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.

From clients that lie to you to directing your clients to delete damaging Facebook posts, family law attorneys must deal with highly emotional clients and navigate ethical pitfalls on a daily basis. In this CLE course, Angela Scafuri identifies the most frequent challenges that arise and provides practical guidance so you can steer clear of sanctions, suspension and malpractice lawsuits.

Angela’s insights will help both new and seasoned family law practitioners to understand the contours of the attorney-client relationship, the problems that arise with difficult clients, client communications & confidentiality and issues involving experts. As many of our client’s now live their lives on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram, a substantial amount of time is spent covering the ethical implications of eDiscovery and social media. Angela also provides tips and best practices for dealing with unrepresented parties, avoiding frivolous claims, reminding clients of your ethical duties, the affirmative obligation to disclose certain facts, the expert’s retaining agreement, dealing with ESI, ethically obtaining evidence from social media websites like Facebook. Angela concludes by providing you a detailed checklist for discovery issues related to social media evidence.

A shareholder at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, Angela Scafuri routinely works with clients whose needs lie in all areas of matrimonial and family law. She focuses on divorce litigation, mediation & arbitration, alimony & child support, custody & parenting time issues, same-sex divorce & dissolution, high asset divorces and domestic violence matters.

Cultural Resources are tangible remains of past human activity that provide unique information about past societies and environments. These may include traditional cultural properties & landscapes, structures and prehistoric sites to name a few. Although many cultural resources have been discovered and protected, there are still numerous forgotten, undiscovered or unprotected Native American sites and structures around the country.

If you would like to learn more about these federal protections, Michele Fahley details how statutes are deployed to protect these important pieces of history. Michele will help you to understand the federal legal framework, detail what each law regulates & how these laws work together and how you can use these laws to represent client interests. She will cover the following topics: the Environmental Assessment, Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), the scoping process, the Record of Decision (ROD), the National Register of Historic Places, National Register criteria, consulting parties under Section 106, Section 106 procedural steps, the ARPA application process, notice under ARPA and inadvertent discoveries. The following statutes will be discussed in this CLE program: the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) & the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

Michele Fahley serves as Deputy General Counsel for the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians. As Deputy General Counsel, Mrs. Fahley provides general representation to the tribal government in all matters and serves as Chair of the Conference Planning Committee.

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.

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.

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.