President’s Message: October 5, 2020

We look forward to hosting Wednesday’s free virtual event,  Dialogue on Diversity: Right to Vote! History of Voting Rights, Legal Challenges, and Current Concerns. San Diego City Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe will start us off with a special welcome, and we’ll be joined by four panelists, California Court of Appeal Associate Justice Hon. Eileen Moore, UCLA Voting Rights Project Co-founder and Director Chad Dunn, President of the Texas Civil Rights Project Mimi Marziani, and San Diego County Registrar of Voters Registrar Michael Vu. These experts will discuss voting rights history, and current topics and challenges, both within and outside California. This event offers 1.0 free Elimination of Bias CLE credit. Register here to join us on October 7 at 5:15 p.m.  

Dialogue on Diversity comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way we live, and for many, the way we will vote. Across the country, citizens will employ mail-in ballots to make their voices heard. Mail-in ballots for the November election will be mailed to California voters no later than today, October 5. If you’d like to volunteer locally or nationally in the elections, check out our Leadership Opportunities section at the bottom of this email for opportunities through our local Registrar of Voters or through the American Bar Association.   

Elections are also underway at the SDCBA. 2021 Section and New Lawyer Division elections opened on October 1 and will run through October 22. Meet your 2021 Section Leadership nominees and cast your vote (for contested seats, only) here. Our Board of Directors election opens on October 14. Meet your 2021 Board of Directors candidates here.  

One of our 2020-22 strategic priorities is to Build Lawyers as Leaders. Our Leadership Speaker Series is aimed at doing just that. Please join us for our next event, Boards and Commissions at the County & Surrounding Cities: How to Get Appointed and Why Serve. On October 16 at 12:00 p.m., an expert panel presentation will cover the importance of serving, how appointments are made, and how to make your application stand out in a crowded field. Register here »

When we quickly moved our programs online in March, we were only able to offer CLE credits as self-study. We are pleased to announce that, as of October 1, we will offer participatory CLE credits once again. You will need to register through the SDCBA website and then follow prompts to register on Zoom. We can only offer participatory credit if you log into the web or mobile Zoom application and have completed the registration authentication process via Zoom.

Because we know that staying connected is important – and indeed is at the core of the SDCBA’s mission – we’re pleased to offer unique opportunities to connect with your colleagues. Both of the events described below are meant to highlight and support newer attorneys – but we encourage you all to show up, mix, mingle, mentor, and have fun! 

Please note, next Monday, October 12, the SDCBA will be closed in observance of Columbus Day. 

Have a great week!

Johanna Schiavoni 
2020 SDCBA President