The Law School Experience, Part I
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MARCH 2020 • $5 A Publication of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association The Law School Experience, Part I Contract Terms: What They Are and How They Work www.sfvba.org www.ketkcpa.com 2 Valley Lawyer ■ MARCH 2020 www.sfvba.org lewitthackman.com 818.990.2120 www.sfvba.org MARCH 2020 ■ Valley Lawyer 3 CONTENTS MARCH 2020 VALLEY AWYER A Publication of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association 12 22 36 30 FEATURES 12 Contract Terms: What They Are and How DEPARTMENTS They Work | BY DAVID GURNICK MCLE TEST NO. 137 ON PAGE 21. 7 President’s Message 22 The Law School Experience, Part I: 9 Editor’s Desk The Deans’ Perspective | BY MICHAEL D. WHITE 10 Event Calendars 30 A Look Back, A Look Forward | BY KYLE M. ELLIS 33 New Members 35 Member Focus 36 Promoting the Law Firm: What Works | BY SETH HOROWITZ 41 Attorney Referral Service COLUMN 43 Photo Gallery 44 Dear Phil Securing a Loose Cannon 46 Classifieds www.sfvba.org MARCH 2020 ■ Valley Lawyer 5 Jack G. Cohen COURT QUALIFIED AUTOMOBILE EXPERT WITNESS, LICENSED SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BAR ASSOCIATION AUTOMOBILE DEALER 20750 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 140 Woodland Hills, CA 91364 30 years experience in the automotive industry Phone (818) 227-0490 Fax (818) 227-0499 Plaintiff and Defense www.sfvba.org Consulting with attorneys, dealers, EDITOR Michael D. White consumers, insurance companies GRAPHIC DESIGNER Marina Senderov OFFICE: 747.222.1550 « CELL: 747.222.1554 EMAIL: [email protected] OFFICERS 2629 Townsgate Road, Suite 110 « Westlake Village, CA 91361 President ..................................Barry P. Goldberg President-Elect .........................David G. Jones Appraisals Secretary .....................................Christopher P. Warne Industry standards Treasurer ..................................Matthew A. Breddan Immediate Past President ........Yi Sun Kim Dealer fraud Executive Director ....................Rosie Soto Cohen Vehicle sales and leasing Dealership practices BOARD OF TRUSTEES New and used auto transactions Michael L. Cohen Joy Kraft Miles Auto warranty issues Alan Eisner Amanda Marie Moghaddam Finance documentation and analysis Kyle M. Ellis Samuel R.W. Price Ivette Fernandez Allan D. Sarver Lender-dealer relationships Heather Glick-Atalla George N. Seide Wholesale & Retail Gary J. Goodstein Steven M. Sepassi Diminished value cases Alexander S. Kasendorf Benjamin E. Soffer Automobile and equipment rentals Minyong Lee Taylor F. Williams STAFF Director of Education & Events .... Linda Temkin SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S NEMECEK COLE Communications Manager .........Michael D. White PREEMINENT PROFESSIONAL Member Services Coordinator ...Sonia Bernal Attorneys At Law & Associate Director of LIABILITY DEFENSE FIRM Public Services .......................... Miguel Villatoro Referral Consultant .................... Favi Gonzalez SECTION CHAIRS Bankruptcy Law ............................Steven R. Fox Business Law & Real Property ..... Lauri Shahar Criminal Law.................................. David S. Kestenbaum Employment Law .......................... David G. Jones Family Law ....................................Vanessa Soto Nellis ......................................................Amir Aharonov Litigation ......................................Christopher P. Warne New Lawyers .............................. Yi Sun Kim ....................................................... Amanda Marie Moghaddam Probate & Estate Planning ............John E. Rogers .......................................................Nancy A. Reinhardt Taxation Law ................................Hratch J. Karakachian Workers’ Compensation .............. Jeffrey S. Swartz FRANK W. NEMECEK* JONATHAN B. COLE* MICHAEL MCCARTHY* EDITORIAL COMMITTEE CHAIR David Gurnick Valley Lawyer is published monthly. Articles, announcements, and advertisements are due by the first day of the month prior to the publication date. The articles in Valley Lawyer are written for general interest and are not meant to be relied upon as a substitute for independent research and independent verification 16255 VENTURA BOULEVARD, SUITE 300 of accuracy. ENCINO, CA 91436-2300 Printing Southwest Offset Printing TEL: 818.788.9500 / TOLL FREE: 877.314.1177 © 2020 San Fernando Valley Bar Association 6 Valley Lawyer ■ MARCH 2020 www.sfvba.org PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE BARRY P. STATE AND FEDERAL GOLDBERG CRIMINAL DEFENSE Time to Spring Your SFVBA President Firm Partners: Bar-Certified Criminal Law Specialists Practice Forward UCLA and Pepperdine Law Professor [email protected] Former Senior Deputy District Attorney HHHH, IT IS SPRING AND generation” industry by addressing the life is bursting out all over. recent case of