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July/August 2016 / $5 INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES THE MAGAZINE OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION Guide2016 to JULY/AUGUST 2016 / $5 EARN MCLE CREDIT PLUS BRAND PATIENT PROTECTION DUMPING page 26 page 20 INVOLUNTARY BANKRUPTCY page 32 On Direct: Ralph M. Terrazas page 8 Surrogacy for Same-Sex Couples Renewing page 12 our Mission Los Angeles lawyer Margaret P. Stevens is the 2016-17 president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association page 7 FEATURES 20 A Shameful Practice BY WILL JAY PIRKEY The L.A. City Attorney's Office asserts claims under Unfair Competition Laws to enforce patient dumping ordinances 26 Fashion Sense BY LARRY C. RUSS AND NATHAN D. MEYER Although the law of brand protection has been stable in recent years, a case before the U.S. Supreme Court may alter the doctrine of secondary meaning Plus: Earn MCLE credit. MCLE Test No. 259 appears on page 29. 32 Forcing the Issue BY ASA S. HAMI Creditors considering an involuntary bankruptcy petition should first consider the risks and benefits 38 Special Section 2016 Semiannual Guide to Investigative Services Los Angeles Lawyer DEPARTME NTS the magazine of the Los Angeles County 7 President’s Page 16 Practice Tips Bar Association Renewing LACBA’s mission to the Evaluating the effectiveness of the inter July/August 2016 community partes review process BY MARGARET P. STEVENS BY NATE DILGER AND JOHN LORD Volume 39, No. 5 8 On Direct 51 Index to Advertisers COVER PHOTO: TOM KELLER Ralph M. Terrazas INTERVIEW BY DEBORAH KELLY 52 Closing Argument Reflections on current choices for legal 10 Barristers Tips career paths The advantages of being a member of BY MARK SONNENKLAR the Barristers Section of LACBA BY DAMON A. THAYER LOS ANGELES LAWYER (ISSN 0162-2900) is published monthly, except for a combined issue in July/August, by the Los Angeles County Bar Association, 1055 West 7th Street, 12 Practice Tips Suite 2700, Los Angeles, CA 90017 (213) 896-6503. Period - icals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA and additional mailing Reviewing the legal issues that affect offices. Annual subscription price of $14 included in the Association membership dues. Nonmember subscriptions: surrogacy for same-sex couples $38 annually; single copy price: $5 plus handling. Address BY EVIE JEANG changes must be submitted six weeks in advance of next issue date. POSTMASTER: Address Service Requested. Send address changes to Los Angeles Lawyer, P. O. Box 55020, 07/08Los Angeles CA 90055. .16 VISIT US ON THE INTERNET AT WWW.LACBA.ORG/LALAWYER E-MAIL CAN BE SENT TO [email protected] EDITORIAL BOARD Chair TED M. HANDEL Articles Coordinator JOHN C. KEITH Assistant Articles Coordinator SANDRA MENDELL Secretary TYNA ORREN Immediate Past Chair DONNA FORD JERROLD ABELES (PAST CHAIR) ETHEL W. BENNETT SCOTT BOYER CHAD C. COOMBS (PAST CHAIR) HON. MICHELLE WILLIAMS COURT GORDON K. ENG STUART R. FRAENKEL MICHAEL A. GEIBELSON (PAST CHAIR) CHRISTINE D. GILLE SHARON GLANCZ STEVEN HECHT (PAST CHAIR) DENNIS HERNANDEZ MARY E. KELLY (PAST CHAIR) ERIC KINGSLEY KATHERINE KINSEY DANIELLE LACKEY JENNIFER W. LELAND PAUL S. MARKS (PAST CHAIR) COMM’R ELIZABETH MUNISOGLU PAUL OBICO CARMELA PAGAY DENNIS L. PEREZ (PAST CHAIR) GREGG A. RAPOPORT GARY RASKIN (PAST CHAIR) JACQUELINE M. REAL-SALAS (PAST CHAIR) THOMAS H. VIDAL STAFF Editor ERIC HOWARD Art Director LES SECHLER Director of Design and Production PATRICE HUGHES Advertising Director LINDA BEKAS Administrative Coordinator MATTY JALLOW BABY Copyright © 2016 by the Los Angeles County Bar Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is pro - hibited. Printed by R. R. Donnelley, Liberty, MO. Member Business Publications Audit of Circulation (BPA). The opinions and positions stated in signed material are those of the authors and not by the fact of publication necessarily those of the Association or its members. All manuscripts are carefully considered by the Editorial Board. Letters to the editor are subject to editing. 4 Los Angeles Lawyer July/August 2016 LOS ANGELES LAWYER IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION 1055 West 7th Street, Suite 2700, Los Angeles CA 90017-2553 Telephone 213.627.2727 / www.lacba.org LACBA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President MARGARET P. STEVENS President-Elect MICHAEL E. MEYER Senior Vice President PHILIP H. LAM Vice President TAMILA C. JENSEN Treasurer DUNCAN W. CRABTREE-IRELAND Assistant Vice President SARAH E. LUPPEN FOWLER Assistant Vice President ANNALUISA PADILLA Assistant Vice President ROXANNE M. WILSON Immediate Past President PAUL R. KIESEL Barristers President DAMON A. THAYER Barristers President-Elect MARIANA ARODITIS Chief Executive Officer/Secretary SALLY SUCHIL Chief Financial & Administrative Officer BRUCE BERRA General Counsel & Chief Administrative Officer W. CLARK BROWN BOARD OF TRUSTEES RONALD F. BROT HARRY W.R. CHAMBERLAIN NATASHA R. CHESLER REBECCA A. DELFINO KENNETH C. FELDMAN JO-ANN W. GRACE JOHN F. HARTIGAN MARY E. KELLY LAVONNE D. LAWSON RICHARD LEWIS F. FAYE NIA BRADLEY S. PAULEY ANGELA REDDOCK DIANA K. RODGERS