Letter from the Chair of the Forum

Ashley Peterson
Attorney at Law

Dear Colleagues,

Mentorships are the elusive unicorn relationships of the legal community. For prospective mentees just starting their legal career, trying to find a mentor can be a daunting task.   

Legal Ethics for New Attorneys

How the Rule Regarding Fee Sharing May Evolve to Affect Your Practice

Eric Deitz
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP

California currently permits unaffiliated attorneys to share fees in connection with a given matter, including the payment of fees for referring a client to another lawyer.

Tips from the Pros

Making the Most of the Minimum: How to Maximize Your MCLE

Marti Worms
Assistant Director, Alumni Advising and Employment Reporting
University of San Diego School of Law

So you’ve graduated law school and the lectures are over forever. Not quite. Now that you are a member of the State Bar of California, you can expect to complete 25 hours in Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) coursework.

Features

Narrowing the Scope of Your Representation

Marc Adelman
Attorney at Law

Meeting a client’s expectations on any given matter is the biggest challenge lawyers often face. Failure to meet those expectations will often leave the client wondering if you did your job, kept your promises, or if your actions met the standard of care.

Features

Nonprofit Corporations: Board Authority and Fiduciary Duties

Jonathan Grissom
Henderson, Caverly, Pum & Charney LLP

Persons serving on boards of directors of California nonprofit corporations are often unaware of the authority held by the board and the duties each director owes to the organization they serve.

Features

The Inadvertent or Accidental Franchise

Tim Pickwell
Pickwell Law Group

If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck … it probably is a duck. Unfortunately for a lot of start-up entrepreneurs and inexperienced attorneys, the same rule of thumb applies with franchises.