You don’t have to have an LLM in tax to help your business clients with tax issues. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Being able to spot tax issues and help your business clients identify and manage risk can save them thousands of dollars and keep them in business.

In this tax crash course Sam Brotman details how you can help the businesses you counsel spot tax issues before they become major headaches. Sam will mainly cover the following topics: the difference between an accountant & an attorney, dealing with income tax audits, how to defend your clients against IRS audits, what to expect during a payroll tax audit and sales & use tax audits. In addition Sam will also address the main pitfalls that create tax problems, common myths, why people get audited, DIF & UI DIF scores, the 4 types of audits (matching, correspondence, office & field), statutes of limitations, audit red flags, substantiation & legal issue audits, how to conduct the pre-audit, the IRS Appeals Process, the EDD, the general ledger, independent contractor issues, methods of testing, sampling, the pre-audit plan and common traps.

Samuel D. Brotman is the founder of Brotman Law. His practice primarily centers on all aspects of tax litigation and criminal & civil tax controversies. Although a strong proponent of early stage tax resolution, Sam's practice is uniquely tailored to assist clients in all phases of their tax controversy from administrative resolution of the lawsuit.

Many family law cases are extremely emotionally draining for the client and attorney alike. Knowing what to expect and having a good understanding of how these cases proceed through the court system can help you manage your client’s expectations and emotions.

Sandra Fava will provide you with a broad overview of family law practice – from adoptions to domestic violence. Sandra will mainly discuss how a family law case starts, the non-dissolution docket, the dissolution docket, practical points for family law practice and pitfalls for the new practitioner. She will provide you practical points on the following: domestic violence actions, adoption proceedings, juveniles, settlement, motion practice, use of experts, mediation & arbitration, dealing with unpaid support obligations, guardianships, the worthy client, zealous advocacy vs. becoming emotionally intertwined, good client management, managing deadlines, communicating with clients and practical advice for clients. This course is designed for attorneys new to family law practice or experienced attorneys from other practices that need to understand the family court system and how a case proceeds.

Sandra C. Fava has dedicated her legal career to the thoughtful and diligent representation of clients in divorce and family law matters. She provides representation at every level, including complex and sophisticated family law matters, often representing high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, professionals and business owners or their spouses.

You get a frantic call from an attorney you’ve known since law school. Apparently, a person that she declined to represent left scathing, false reviews with one stars on a number of review websites like Yelp and RipoffReport.com. She is extremely distraught since she relies in the Internet for new clients and she wants your advice on what to do.

Paul Sternberg handles these exact issues on a daily basis and he provides you with a blueprint of how to handle online defamation cases. Paul will mainly talk about the First Amendment & protected speech, determining the defaming party, understanding liability under the CDA & the DMCA, legal strategies to consider in the defamation case, building a defamation case or defense and removing a website. He will also cover: libel vs. slander, weighing the decision to sue, deploying a cease & desist letter, SLAPP & ANTI-SLAPP laws, the Streisand Effect, elements to prove, statutes of limitation, public vs. private figures, malice vs. negligence, proof of damages, drafting a court order, utilizing Terms of Service, restoring your client’s reputation and the keys to success in a defamation case.

Paul M. Sternberg has been in private practice at his Texas law firm since 2001. A seasoned entrepreneur, Paul is the author of The Attorney’s Guide to Internet Defamation and Website Removal. He concentrates his practice in the areas of Internet defamation law and business law.

Conflicts of interest continue to ethically ensnare attorneys and firms – especially with increasingly more lawyers changing firms these days. Conflicts can cost you and your firm millions and lead to embarrassing publicity if you happen to get disqualified from a case due to this all too common ethical trap.

Unfortunately, there is no magical formula for avoiding conflicts because they can take many forms and can be tricky to identify - even for experienced attorneys and well-established firms. In this CLE course, malpractice attorney William McCaffery lays out the ethical framework, analyzes instructive case examples and provides practical tips for avoiding ethical violations & disqualification. These topics are also covered in this fast paced course: erroring on the side of caution, conflicts & current clients, duties to former clients, imputed disqualification, conflicts rules for government officers & employees, dealing with organizations, duties to potential clients, maintaining routine conflict procedures, using conflict waivers and what to include in the engagement letter.

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.

Almost every law firm and legal association states that it is firmly committed to combatting gender bias inside their organization and the legal profession. However, most gender diversity initiatives and programs have accomplished very little change and the profession remains significantly male dominated, especially amongst managing and equity partners.

To learn about the steps firms and legal organizations can take to create a more level playing field, join Andi Kramer and Al Harris for a thoughtful discussion about overcoming gender bias to create a more successful and profitable law firm. Andi and Al will mainly address the gender achievement gap, how diversity & inclusion benefits firms, why greater gender diversity & inclusion has not been achieved and what legal organizations can do to reduce gender bias. Further topics covered in this CLE course: what the ABA has done to address gender bias, the moral & business rationale for diversity & inclusion, affinity & unconscious bias, men & #MeToo, communal & agentic stereotypes, the Goldilocks dilemma, the spectrum of bias, incivility & harassment, how to encourage organizational change, thinking slow and active steps men can take.

