Dirty money gets produced by organized crime and other criminals though drug trafficking, prostitution, tax evasion, corruption, financial crime and many other sources. Spearheaded by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), world leaders and governments have sought to monitor and suppress money laundering and terrorism financing around the globe. This became even more pressing in our country after the terror attacks on 9/11. Due to our legal system and anonymous entities like LLCs, the United States is an easy place to hide money and terrorists have begun using our financial and legal systems to launder dirty money and clandestinely move it around the world to finance terrorist and other illegal operations. Unfortunately for attorneys, there is a very fine line between assisting clients and taking part in criminal activity.

Peter W. Bowie, the former Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California, has seen these matters develop first hand from his view from the bench. In this CLE course, Judge Bowie explores the evolving link between bankruptcy, money laundering & terrorist financing and the attorney's duty to investigate. The main topics addressed by Judge Bowie include money laundering around the globe, the use of anonymous entities to hide money and the attorneys increased duty to investigate. Additional topics presented: the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering's 40 recommendations, the 2002 ABA Task Force, ABA Formal Opinion 463, risk based client due diligence, how individuals hide money from creditors, the anonymous purchase of numerous high end American properties, the 2016 GlobalWitness.org report, the Panama Papers, confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, Rule 11 and recent case law regarding attorney investigations.

Peter W. Bowie, former Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California, spent 27 years on the bench. He leverages his vast experience in the courtroom to conduct mediation settlement conferences and contribute to the firm's mediation practice. A skilled mediator, Judge Bowie has successfully resolved several vigorously contested, large fee application disputes, and other important cases. Before joining the bench, he served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California for 14 years, the last six as Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney, overseeing operations of the criminal and civil divisions. Earlier in his career, he served as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was hired through the Department's prestigious Honors Program.

Many of us have achieved the one of the pinnacles of the American dream, owning our own home. However, even though it’s the most expensive purchase many of us will make, quite a few attorneys and clients fail to understand the basics of the document that protects their investment - the homeowners insurance policy.

In this CLE course, attorney Evan Walker will walk you through the basics of understanding homeowners insurance policies and coverage. He will mainly cover the following topics: the declarations page & definitions, coverages, exclusions, endorsements and first & third party claims disputes. Evan will also discuss coverage & coverage limits, Coverages A - D, how to read the policy, the definitions of the insured & insured property, being underinsured, due diligence to make sure that you have adequate insurance, depreciation, additional living expenses, named perils, the burden of proof, scope of coverage, riders, contract-driven disputes, tort claims against third parties and subrogation.

After evacuating from New Orleans to Houston, Evan W. Walker graduated in 2008 as part of the ‘Hurricane Katrina Class.’ After graduation, Evan worked for a New Orleans insurance defense firm. He opened his own firm in 2014 to represent people after years of defending insurance companies.

Communicate with clients, don’t “borrow” money from trust accounts, calendar every key deadline… the same fundamental ethics principles still hold true for the 21st century lawyer. That’s because the same traditional ethics issues continue to plague lawyers, leading to countless ethics violations and malpractice lawsuits.

In this course Joel Selik discusses the most common ethics violations you need to be aware of so you can continue to practice ethically. The main issues discussed include the most common ethical pitfalls, insurance issues, what happens when you get “the letter” and sources of ethics laws & duties. Joel will also address calendaring deadlines, communicating with clients, trust account issues, dumping clients, staying in your practice area, contingent & set fee agreements, billing issues, responding to a malpractice letter or ethics complaint from the state bar and key practice points to remain ethical in your everyday practice.

A malpractice attorney and ethics expert, Joel G. Selik has practiced law for over 30 years and frequently represents attorney clients in malpractice cases. Joel is licensed to practice law in both California and Nevada and he frequently presents seminars on Estate Planning, Nursing Home Litigation, Legal Ethics and Malpractice.

