President’s Message: December 7, 2020

On By sdcountybar

As we head into the final weeks of the year, we’re still working hard to bring you content vital to your practice and with some holiday cheer.

Final State of the Courts Update of 2020. Now more than ever, we want to help you stay connected to our courts. On Thursday from noon – 1:15 p.m., I will moderate a discussion with Presiding Judge Lorna Alksne  from the San Diego Superior Court and Chief Judge Larry Burns from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. We’ll discuss further COVID-19 impacts on court operations, and how our state and federal trial courts are addressing these issues now and their plans moving forward. This program is free to SDCBA members. Register here for the State of the Courts Address.

Stepping Up to the Bar. Then, on Friday evening, join us to celebrate our 2021 leadership at our annual Stepping Up to the Bar. Of course, the 2020 twist is that we’ll be celebrating via Zoom, but we hope you’ll tune in as I pass the gavel to President-Elect Renée N.G. Stackhouse and our 2021 Board of Directors is sworn in. December 11 from 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.

Truly Madly Solo. On Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons this week, we’ll host the 2nd Annual Law Practice Tech Conference for Solo and Small Firms. Join a faculty of tech-savvy experts and marketing gurus on both December 8 and 9 from 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. to learn how to manage and market an efficient and mobile practice.

Next week, join the New Lawyer Division on Monday, December 14 at 5:30 p.m. for some holiday fun at the Mingle & Jingle: Ugly Holiday Sweater & Cookie Recipe Party. Then on December 15, it’s time for another Tech Tuesday. Join us at 10:00 a.m. for an Introduction to  Clio: Learn How Law Firms Use Clio from Intake to Invoice.

Our Sections also will host some terrific CLE programs next week:

Thank you to the record number of members who joined us for last week’s Annual Membership Meeting. Despite this challenging year, the SDCBA’s top priority in 2020 was to connect you with one another and with the courts, and to provide you the tools and resources you need for success and fulfillment. At the Annual Membership Meeting, we reported on some of this year’s activities, including that we adopted a three-year strategic plan and new mission statement; we responded early to the pandemic by closing our physical office on March 6 and soon sent a survey to members to learn how to best serve your needs and provide relevant content; in late-March, we transitioned our educational, networking, and special events to virtual platforms; we continued to support the excellent work of our Committees and relevant programming by our Sections; we have produced an extensive archive of Tech Tuesday webinars focused on Technology, Law Practice Management topics and Legal Marketing topics; we launched our new Anti-Racism Subcommittee; we issued a series of statements on important public issues; we continued our Leadership Speaker Series; we revamped our Blawg@401 to provide more robust and diverse content, continued to bring you San Diego Lawyer magazine, published Court Updates and Community Updates pages, and so much more.

To keep your access to all of these benefits and to stay connected to your fellow SDCBA members in 2021, don’t forget to renew here! And, check out our brand new $100 All-Access CLE pass, or consider an upgrade to a Friend or all-inclusive Patron-level membership, which provide extra recognition and member benefits.

Here’s wishing you all a safe and healthy week, and a Happy Hanukkah beginning this Thursday!

Johanna Schiavoni
2020 SDCBA President