Andrea S. Kramer is an attorney and a partner in the international law firm of McDermott Will & Emery, LLP. The managing partner in the Chicago office of Nixon Peabody, Al is a frequent writer and lecturer on the financial markets, financial regulation, corporate governance and diversity in the legal profession.

Cybersecurity - it’s not just for Bill Gates and computer geeks anymore. The majority of attorneys around the country now have a new ethical duty of technological competence and attorneys in various practice areas that handle sensitive information must remain compliant with laws with cybersecurity laws like HIPPA.

In this highly informative & practical CLE course, Rachel Rose eloquently highlights what attorneys need to know about cybersecurity and provides you with practical compliance strategies to avoid liability and cyberattacks. Rachel mainly covers professional responsibility & cybersecurity, laws with different cybersecurity requirements, NIST & FIPS, famous breaches & case examples, safeguards and risk mitigation. These topics will also be addressed: data breach & notification, types of violations, management’s discussions & analysis, what Boards should be doing, HIPAA & Cyber Training, HIPAA Violations, building a “culture of compliance,” Suggestions for Ensuring Privacy Compliance, Requirements Related to Cybersecurity Violations/Attacks, the top 5 cyber threats & recommendations and ways to mitigate risk.

Throughout her career, Rachel V. Rose has accumulated knowledge in a multitude of fields, with an emphasis on various facets of the healthcare industry. She is extensively published and presents on a variety of topics including healthcare, cybersecurity and the HIPAA & HITECH Act.

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.

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.

Social media has changed the world around us - including how attorneys select juries. Today, with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the myriad of social networking websites that pervade the Internet, there is a wealth of information about most jurors in the venire that is readily available at the touch of your fingertips.

If you want to know how to identify and use social media information when selecting your next jury, join trial consultant Dr. David Cannon for an enlightening hour on how Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms can help you learn more about potential jurors. Dr. Cannon will mainly address the challenges of selecting a jury in a Facebook world, what social media platforms to search and how to rate your potential jurors. He will also touch on the following topics: jurors & implicit biases, how jurors formulate decisions, juror candor, the “minimization effect,” building rapport & using a conversational tone to get potential jurors to open up, developing effective & ethical research skills, the influence quotient and avoiding the set-aside question. Dr. Cannon will conclude by presenting tactics for using supplemental juror questionnaires (SJQs) and discussing some items you may consider for your next juror questionnaire.

Dr. David Cannon is co-founder of Trial Innovations and is based in the Los Angeles area. Dr. Cannon has been the lead trial consultant in cases across the country, ranging from insurance defense and corporate litigation, to capital cases and white collar crime.

At the Tehran Conference in 1943, Stalin proposed “liquidating” 50,000 German military officers. Eventually, through skilled negation the rule of law won out. The resulting Nuremberg Trials from 1945-46 brought high ranking Nazi officials and civilian leaders to justice.

But is it the greatest trial in history – or just a show trial that stretched jurisdiction & legal principles to achieve the victor’s justice? Professor Thaddeus Hoffmeister, who had deep discussions with key Nuremberg interpreter John Dolibois, breaks down the Nuremberg trials and asks you to decide for yourself. He mainly discusses, trial practice & criminal law, the prosecution of WWII crimes, the legal framework of the IMT, indictments & defenses, verdicts and legacy of the trials. These key topics are also addressed: international law & sovereignty, show trials, differing views of “justice,” the London Agreement & Charter, the framework of the International Military Tribunal (IMT), the Allied prosecutors, the Nazi defendants, defense attorneys, conspiracy counts, aggressive war, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Professor of Law Thaddeus Hoffmeister teaches courses related to criminal law, technology, and the jury. Hoffmeister has published a number of law review articles, essays & lengthier writings exploring the criminal justice system, litigation, and social media. His most recent book is entitled Social Media in the Courtroom.

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.

You represent a client in a wrongful death lawsuit whose wife was tragically killed in a freak car accident. After you get a discovery request for the contents of his Facebook account, you discover a post with your client wearing an “I Heart Hot Moms” shirt. To mitigate any damage at trial, you counsel your client to “clean up” his Facebook page. Good idea?? This attorney was forced to pay over $500,000 and agreed to a 5 year suspension.

To learn more about how you can remain ethical on our new social media world, join Jeff Bennion for an entertaining look at some of the unethical electronic conduct that gets attorneys into trouble with the state bar. Jeff will mainly cover the why you need to use social media, the main social media platforms, the ethical rules regarding social media use and non-obvious ethics traps & tips. Jeff will also address why social media is unique, social media & discovery, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, advertising & solicitation, unethical posts & tweets, creating an ethical digital footprint, spoliation of social media evidence, following/friending parties & witnesses, following & friending parties & witnesses and LinkedIn endorsements.

Jeff Bennion is a solo practitioner at the Law Office of Jeff Bennion. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of San Diego’s plaintiffs’ trial lawyers association, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. He is also the Education Chair and Executive Committee member of the State Bar of California’s Law Practice Management and Technology section.