Copyright protection has become incredibly important for content producers in our new Digital Age where copyrighted content can be copied, pasted and distributed around the globe in seconds. However, there are many common myths associated with copyright protection, fair use and permission to use copyrighted works. Are you guilty of telling one of your clients to put their work in a sealed envelope and mail it to themselves?

In this CLE course, Rex Brabson provides an entertaining discussion about key issues in copyright law and the common misconceptions about fair use and permission to use copyrighted works. Rex will mainly cover: the elements to establish a valid copyright, common issues faced by authors & businesses, common myths associated with fair use and permission to use copyrighted works. He will also address the five copyright rights, how rights are acquired, original works of authorship, fixed in a tangible medium, the value of registration, copyright compared to trademark law, works made for hire, what is not protected, the four fair use factors, content that requires permission to use, protection for databases and the abstraction-filtration comparison test.

Rexford Brabson is of counsel at Branfman Law Group. Rex mainly handles state and federal trademark applications and Responses to Office Actions, in addition to preparing and filing copyright applications. A graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, Rex was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2014.

There has been a recent trend in the last few years to place greater emphasis on how substance abuse and mental health issues affects attorneys and the clients they represent. In this course, Amy Allemann will address mental health and substance abuse issues among attorneys and personality disorders frequently encountered in everyday practice.

Amy will mainly address depression & substance abuse in the legal profession, personality disorders common in attorneys & clients and the ethical issues involved. In addition, Amy will also cover the facts about depression & suicide, the DSM-5 Criterion for a Major Depressive Episode, signs & symptoms of chemical dependency, Cluster A, B & C personality disorders, dealing with High Conflict Personalities, reacting vs. responding, competence to practice law, confidentiality to clients with mental health issues, dealing with clients with mental health issues and your duty to report intended future client crimes. The following specific personality disorders will be discussed: paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive disorder, dependent, antisocial, histrionic, borderline and narcissistic.

Amy E. Allemann is the managing attorney of Boyd Law and she specializes in complex civil litigation and family law. A frequent speaker, Ms. Allemann belongs to several associations including Mensa International, LEAD San Diego, the Thomas More Society, the San Diego Lawyers Club and the San Diego County Bar Association.

The cost of a college education has skyrocketed over the last few decades. Along with the increased tuition costs, the amount of money borrowed for college has also ballooned with student loan debt now approaching $2 TRILLION dollars. Many former students have found themselves in default being unable to pay their massive undergraduate and graduate school debt back.

To learn more about what you can do to help your clients with defaulted student loans, join Natalie Jean-Baptiste as she discusses potential options for your clients. Natalie will mainly cover default student loan resolution, repayment options, loan forgiveness, administrative discharges and discharging student loan debt in bankruptcy. Natalie will also address the following topics: student debt facts & figures, federal vs. private student loans, the main types of federal student loans, eligibility for deferment & forbearance, delinquency & default, the consequences of default, tax refund offsets, wage garnishment, settlement, loan rehabilitation, reasonable & affordable payments, consolidation, repayment programs such as REPAYE and PAYE, Chapter 7 & 13 bankruptcy, undue hardship and additional resources.

Natalie Jean-Baptiste is a financial empowerment coach and consumer rights advocate who works with student loan borrowers to manage and eliminate debt. Prior to becoming a consumer rights advocate, Natalie worked for many years as a music industry attorney.

One of your favorite clients is Pearl, who you’ve helped with some real estate and estate planning matters when her husband of 55 years passed away. Even though she’s in her eighties, she’s still sharp as a tack. One day she calls you frantically because her checking account is suddenly overdrawn and she thinks that her housekeeper might be to blame.

While many people think that it mainly consists of physical abuse, elder abuse is more often times a crime of financial abuse where relatives, caretakers and “friends” take advantage of the elderly. An experienced document examiner, Mike Wakshull has seen altered wills, attempted stock transfers, suspicious checks and homes sold with forged real estate deeds. Using case examples from his own practice, he will cover the following topics: knowing the telltale signs of faked signatures, the importance of exemplars, fluidity vs. tremor, examining the unique attributes of a signature and the tools used to examine documents.

