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.

With billions of cell phones and apps out there, the amount of ESI generated by cell phones is overwhelming to many legal professionals. We get it - you are an attorney not a computer genius. But if you are ignoring evidence on smart phones and apps, you are ignoring a virtual treasure trove of electronic information that can greatly benefit your client at trial.

In this CLE program, highly rated instructor Lars Daniel will use case examples from his digital forensics practice to explain the proper methods to forensically acquire cell phone evidence. Lars will mainly discuss the collection, acquisition, analysis and examination of electronic evidence on smartphones and challenging the evidence. Lars will also address the following topics: “thumb forensics” by first responders, logical & file systems, deleted & destroyed data, manual examinations, Google Maps & network, user accounts, Internet searches & history, call logs, SMS & MMS messaging, installed apps, power events, the user dictionary, Google is watching & listening, timelines, affidavit highlights, video verification, fakes messages are real and a spoofing case example.

A digital forensics expert, Lars Daniel has attended over 250 hours of forensic training and has worked on over 500 cases involving murder, child pornography, terrorism, rape, kidnapping, intellectual property, fraud, wrongful death, among other case types. A licensed attorney in California, Jason Castillo actively participated in this course.

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.

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.

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.

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 1983 and belongs to a number of Document Examination Associations. A licensed attorney in California, Jason Castillo actively participated in this course.

Despite the increased importance of eDiscovery in today’s legal world many attorneys still don’t even know the basics… what’s ESI??? How do you respond to a litigation hold? What are native files?

In today’s electronic world, being prepared to properly respond to eDiscovery demands can make or break your client’s case - and your litigation budget. In this CLE course Alex Marjanovic and Greg Mahoney show you the most efficient way to respond to eDiscovery by discussing the key terms you need to know to get results, litigation holds and the three primary methods that firms are currently handling e-discovery. Alex and Greg also review the three primary eDiscovery methods and provides a cost benefit analysis and the potential for sanctions with each of the three methods: review on your computer, review hard copy of ESI and review in database. The analysis of the three methods is conducted with the use of a sample data set that could be found in any litigation matter today.

Alex Marjanovic the Managing Partner of Sales at Epiq, a national and international provider of electronic discovery services, with responsibility over the Southwestern States of the U.S. He has had extensive experience with electronic and paper-based discovery and related litigation production/discovery matters over the past 14 years.

There are many CLE programs that discuss bias in the legal profession - but almost all of these programs focus on bias based on race or sex. There are very few programs that tackle the growing issue of age bias in law firms. And it’s not just older attorneys that are being discriminated against because of their age, “millennial” attorneys also face bias in the legal workplace.

In this CLE course Andie and Al help you to understand the stereotypes surrounding younger and older lawyers and the biases that result from these stereotypes. Andie and Al will mainly discuss how age discrimination manifests in the legal profession, unconscious stereotypes, what law firms & legal organizations can do and what you can do to overcome your own biases. These topics will also be covered: the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), age discrimination before & after Gross v. FBL Fin. Svcs. Inc., mandatory retirement policies at law firms, clear evidence of age bias, the daunting problem for older & younger female attorneys, the bias attached to millennial lawyers, stereotypes & scripts, the ABA Mission Statement and ABA Model Rule 8.4(g). Andie and Al also provide you with advice and techniques you can use to avoid or overcome bias against other and in your own professional capacity. 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.

Retiring Baby Boomers will sell or bequeath $10 trillion worth of assets over the next two decades. Many of these assets are held in over 12 million privately owned businesses. And while millions of these businesses are expected to change hands, a recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that only about 27% of private businesses have done ANY exit planning.

Whether you and your sister are set to inherit the family pizza shops or you have business clients that are getting ready to “cash out,” this two-part presentation will teach you about key considerations in exit and personal planning for business owners. The focus of the first part of the presentation will be on income tax planning. Keith Troutman, Mike Shafer, and Josh Siegel of Squar Milner will also address the benefits of exit planning, building your team, transaction readiness, C corporation asset sale planning and the qualified business income deduction. The second part of the presentation will focus on closely held businesses, tax treatment of business entities and variables influencing transfer techniques. Peter Myers and Sean Kenney of Fox Rothschild also discuss intra-family succession, management buy-out, ESOP, “maturation” of the buy-sell agreement, the sales process, mind-mapping the buy-sell, family members & employees as transferees and other buyers as transferees.