Jackson v. LegalMatch. It cannot be stopped, and the That case found that LegalMatch time has come for my fellow SFVBA was operating contrary to the state law members to embrace spring and grow that requires lawyer referral services to their practices. have high standards, which serve to When I give presentations on benefi t the public. marketing, the biggest push back that I assure you that these lead I hear is that marketing is not quite generators are concerned only with correct for the truly dignifi ed lawyer. their own profi ts. True, we are all disgusted by law Of course, I have an axe to grind. RECENT VICTORIES: fi rm advertising that goes over the SFVBA operates a California $3 Million Fraud Case: Dismissed, line and becomes a punch line for our State Bar-certifi ed and ABA-approved Government Misconduct (Downtown, LA) profession. As a result, marketing and Attorney Referral Service (ARS), where Murder: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity, advertising is resisted internally at many potential clients are actually matched Jury (Van Nuys) Medical Fraud Case: Dismissed, Preliminary fi rms and, in most cases, avoided with a well-qualifi ed and pre-screened Hearing (Ventura) completely. attorney. By connecting the potential Domestic Violence: Not Guilty, Jury Finding The noise out there on what a new client to a qualifi ed attorney, both of Factual Innocence (San Fernando) competent and dignifi ed lawyer should the public and the profession are well- $50 Million Mortgage Fraud: Dismissed, Trial Court (Downtown, LA) or should not do is overwhelming. served. DUI Case, Client Probation: Dismissed I am targeted for more and more So, what to do? I suggest that Search and Seizure (Long Beach) “lead generating” schemes in various Valley lawyers re-calibrate and shift Numerous Sex Offense Accusations: forms maybe three to fi ve times per their thinking from advertising to Dismissed before Court (LA County) Several Multi-Kilo Drug Cases: Dismissed day–“Thirty new case leads or your marketing. Why not start by being due to Violation of Rights (LA County) money back…Is your fi rm accepting present, being forthright and being Misdemeanor Vehicular Manslaughter, new cases?…Our leads are special accessible? This can be done with little multiple fatality: Not Guilty Verdict (San Fernando) and will directly connect to you.” It or no money. It will be today’s version Federal RICO prosecution: Not Guilty goes on and on, and I chuckle when I of the old Lawyer Directory, but so verdict on RICO and drug conspiracy note the incredibly low “standard” used much better. charges (Downtown, LA) to qualify those receiving the leads: Start by completing the following Murder case appeal: Conviction reversed based on ineffective assistance of trial “fi ve years in practice, good standing punch list: counsel (Downtown, LA) with the bar, and an effective intake High-profile defense: Charges dropped against celebrity accused of threatening system.” Create a complete and engaging government officials One more thing–you need profi le on Google that includes money. Loads of it, in fact, to buy the name, address and phone leads. There is no requirement that a number, a recent headshot, and lawyer has experience in the particular your experience and qualifi cations. area of law for the leads about to be Eisner Gorin LLP Repeat the process on other purchased. I contend that the whole 877-781-1570 unregistered lead generation format is lawyer directories such as AVVO, Justia, Findlaw, Lawyers.com, Immediate Response bad for the public. www.EgAttorneys.com In the January 2020 Valley Lawyer, HG.org and HireMeLegal.com. Offices in Van Nuys and Century City I criticized the unregistered “lead Google Lawyer Directories and in www.sfvba.org MARCH 2020 ■ Valley Lawyer 7 the results you will fi nd about 100 more. Do a few every week. PROTECTING YOUR PRACTICE Add a blog function on your website. THROUGH 2020 AND BEYOND. If you are in a law fi rm, ask to post on the fi rm’s blog. If you do not have As we enter this new decade having lowered our premium rates by an average of 17%, Lawyers’ Mutual a website, you can post blogs on Insurance Company remains exclusively dedicated to independent legal blog sites. Write insuring, educating and protecting California lawyers. one simple, straight-forward blog on a For over 40 years, Lawyers’ Mutual has served legal area you know well, maybe 500 members to make the ease of doing business as a words. Perhaps a case summary or an lawyer their sole focus. interesting issue you have come across We actively engage and listen to our members and recently in your practice. Start easy, collaborate with market leading vendors to source maybe once per month. valuable resources. Develop eye-catching profi les on Join our member community www.lawyersmutual.com Facebook and LinkedIn. Post a link to your blog with a short summary on Facebook and LinkedIn. Our strength