A court-qualified forensic document examiner, Michael N. Wakshull has been involved in the Forensic Document Examination arena since 2010 and belongs to a number of Document Examination Associations. A licensed attorney in California, Jason Castillo actively participated in this course.

With the explosion of SaaS in the workplace, employees now use apps, programs and websites to collaborate and get work done. Unfortunately, many attorneys and companies only consider traditional data sources like emails and word docs when it comes to litigation and eDiscovery.

Alex Marjanovic, Mark Clews and Craig Duggan update you on the challenges of eDiscovery in today’s workplace when employees are now using WhatsApp, Slack, DropBox, AWS, Office 365 and many other types of Software as a Service (SaaS). The trio will converse about the benefits of SaaS, risk & expedited growth, the traditional approach to data collections, emerging technology & data sources, scoping, legal holds, collections, the difficulties of collecting from mobile devices, review, production, defensibility, “ordinarily maintained or in a form that is reasonably usable,” and the future of SaaS platforms. This recent massive shift in the data forms involved in litigation has been eye opening for many companies who simply do not know how their employees and executives are collaborating and working together.

Alex Marjanovic, Mark Clews and Craig Duggan are Directors for Ankura, a leading global business advisory and expert services firm. Alex, Mark and Craig have years of experience in eDiscovery, managed-review and management of ESI.

Social media offers attorneys and law firms the opportunity to build credibility & trust with existing & potential clients, uncover relevant facts & information about cases, clients and opposing attorneys, and to bring in new business. However, social media also creates many new ethical pitfalls for attorneys. Can you list specialties or endorsements on your LinkedIn page? Is it ethical to send a Facebook friend request to an individual involved in pending litigation? Can you advise clients to remove tweets from their Twitter account on the eve of trial? Law firms, attorneys, and support staff must ensure that their online activities adhere to ethical and professional rules of conduct - even without the guidance of specific electronic ethical rules.

In this timely presentation, attorneys Kathryn Konzen and Ross Mecham offer best practices for the ethical use of social media, provide practical ethical guidance regarding common scenarios and highlight situations & online activities to avoid. The main ethical duties covered include the duty of competence, candor & fairness to the court and opposing counsel, the duty to supervise, requesting & producing documents & data, accuracy of discovery certifications and protection of the attorney-client privilege. Further issues discussed: ethical pitfalls & risks, FRCP Rule 1, zealous advocacy, ABA Model Rule 1.1 & the Duty of Electronic Competence, examples of unethical online conduct, examples of ethical/unethical advertising, website disclaimers, retention, inadvertent formation of the attorney-client relationship, the Duty of Confidentiality, avoiding online Conflicts of Interest, recruiting, investigation, Facebook, Twitter, blogging about prior cases, LinkedIn, examples of social media policies and ethical references & citations.

Kathryn Konzen joined DTI in 2014 as a Regional Business Development Executive, and returned in 2016 after going in house with a law firm as the Director of Business Development and Litigation Technology. She is a California licensed attorney that focuses on efficient and cost effective solutions for her clients when dealing with electronic data, whether it is for a government investigation, litigation matter, or internal issue. Kathryn has presented various CLE programs on such topics as Managing ESI, Ethics in Social Media, and Ethical Issues of eDiscovery. Ross Mecham is an eDiscovery Consultant with DTI. He helps law firms and corporate legal departments understand and manage their eDiscovery needs, using technology and efficient workflows to reduce risks and costs while increasing deliverable quality. An attorney with over a decade of experience across all phases of electronic and paper discovery, his career spans state, federal, and international matters, as well as the development of internal corporate discovery practices. His prior cases include intellectual property, employment, and business tort actions, data breach and internal investigations, and regulatory requests.

When we try a case, our goal as lawyers is to get an impartial jury. But in reality, anybody who has struck a jury knows this is no easy task. We have to investigate to uncover potential bias to make sure that the jury is going to be as fair as possible. But our investigation of jurors is changing rapidly because of social media and the law related to social media. The question now becomes will the impartial jury be able to exist in the age of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other social media websites and apps?

