Month: March 2022

An Attorney May Obtain Advance Consent to Take Protective Action on Behalf of a Client Who Later Becomes Incapacitated 

By Anne M. Rudolph 

In 2018, the Supreme Court rejected a proposed modified version of Model Rule 1.14 which would have allowed an attorney to take protective action if the attorney reasonably believed that the client had diminished capacity, was unable to act in the client’s own interest, and was at significant risk of physical, psychological or financial harm. Though the Supreme Court did not state its reason for the rejection, it is understood that the proposed rule was rejected because taking such protective action would have required an attorney to disclose a client’s confidential information in contradiction of the attorney’s duty under Business and Professions Code 6068, subdivision (e).  Read More

Mindful Communication

By Phillip Stephan

Pause. As attorneys, we are inherently attuned to the power of words. We seek to use them to persuade, to disarm, to indicate, and for other functions related to our practices. More than a few practitioners in our legal community have a way with words. The main goal of the words in this article is to persuade you to embrace the absence of words: not silence, but rather active listening, sincere consideration, and creating the space for dialogue by ensuring your partner in conversation has finished their thoughts and felt heard. Read More

President’s Message: March 28, 2022

When I first began volunteering as a temporary judge, my mother-in-law asked me how often I got to use the “little hammer.” I correctly concluded that she was referring to a gavel, and probably had in her mind something that was a different size than what I held in a picture that recently appeared on the cover of San Diego Lawyer. When I responded, my mother-in-law was visibly aghast to learn that not only did I not use one at all, but that I also could not recall seeing one in the courtrooms I had appeared in across the state. That conversation perhaps reflects one of the challenges faced by members of our bench: a misperception about what a judge’s role is and should be. Read More

A Lawyer’s Obligation of Candor

A Lawyer’s Obligation of Candor

By Deborah Wolfe

Lawyers have always had a duty to be honest and truthful pursuant to general ethical principles, as well as the State Bar Act. The newest version of the Rules of Professional Conduct, effective Nov. 1, 2018, provides more specific guidance to lawyers relative to this duty. Read More

Ground Hog Day Review – New Environmental Laws in 2022

Ground Hog Day Review – New Environmental Laws in 2022

By Katrina Wraight
Brown & Winters

On February 10, the SDCBA Environmental Law/Land Use Section met by Zoom to discuss new environmental and land use laws for 2022 in its presentation “Ground Hog Day Review – New Laws in 2022.” The reason for a Ground Hog Day review? Because it seems that every year, policymakers go around in the same circle and end up right back where they started: trying to get policy and law aligned with saving the planet.  Read More

Being a Part of a “Family” Law Firm: Tips for Success in Practicing with Family Members

Being a Part of a “Family” Law Firm: Tips for Success in Practicing with Family Members

By Laurel Anne Harris
Law Offices of Cynthia Ann Harris

My mom and I work together as attorneys in a “family” law firm; we are family serving clients in family law and criminal defense matters. Deciding to work with a family member can be a difficult decision. How are we going to get along in a work environment? Is work going to interfere with our personal relationship? What if things go south? These are all questions that likely every individual who has decided to either start a law firm with a family member or join a family member’s law firm have asked themselves, including me. Read More

President’s Message: March 14, 2022

In a few days, we will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The holiday can trigger several potential topics that are relevant to our profession. Those could conceivably include different historical views about whether a governmental entity’s celebration of such a holiday involves an inappropriate co-mingling of church and state. Or we could consider the impact that an activity often associated with the day — alcohol consumption — has had on our profession, something that ironically yields some sobering thoughts. But, for me, it also serves as a reminder to celebrate the American immigration story. Read More