Keith L. Troutman is a Partner in Squar Milner’s Tax Department. Michael Shafer is a Principal in Squar Milner’s Tax Department. Joshua Seigel is a senior manager in Squar Milner's merger and acquisition tax practice. Peter Myers is Certified as a Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law by the State Bar of California's Board of Legal Specialization. Sean Kenney concentrates his practice in the areas of trusts and estates, business succession and taxation.

Franchise law is a specialized area of law that is fairly regulated by both federal law and various state laws. Knowing the intricacies of how franchising and franchise law work can enhance your skill sets as a practitioner and help you better assist your business clients.

In this CLE course, Joe Donnini will cover not only the fundamentals of franchise law, but also address numerous practical points that you must consider to effectively represent your clients that are considering buying a franchise. Joe will mainly discuss the legal definition of a franchise, the federal & state regulatory framework, disclosure & documents, franchise contracts and common legal and practical concerns. Joe also spends a considerable portion of the course reviewing the 23 items in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) including: the estimated initial investment, initial & other fees, financing, renewal, termination, transfer & dispute resolution, financial performance representations and contracts.

Joe Donnini is an experienced attorney, entrepreneur, educator, and business consultant. Having a diverse background has positioned Joe to gain perspective in multiple industries on many matters. Joe has assisted clients in key areas of business creation, development, operations, and finance.

Susan Fowler had tried everything - going to human resources, talking to her managers, transferring departments, but nothing changed. An engineer at Uber, the sexist comments at work just kept coming. So she went online and wrote a 3,000-word blog post exposing the behavior and culture at Uber. Less than one year later, Uber co-founder and C.E.O. Travis Kalanick was forced out along a number of Uber executives

With the #MeToo hashtag, women have been empowered to share their harrowing experiences of harassment and assault by men. These stories have dominated Twitter and the headline news and have resulted in numerous terminations and lawsuits. In this CLE course, trial attorney Dan Gilleon will discuss litigating sexual harassment claims in the #MeToo era, state and federal laws covering sexual misconduct and important considerations when evaluating sexual misconduct cases. Dan will also cover the following topics: the four stages to these cases, numerous case examples from his practice, hostile work environment & quid pro quo cases, claims under FEHA (Fair Employment and Housing Act), insurance & the defendant’s ability to pay and key statutes of limitations.

For decades, Dan Gilleon has been fighting for his clients with exceptional intensity and passion. Mr. Gilleon fights with vigor for his clients, often for the “little guy” that is being taken advantage of or bullied and he has fought and won countless high profile cases, often against powerful companies or even dangerous thugs and criminals.

When it comes to nominating a successor trustee there are usually four main groups that people regularly turn to - family members, friends, corporate trustees - and more recently, professional fiduciaries. But what exactly does a professional fiduciary do?

A professional fiduciary serves the client’s best interest by acting as a trustee, agent under a durable power of attorney for health care, or agent under a durable power of attorney for finances. In this CLE course, Marguerite Lorenze and Adam Sherry provide their insight and guidance on selecting a professional fiduciary as a successor trustee. The main points of discussion include: working with professional fiduciaries, doing your due diligence, interacting with the client and corporate trustees vs. private fiduciaries. Additionally, Marguerite and Adam also cover resources for attorneys, the power of attorney, agent for health care, meeting & communicating with the client, advising clients, trust provisions, improving the client’s life, focusing on the quality of life, key provisions, the role of the corporate trustee and putting the client’s interest first.

Marguerite is a professional Trustee and Executor and frequent speaker on a variety of Estate Planning topics. Adam L. Sherry specializes in estate planning and probate and trust administration.

If you are like me, one of the first things you do while perusing the state bar journal is to flip quickly to the back and the scan the discipline pages. There is something that fascinates me about the stories of those attorneys that were unfortunate enough to get a public censure - or even disbarment in the most extreme circumstances. And it seems that almost every time an attorney gets disbarred it?s because they committed serious ethical violations when handling their client?s funds and trust accounts.

Because the mishandling of client funds is a top complaint in both legal malpractice cases and State Bar proceedings, Heather Rosing presents this course to show you how to ethically deposit, account for and disburse client funds so that you can properly navigate and comply with the complex & technical rules of client trust accounting. Subjects covered in this course: ethical rules & resources, state bar findings on trust accounts violations, preserving the identity of funds & the property of the client, ethically handling papers, property & fees when terminating the representation, IOLTA vs. Non-IOLTA trusts, helpful ethics opinions, co-mingling funds, the receipt & clearance of funds, advancing costs & fees, credit cards, non-client funds, loans from trust, fee disputes, trust as escrow or "holding account" and scams. While Ms. Rosing mainly bases her discussion on the ethics rules and opinions of California, the strategies and tips that she provides will benefit attorneys around the country.