In this CLE course, attorney Sharon Stuart presents a thoughtful and timely discussion on ethical considerations in jury selection in our new world of social media. The main topics addressed include voir google, ethically investigating jurors online, ethical obligations relating to juror misconduct, ethical obligations to disclose juror relationships, medical privacy & voir dire and ethical obligations in post-trial juror interviews. Additional issues covered in this course: social media use by jurors, the benefits of using social media in jury selection, the ethical duty to investigate, ABA Model Rule 1.1 - Competence, Comment to ABA Model Rule 1.1, ABA Model Rule 1.3, the NYSBA Social Media Guidelines, ABA Model Rule 3.5, ethical limitations on juror investigation, best practices when conducing social media research, crossing the ethical line, decorum to the tribunal, United States v. Daugerdas, 867 F. Supp. 2d 445 (S.D.N.Y. 2012), safeguards for jurors' medical privacy and post trial contact with jurors.

Sharon Stuart devotes her practice to civil trial work and arbitration. She focuses on complex commercial and insurance litigation, and she handles a variety of pharmaceutical and medical device products liability litigation as national, regional or local counsel. Her trial experience includes a wide range of business tort claims, contract disputes, commercial and insurance fraud and bad faith suits, and wrongful death cases. She has defended dozens of class action lawsuits in areas as diverse as product liability/toxic tort, financial products, insurance and employment law.

As law practice has become more complex, so has the practical application of the professional conduct rules. Craig S. Brodsky defends lawyers in disciplinary actions and he has tried numerous cases against Bar Counsel. Well-versed in the unique challenges confronting attorneys under investigation, he discusses safety nets you can deploy to avoid getting that letter from Bar Counsel.

With his experience in front of Bar Counsel, Craig will provide you a unique understanding of the prosecutorial tactics and challenges confronting attorneys when defending themselves. Craig will mainly explain why you need to keep the right insurance, the importance of teaching employees, using approved retainer agreements, handling client funds appropriately and how to properly respond to Bar Counsel in a disciplinary proceedings. Ethical rules covered: Model Rule 5.3(a): Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyers, Model Rule 1.5: Reasonable Fees, Model Rule 1.15: Safekeeping Client property, Model Rule 8.1: Disciplinary Proceedings and Rule 10: Types of Sanctions. Craig will also provide numerous practical solutions & suggestions so you can set up safety nets at your firm to avoid ethical pitfalls.

A partner with Goodell DeVries, Craig Brodsky has provided practical solutions for professionals and organizations in today's evolving business environment for 25 years. Craig vigorously defends professionals in malpractice matters, licensing proceedings, health care litigation, and products liability litigation.

How many questions do you ask before you make important decisions? Do you assume you know what is best for this case and for this client - simply based on all your previous cases? Are there subconscious forces that impact how you think and how you feel? And how do these hidden forces impact your decision making?

This course will examine the developing research of implicit biases and how these unconscious biases shape the decisions you make in your legal practice and with your clients. Veteran trial attorney and mediator Richard Huver will cover the following subjects: how we are all biased, how implicit biases shape your decisions, how to identify bias and how to change your decision making. Richard also talks about the neuroscience of decision making, Harvard & Project Implicit, bias as a survival mechanism, the two brain systems, categories of bias, the power of the pause and thinking slow & thinking fast. The following biases are addressed in-depth: representative bias, availability bias, confirmation bias and anchoring bias.

Richard A. Huver has over three-decades of litigation experience that have proven invaluable in his burgeoning mediation practice. Richard received an Outstanding Trial Lawyer award in 2000 and the President's Award in 2001 from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. He is the former President of the San Diego County Bar Association.

Have you ever had a client that you just cannot make happy no matter the results you get for her? Do you sometimes dread going to court because you know the combative opposing counsel will fly into histrionics over every perceived slight? Did you drive home that night wondering what you could have possibly done that sent them into such a fit of rage?

