the reverse mortgage credit line results in several significant long-term advantages over other sources.

Legal Specialization (Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law)/General Credit:  1.0 CLE

Speakers:  Homa Rassouli, Spencer Scheer

Introduction: Kristine Fowler Cirby

Robes & Robots: AI and the Future of Legal Disputes

Artificial intelligence will change the practice of law And for those who have use it, there is no going back. By digesting and analyzing massive amounts of data (including documents and case law), it can be an incredible time saver. It might even help you win cases. But it can also land you in hot water if you rely on it without the utmost care.  The panel includes two Boies Schiller Flexner partners, who have been working at the forefront of AI, both in using it to litigate and litigating the way it is used, and two key players in the use of AI in litigation from Harvey and DISCO. Representatives from both companies will walk us through the incredible ways in which AI can (and already has been) reshaping the way we try cases.

Technology in the Practice of Law  (Specialty Credit):  1.0 CLE

Speakers:  David Simons,  Joshua Stein, James Park, Juan Pablo Sandoval  

Introduction and Moderator: Kristine Fowler Cirby

Democracy in Chains

This session explores the radical right’s long-term strategies to undermine democratic institutions, as detailed in Nancy MacLean’s award-winning Democracy in Chains. Key topics include the growing influence of these movements in U.S. politics over the past half century and the current challenges facing our democracy and Constitution.

General Credit:  1.0 CLE

Speaker: Nancy MacLean 

Moderator: Scott Buell