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.

Your 13 year-old daughter comes home from school one day crying because a group of girls posted a horrible video on YouTube calling her derogatory names and making fun of the way she dresses. The girls shot the video at a local restaurant on the way home from school. What can your daughter’s school legally do to punish the girls who filmed and posted the video?

In this CLE course Gretchen Shipley, an education technology lawyer, discusses one of the key issues facing educators and school districts today - cyberbullying and free speech. Gretchen will mainly cover the school’s duty to provide a safe environment, infringing on student’s free speech, school & district employees and related laws to cyberbullying. These topics will also be addressed: transmitting sexual images of minor, bullying & cyberbullying defined, schools & social media monitoring, bullying prevention laws, the school’s jurisdiction to punish student speech, the substantial disruption standard, search & seizure of student’s smartphones and impersonation laws. Gretchen will also discuss key case law in this area such as: Tinker v. Des Moines, J.C. v. Beverly Hills School District, J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District, New Jersey v. T.L.O and Klump v. Nazareth.

Gretchen M. Shipley is a partner in the San Diego area office of Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost and co-chair of the firm's eMatters Practice Group. A respected legal leader in education law and technology, Mrs. Shipley advises school districts and presents workshops to students, employees and district leaders nationwide on the promotion of digital citizenship in the school community.

How many times do you have to be told to communicate with your clients? Well, it’s still not enough for some attorneys because numerous lawyers still get in hot water for failing to call, email or text clients and keep them in the loop.

What can you do to avoid a legal malpractice claim or grievance from the state bar? Brooks Schuelke will help keep you out of trouble by discussing the key elements of malpractice law, 10 tips to avoid ethical violations, what you can do if a claim is made against you and possible insurance coverage. Brooks will also cover negligence, breaching a fiduciary duty, privity, defining who you represent, defining the scope of the representation, communicating with clients, saying you’re sorry, calendaring, doing business with clients, suing clients for fees, screening clients, conflicts checks, reporting your claim to your insurance carrier and purchasing legal malpractice insurance.

Brooks has been a trial lawyer since 1995. His practice has focused on the representation of individuals and small businesses injured by others. This practice includes personal injury litigation and legal malpractice litigation.

It’s Tuesday and you’re just about to head to a lunch meeting. You get an email from Dan, one of your longest running clients that has recently had some financial hardships. Dan emailed you to “suggest” that he thought about covering up some “possible” money-laundering with some documents you previously prepared for him. What do you do?

Yes, dicey situations arise when it comes to the interplay of privilege, confidentiality and the attorney work product doctrine. Although related, these are different concepts and the interplay of the three frequently confuses lawyers and judges alike. In this CLE course, C. Evan Stewart will provide some clarity on these complex and interwoven issues. Evan will cover: ABA Model Rule 1.6, mandatory & permissive disclosures, SEC violations, the 5 C’s of Confidentiality, why the attorney-client privilege is under attack, selective waiver, the crime-fraud exception, the Michael Cohen incident, confidentiality & ex-employees, opinion vs. ordinary work product and ten tips to maximize the protections of confidentiality. Evan will discuss number case examples and practical everyday situations so you can better understand the similarities and differences between the privilege doctrine, the work product doctrine, and confidentiality.

C. Evan Stewart’s practice principally focuses on the financial services industry, handling litigation matters for domestic and international clients before federal and state trial and appellate courts, in arbitration forums and the U.S. Supreme Court. He advises clients on a range of complex commercial matters, including antitrust, bankruptcy, class action defense, ethics, intellectual property, internal investigations, securities litigation, and tax controversies.

Most lawyers do not truly know what an elder law attorney does. An elder law attorney is essentially an attorney that handles estate planning but also handles long term planning - Medi-Cal or Medicaid, veterans baenefit planning and special needs planning. This course will introduce you to elder law veterans benefits planning so you can better assist your clients and their families.

Elder Law attorney Kim McGhee will share her expertise on this subject and she will mainly discuss how adding elder law as a practice area can benefit you & your clients, the eligibility requirements for aid & attendance benefits and service connected disability compensation. Kim will also talk about the requirements that attorneys must meet to assist veterans, your fees, aid & attendance, how a person qualifies as a veteran, activities of daily living (ADLs), assets, the surviving spouse, caregivers in the home, irrevocable trusts, possible changes, disability & injuries, ratings and Nehmer claims. After completing this course, you may decide to add elder law to your practice or at the very least you will be able to spot these issues for your client and possibly build a referral network with an elder law attorney.

Kimberly R. McGhee is an experienced elder law attorney that advocates and protects her clients' best interests. She has a strong background in commercial litigation that gives her clients an advantage when she assists them to plan for and protect their future.