Jake Zindulka is the immediate past chair of the NLD. He has called San Diego home since 2015 and does not see himself returning to the Northeast. Jake is a great example of what one can accomplish if they take the initial step into the unknown of a new adventure.
Happy April NLD Members,
As the New Lawyer Division’s Community Outreach Co-Chair, I could not be any more excited to be writing this month’s message from the board during April which is celebrated all over the world as Global Volunteer Month. As lawyers we are dedicated to serving our clients and to advancing the interests of our community. This April, the New Lawyer Division (NLD) would like to celebrate the power of each of our NLD members and our San Diego public service organizations who continue to tackle society’s greatest challenges to build stronger communities through acts of pro-bono service and volunteerism.
Hi NLD Members,
I’m excited to be writing this message as Co-Chair of the Community Outreach subcommittee of the New Lawyer Division (NLD) Executive Committee, with Claudia Salinas. If we haven’t met, I encourage you to attend one of our events! We coordinate pro bono and volunteer events for new lawyers and law students in San Diego County.
The State Bar of California just released two separate and sobering reports about its own failure to open any public discipline investigation of Los Angeles attorney Thomas Girardi, despite more than one hundred complaints against him between 1982 to January 2021. These reports highlight not only failures at the State Bar, but also underscore the need to carefully consider a sometimes-overlooked aspect of the conflict-of-interest rules.
A recent appellate opinion from the Fourth District, Division Two, Rodriguez v. FCA US LLC (2022) 77 Cal.App.5th 209, changes the definition of a “new motor vehicle” in California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (“Act”) thereby limiting the number of consumers who can avail themselves of the Act. Courts have previously held that the Act is “manifestly a remedial measure, intended for the protection of the consumer; it should be given a construction calculated to bring its benefits into action.” Murillo v. Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (1998) 17 Cal.4th 985, 990.
Five minutes remained. The second hand on my watch stubbornly kept turning, along with my stomach. Three quarters of the California Bar Exam were finished, and my insides had decided to rebel right before the last push. But enough was enough. Despite my body’s objections, I hoisted myself to the sink, dabbed my face with paper, and lurched back to the exam room for another hundred multiple choice questions.
Can an attorney’s rate be likened to the value of a Pablo Picasso painting? How you monetarily value your time as an attorney can change the course of your practice and client relations.
On February 15, 2023, the New Lawyer Division was honored to be joined by Chief Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California for the first of its biannual court practice series programming. Judge Sabraw was nominated by George W. Bush to the federal bench on May 1, 2003, and then unanimously confirmed by the Senate. He became chief judge on January 22, 2021. Judge Sabraw provided insightful tips and guidance on best practices in federal court, including his thoughts on Complaints, FRCP 12(b)(6) motions (motions to dismiss), FRCP 56 (c) motions (motions for summary judgement), briefings, oral arguments, and advice on obtaining judicial clerkships.
New and newer attorneys are often eager to get in the courtroom. One way to gain invaluable experience — while at the same time assisting clients who may have nobody else advocating for them — is to sign up to serve as a court-appointed attorney in conservatorship cases. In these cases, the role of a court-appointed attorney is critical to ensuring a person’s wishes are heard and considered by a judge who is tasked with making rulings that may result in the loss of the client’s right of free will to make their own decisions.
Hello all:
I am honored to serve on the New Lawyer Division (NLD) Executive Committee where I help organize continuing legal education presentations for new lawyers in San Diego area. I graduated from California Western School of Law in 2018 and I am Senior Counsel at Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP. I am in my fifth year of practice.