Well, maybe it’s not you that was the problem - more than likely it was probably the client or the opposing counsel’s high conflict personality (HCP) that was the issue. In this eye-opening CLE course, attorney and mediator John Edwards introduces you to the concept of the high conflict personality and provides you with strategies and tips to deal with HCP opposing counsel and clients. John will mainly cover the core issues of personality disorders in high conflict attorneys, the neuroscience of high conflict personalities and using empathy, attention and respect to calm high conflict attorneys. He will also discuss “difficult” clients, lack of self-awareness, lack of adaption, blaming others, five high conflict personalities, the prevalence of personality disorders, the corpus callosum, using EAR statements, fears & EARs, cautions about EAR and setting limits.

John Edwards has been practicing law for over 40 years. A former litigator, he began his mediation practice in 2002 and since then has successfully mediated hundreds of cases including commercial & residential real estate matters, professional malpractice, personal injury, employment disputes and business disputes.

Over the last decade companies like Airbnb, Uber, Etsy and others have ushered in the gig economy. Today, the world’s top gig economy companies span a wide range of business sector – from therapeutics to pet care – and they provide billions of dollars to the U.S. and states economies.

Unfortunately, these companies have also muddied the waters when it comes to classifying workers. Over the past few years with the passage of AB5 in California in 2018, Melody A. Kramer has been tracking these developments from New York to the federal government’s Pro Act. In this CLE, she will provide both legal and practical guidance for businesses as laws change and increasingly more workers are now considered employees. Melody will mainly highlight the rational for classifying workers as employees, analyze the various tests used to determine worker status and provide practical advice for businesses to navigate through this minefield. Also discussed: the Dynamex decision, the ABC Test, the Borello Test, the 7 categories of exemptions including occupational & professional services, the Borello Test and counseling freelance clients.

Melody A. Kramer is a veteran trial lawyer, legal strategist, speaker, blogger and author. For the past decade, Melody has handled complex federal litigation, served as lead counsel in dozens of cases and negotiated IP licensing agreements with well-known companies.

How does Beethoven’s classic Fifth Symphony relate to legal ethics? Much like Beethoven’s Fifth, legal ethics can be broken down into three major themes. At its essence, ethics is not complex - don’t lie, don’t cheat and don’t steal.

In this CLE course, the honorable Earl H. Maas, III, provides a thought provoking discussion on the types and sources of ethics and how they apply to attorneys, a changing & diverse society and the legal profession. Judge Maas will mainly discuss the origins & evolving nature of legal ethics, the three types of ethics, ethics vs. laws and common ethical pitfalls. The following subjects are also covered: ethics resources, applied ethics, normative ethics, meta-ethics, the Rules of Professional Conduct, your ethical duties when there is tension between inconsistent federal laws and state laws, stumbling into a lawyer-client relationship, ethics advice & cocktail parties and your ethical duty to accept a case.

Earl H. Maas III is a judge for the Superior Court of San Diego County in California. He was appointed by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in April 2005 to succeed Bernard E. Revak.

The Simon and Garfunkel’s song “The Boxer” might have the most poetic definition of confirmation bias: “A man hears what he wants to hear - and disregards the rest.” Unfortunately, many attorneys, judges and experts do exactly that.

Expert witness Michael Wakshull has studied bias for years and sees these implicit biases manifest in every courtroom he testifies in. In this thought provoking presentation Mike will mainly discuss the six types of bias as defined by Black’s Law Dictionary, common types of bias in the courtroom, human error & overcoming bias in the courtroom. This course will also cover certainty & the mind, experts & bias, forensics & pattern recognition, telling the better story, error rates & methodology, research approach & forensic examination and how recognizing bias gives you a strategic advantage in your cases. The following biases are analyzed: actual bias, implied bias, inferable bias, judicial bias, advocate’s bias and presumed bias.