MARC L. SALLUS EDWIN C. SUMMERS III DAVID W. SWIFT WILLIAM L. WINSLOW AFFILIATED BAR ASSOCIATIONS BEVERLY HILLS BAR ASSOCIATION CENTURY CITY BAR ASSOCIATION CONSUMER ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES CULVER MARINA BAR ASSOCIATION GLENDALE BAR ASSOCIATION IRANIAN AMERICAN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION ITALIAN AMERICAN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION JAPANESE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION JOHN M. LANGSTON BAR ASSOCIATION LESBIAN AND GAY LAWYERS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES MEXICAN AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION PASADENA BAR ASSOCIATION SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BAR ASSOCIATION SANTA MONICA BAR ASSOCIATION SOUTH BAY BAR ASSOCIATION SOUTHEAST DISTRICT BAR ASSOCIATION SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHINESE LAWYERS ASSOCIATION WOMEN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES Los Angeles Lawyer July/August 2016 5 ikhrono livrakha, or simply z”l, (“May his memory be for a blessing”) is an honorific in Hebrew that ZJews traditionally use to convey respect for a deceased family member or noteworthy person. The phrase appears to originate from Proverbs, in which it is said that “the memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing, but the name of the wicked shall not.” The hope is that recollections of the deceased will guide those who knew the person to live better lives in the future. In the three years since Sam Lipsman passed away, his memory remains a blessing to me. During the time I served on the editorial board and Sam was LACBA’s director of publications, he contributed immeasurably to honing the writing skills that I had first developed at USC’s journalism school. Sam’s knowledge of the substantive law was deep and covered a broad spectrum. He also could foresee legal trends. Armed with this knowledge and a sharp wit, together with a talented publishing staff and a committed editorial board, Sam transformed the magazine into an essential reference tool for attorneys and judges. Sam’s death left a void at Los Angeles Lawyer that needed to be filled. Eric Howard, with the support of the editorial board and the resources provided by LACBA, stepped in during this difficult transition. Eric has admirably preserved the magazine’s editorial standards and sustained its well-regarded value to LACBA members. Over the upcoming year, the challenge that all of us who are associated with the magazine will face is not just maintaining these principles. Rather, it will be keeping Los Angeles Lawyer a relevant and reliable source of legal information at a time when there are so many online resources and physical treatises and texts competing for the attention of attorneys. In my view, as the incoming chair of the editorial board, meeting this challenge will involve, among other things, rekindling a sense of energy and involvement among the board members. During Sam’s tenure, board meetings were often characterized by a serious but equally freewheeling and sometimes irreverent discussion. In this give-and-take, Sam and the members would critique the substantive and editorial content of articles that had been published or were about to be published and identify ways in which content could be improved. The magazine also benefitted from the significant time that the board set aside at each meeting to discuss new court rulings and statutes. This practice will be resumed this year. The board and editorial staff can certainly make great strides in meeting this chal- lenge, but the support of LACBA members is crucial to the success of this endeavor as well. This support can be as simple as sending an e-mail to Eric Howard at [email protected] with a legal issue that you believe should be covered by the magazine, and perhaps a suggested author. It can also follow the time-honored tradition of members’ submitting unsolicited articles, which also can be sent to Eric. And if you have other suggestions for enhancing the content and relevance of the publication, please send those along. To borrow from the standard pitch of pilots and flight attendants at the end of every flight, we know that you have many resources available to support your legal practices. We are committed to preserving the editorial legacy of Sam Lipsman and retaining Los Angeles Lawyer’s place as the resource that comes to mind first when searching for a legal argument or identifying issues to be addressed with a client matter. n Ted M. Handel is a real estate and corporate transactional attorney with Valensi Rose, PLC, and is the 2016-17 chair of the Los Angeles Lawyer Editorial Board. His practice covers the acquisition, financing, leasing, and construction of commercial developments and affordable housing projects, and formation of nonprofit and for-profit entities. 6 Los Angeles Lawyer July/August 2016 president’s page BY MARGARET P. STEVENS Renewing LACBA’s Mission to the Community AFTER ALMOST 140 YEARS, now what? Is LACBA's mission still rel- So, LACBA has survived, and survived well.
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