JUNE 2013 • $4 A Publication of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association Enforcement before Adjudication: The Writ of Attachment Earn MCLE Credit Give Motions to Dismiss in Bankruptcy Court a Second Thought Proofs of Claim: A Primer for Attorneys Permit No. 348 No. Permit Canoga Park, CA CA Park, Canoga US Postage Paid Postage US PRSRT STD PRSRT www.sfvba.org The Power You Need The Personal Attention You Deserve Lewitt Hackman is a full-service business, real estate and BUSINESS PRACTICE AREAS (Transactions & Litigation) civil litigation law firm. As one of the premier law firms in I Corporations/Partnerships/LLCs the San Fernando Valley, we are a powerful and forceful I Commercial Finance advocate for multinational corporations, privately held and I Employment family businesses, start-up companies, and individuals. At I Environment I the same time, we are personal enough to offer individual Equipment Leasing I Franchising and detailed attention to each and every client, no matter I Health Care what their size. I Intellectual Property, Licensing & Technology I Land Use/Development Protecting Your Business. I Mergers/Acquisitions Protecting Your Life. I Real Estate Finance/Leasing/Sales/ Acquisitions I Tax Planning CONSUMER PRACTICE AREAS Family Law I Personal Injury/Products Liability I Tax and Estate Planning I Probate Litigation/Will Contests 16633 Ventura Boulevard, 11th Floor I Encino, California 91436-1865 (818) 990-2120 I Fax: (818) 981-4764 I www.lewitthackman.com 2 Valley Lawyer ■ JUNE 2013 www.sfvba.org www.sfvba.org JUNE 2013 ■ Valley Lawyer 3 TED AND HIS CALIFORNIA FORMS WERE INSEPARABLE. LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD WITH WESTLAW FORM BUILDER. Westlaw® Form Builder can take your California forms from tedious to streamlined, from time-consuming to cost-effective. This online document assembly tool delivers continually updated offi cial and lawyer-tested forms from Witkin, Judicial Council of California, and other trusted sources, plus state- of-the-art automation to build them. No-charge linking to WestlawNext®, too! Embrace the future with Westlaw Form Builder. For more information, call 1-800-759-5418 or visit legalsolutions.com/formbuilder. © 2013 Thomson Reuters L-366362/1-13 Thomson Reuters and the Kinesis logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters. 4 Valley Lawyer ■ JUNE 2013 www.sfvba.org Contents Bankruptcy and Real Property A Publication of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association FEATURES 18 LA Law Library Is Much Closer BY MALINDA MULLER Than You Think: Update on Services for San Fernando Valley Lawyers 20 Give Motions to Dismiss in BY STELLA A. HAVKIN 17 Bankruptcy Court a Second Thought 22 Enforcement before Adjudication: BY STEPHAN E. MIHALOVITS The Writ of Attachment PLUS: Earn MCLE Credit. MCLE Test No. 57 on page 29. MCLE article sponsored by 30 Proofs of Claim: A Primer for Attorneys BY STEVEN R. FOX 34 Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors: BY DAVID S. KUPETZ 18 Effective Tool for Selling and Winding Up Distressed Businesses 38 Obtaining an Abstract of Judgment BY DAVID B. LALLY from a Nondischargeability Judgment COLUMN 11 Lessons from Mandatory Fee Arbitration BY SEAN E. JUDGE The Case of the Contractual Fee vs. Quantum Meruit 20 38 Finding an Expert BY DOUGLAS MINOR Quantifying Damages from Credit Harm DEPARTMENTS 7 President’s Message 15 Public Service Changes Lawyers in the Library BY DAVID GURNICK BY ROSIE SOTO-COHEN 10 Event Calendar 16 Education and Events 43 VCLF 11 Executive Director’s Advancing our Charitable Mission Desk BY MARCIA L. KRAFT Emerging Relevance BY ELIZABETH POST 44 Classifieds 22 14 Bulletin Board 44 New Members www.sfvba.org JUNE 2013 ■ Valley Lawyer 5 SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BAR ASSOCIATION 5567 Reseda Boulevard, Suite 200 Tarzana, CA 91356 Phone (818) 227-0490 Fax (818) 227-0499 www.sfvba.org EDITOR Irma Mejia BOARD OF TRUSTEES President ....................................David Gurnick President-Elect ...........................Adam D.H. Grant Secretary .......................................Caryn Brottman Sanders Treasurer .....................................Carol L. Newman Past President ............................Alan J. Sedley Executive Director ......................Elizabeth Post TRUSTEES Anie N. Akbarian David S. Kestenbaum Megan Ferkel Earhart Kira S. Masteller Gerald Fogelman Michelle Short-Nagel Randi R. Geffner Mark S. Shipow Daniel Gunning Charles A. Shultz Michael R. Hoff Louis A. Wharton Sean E. Judge John Yates Alan E. Kassan STAFF Director of Public Services .............. Rosie Soto Cohen Referral Consultant .......................... Lucia Senda Referral Consultant .......................... Aileen Jimenez Director of Education & Events ........ Linda Temkin Publications & Social Media Manager ................................ Irma Mejia Member and Client Services Coordinator ....................... Noemi Vargas SECTION CHAIRS Bankruptcy Law ............................... Steven R. Fox Business Law ................................... Carol L. Newman ..........................................................Tina Allequez ..........................................................Louis A. Wharton Corporate Counsel ........................... Elayne Berg-Wilion ..........................................................Gary Barr Criminal Law..................................... David S. Kestenbaum Employment Law ............................. Nicole Kamm Elder Law.......................................... Steven Peck Family Law ....................................... Alexandra K. Mells ..........................................................Michelle Short-Nagel Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Internet Law ......... Michael Kaiser Litigation ...........................................Diane Goldman New Lawyers .................................... Natasha N. Dawood Paralegal ........................................... Sarah Thrift Probate & Estate Planning ...............Nancy A. Reinhardt Real Property & Land Use ............... Alicia B. Bartley ..........................................................Mark Blackman Small Firm & Sole Practitioner ......... Lisa Miller Taxation Law .................................... Ronald Hughes .......................................................... Hratch J. Karakachian Women Lawyers............................... Marlene Seltzer Workers’ Compensation .................. Judge Jerold Cohn Valley Lawyer is published 11 times a year. 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 of accuracy. Graphic Design Marina Senderov Printing Southwest Offset Printing © 2013 San Fernando Valley Bar Association 6 Valley Lawyer ■ JUNE 2013 www.sfvba.org President’s Message DAVID GURNICK SFVBA President ERISA Changes LAWYERS [email protected] LONG TERM DISABILITY, LONG TERM CARE, HEALTH, ACH OF THE LAST FEW computer used by lawyers was from EATING DISORDER, AND LIFE months our Board of Trustees Compaq in 1983. Its 28 pound INSURANCE CLAIMS E has been treated to remarks container, resembling a sewing from special guests. Retired Supreme machine case, was considered WE HANDLE BOTH Court Justice Armand Arabian, portable. Today lawyers hold UWLA School of Law President exponentially more computing power ERISA & BAD FAITH Robert Brown, Valley Community in wallet-sized phones. MATTERS Legal Foundation President Etan Lexis and Westlaw were clunky Lorant and Neighborhood Legal dial-up research tools. They required Services Executive Director Neal special workstations and inputting • California Federal and Dudowitz graced us with thoughts on dots and codes to do basic searches. State Courts law practice in the Valley. In April, In the 1980s, Lexis feared the public distinguished Valley attorney David would confuse it with a new luxury Fleming reminisced with our board car and sued Lexus. Relief was denied • More than 20 years about practicing here over 50 years. (Mead Data v. Toyota, 875 F.2d 1026 experience When David was admitted to (2d Cir. 1989)) but both Lexi have practice in 1960, the SFVBA had fl ourished with lawyers. Meanwhile, just passed its 30th anniversary as Westlaw won a suit against Lexis • Settlements, trials an organization. David recalled that for infringing Westlaw’s pagination and appeals its entire membership, not even 60 system (Westlaw v. Mead Data 799 lawyers, could meet in one dining F.2d 1219 (8th Cir. 1986)). Handling matters room. Everyone knew each other. We confi rmed validity of opinions They were civil and relied on each by “Shepardizing.” That was because throughout California Shepard’s printed lists of cases citing other’s word for a continuance or Referral fees as allowed by other professional courtesy. That got me thinking about State Bar of California other ways our bar and law practice have changed in the last three decades. Because change happens incrementally, we don’t notice its small impacts. But as we look back over time, the 818.886.2525 cumulative effects are easier to see. In the early 1980s, Federal Express was 877.783.8686 new and exciting with its superfast delivery. It had just prior decisions. Later, Lexis (actually TOLL FREE started offering overnight delivery for Mead) bought Shepard’s and now letters. Telecopies were also possible, provides the service online. Westlaw if you could bear to touch and tear calls its version “Key Cite.” Today, off the textured