A court-qualified forensic document examiner, Michael N. Wakshull has been involved in the Forensic Document Examination arena since 2010 and belongs to a number of Document Examination Associations.

How does discrimination hiring occur? What is the best way to write a legally compliant job description? Can I only hire fans of the New York Yankees? When it comes to hiring a new employee, there are certain things that an employer legally can and can’t do under federal and state laws.

Nicole Croddick provides you with in-depth legal guidance when counseling your business clients on screening, interviewing and hiring new employees - from posting the job ad to steps to take once hired. Further topics discussed include: the cost of a mis-hire, goals when hiring, the bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ), job titles & descriptions, “Have, Do, Be,” permissive pre-employment questions, accommodations & criminal background notes, permitted inquiries at all stages, using a systemic process for interviewing, the “5 musts of interviewing” and problematic inquiries in the application & interview. Nicole highlights the common pitfalls that cause employers to end up in lawsuits over hiring and she provides highly practical information to help your clients avoid these common issues.

Nicole Sorokolit Croddick is Counsel at Davison, Eastman, Muñoz, Lederman & Paone, P.A., where she focuses her practice on employment and labor matters. She consults companies on human resources issues and has conducted internal investigations on ethical and legal violations.

With the cost of litigation and the current backlog in the courts, mediation has become a path for redress for many aggrieved parties. But should you approach a mediation like you were headed to court? What are the steps you can take to get the most successful outcome for your client?

After trying more than 100 cases, Monty A. McIntyre is a now a mediator, arbitrator & discovery referee. In this CLE course he shares his insights into preparing for a successful mediation. He mainly discusses important points to consider prior to the mediation, pitfalls to avoid, techniques & key points to employ during the mediation and final considerations before concluding. Monty also talks about the essence of your case, the cost & stress of litigation, sitting down with clients, brevity in the brief, avoiding initial high numbers, apologies, flexibility, joint meetings, bracketing, settlement offers, terms to consider at the conclusion, payment plans and stipulations for settlement.

An award winning trial attorney, mediator, arbitrator & discovery referee, Monty A. McIntyre has nearly four decades of legal experience. As a mediator his mission is to bring peace into the lives of people by excellently helping them resolve disputes.

Like most attorneys, you probably feel like there is no way you could ever be sued - until that process server shows up at your office.< br>
In this fast paced seminar, Bill McCaffery will discuss what leads trusts and estates practitioners into legal malpractice and provides 60 practical tips to help you avoid getting sued by your clients. Topics to be discussed include: inadequate investigation, communication errors, errors of law, clerical errors, time management issues, conflicts of interest and insurance considerations. Bill will also discuss malpractice statistics based on practice area & firm size, using questionnaires, investigating assets, using plain English, documenting the file, keeping detailed notes, conflicts checks, remembering who your client is, and undue influence.

William T. McCaffery concentrates in the areas of legal malpractice defense, professional liability, commercial litigation, and general liability defense. He represents attorneys and law firms that have been sued for legal malpractice in cases ranging from real estate and personal injury matters to complex business transactions and commercial litigation.

When you start writing… do you stare out the window for an hour before putting pen to paper? Are your legal briefs… anything but brief? Does your legal writing meander and lack focus – or do you tend to focus on too many points?

If this sounds like your legal writing style, then this is the CLE course for you! Randall Christison will show you how to speed up your legal writing process while clarifying even complex legal and factual matters. Randall will mainly discuss speedwriting tips, solutions & approaches to streamline your legal writing and the main speedwriting methods, including freewriting, clustering and story line. Additional topics: problems lawyers encounter, dealing with writer’s block, the left & right brain, moving from creative to rational and argument patterns. This CLE course uses techniques developed by nonlawyer professional writers to enable legal writers to take complex, multi-issue matters and organize them quickly, logically and systematically.

Randall Christison has practiced law for over 35 years, focusing on civil litigation and on training lawyers. He has handled scores of trials, around 200 appeals, and has been AV-rated for 25 years.