The former President of the San Diego County Bar Association, Heather L. Rosing serves as the Chairperson of the Professional Liability Department overseeing a team of Klinedinst lawyers across the state of California in the defense of professionals such as lawyers and accountants. Ms. Rosing has developed a nationwide reputation for her experience and skill in litigating complex malpractice and fraud cases; in defending lawyers, accountants, and judges in disciplinary matters; and in delivering sound advice in the areas of ethics and risk management. Ms. Rosing also serves as a consultant and expert witness in the areas of fee disputes, professional responsibility, privileges, and attorney duties.

A potential client walks into your office. She was walking to her doctor’s appointment down the street from her condo when she got her toe caught in the uneven sidewalk and fell hard on her chest. Because her arms were outstretched as she fell, when she hit the cement her breast implants ruptured. Does she have a claim against the city?

Brett Schreiber tried this exact case. His client, the wife of the former mayor, was awarded $85,000 in damages against the city. In this CLE course Brett will mainly address how to bring tort claims against a government entity and the fine points of litigating the case, jury instructions, strategic considerations. He also discusses filing your governmental claim, minors & incompetents, what the claim must state, pleading with particularity, accrual, identifying statutory grounds, additional elements, pitfalls, investigation, using Google Street View to find to access pictures of past conditions, establishing notice of the dangerous conditions and voir dire.

Brett Schreiber’s practice includes mass torts, personal injury, medical malpractice and condemnation law. Brett is a young lawyer who has begun to distinguish himself as one of the next generation of legal leaders. In 2009 he earned recognition as one of San Diego’s Top Attorneys, perhaps the youngest person to do so. He is slated to be the youngest President in the history of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego.

You’re away on business and before you head off to bed you text your wife “good night honey, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” The next day your wife gets a call from Corky’s Pest Control offering their services to help with your bed bug problem. Yes, Big Brother is watching… and listening… and tracking. But it’s not just the government and companies - your soon-to-be ex-spouse could be hacking your emails, stalking you on Facebook or sticking a GPS tracking device on your SUV.

In this CLE course, veteran Family Law attorney Henry Gornbein will teach you about electronic spying and tracking in divorce cases. He will mainly address: potential liabilities for spousal tracking, social media use during divorce, Federal laws against spying, the use of technology to spy on spouses and using social media evidence & ESI. Henry will also talk about invasion of privacy, laws regarding unauthorized computer access, stalking & harassment statutes, counseling clients on social media use before & during the divorce, social media as a tool and a weapon, the Federal Wiretap Act, attorney vicarious liability, The Stored Communications Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the First Amendment, GPS tracking, iPhone apps for divorce lawyers & clients, spyware, unauthorized computer access, telephone issues, six issues with Facebook evidence, admissibility of surveillance evidence, Federal Rules of Evidence 104, 901 & 902, authentication of social media posts and tips for getting evidence admitted.

Henry Gornbein practices in all areas of Michigan family law including divorce, child custody, parenting time, child support, spousal support, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, interstate custody issues, domicile issues, as well as mediation and arbitration of all family law matters. In addition, he has a Television show, is associated with “Divorce Source Radio” and writes for the Huffington Post.

What a year it’s been for tax and estate planning attorneys… a year of change and uncertainty. However, with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act things have become much more clear - or have they??

David K. Cahoone will provide his wisdom and guidance on the newly minted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act so you help your clients chart the best path in these tumultuous times. David will mainly talk about what’s changed & what remains the same under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the increasingly critical role of building flexibility into plans and continuing to help clients discover and set a course for achieving their enlightened dreams. The following will also be discussed: sunset provisions, transfer tax exemptions, inflation adjustments, Trusts and Estates Tax Rates, Medicare surtax, chained C-CPI, the grand illusion of exemption increase, clawback, marital trust planning, wealth creation, preservation & distribution, portability, QTIP-ing with portability, when to make a “portability only” QTIP election, more basis - the new holy grail of planning, why flexibility in planning matters, protecting inheritances, life insurance and planning for high net worth clients.

David K. Cahoone is the Principal at the Law Firm of David K. Cahoone and is a Laureate in Wealth Strategies and Education Fellow at the Southern California Institute. David works collaboratively with other attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, and insurance professionals to serve the specialized planning needs of individuals, families and business owners.

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.

Say it with me, we all know it. “A statement, made out of court, provided for the truth of the matter asserted.” Yes, we can all repeat the definition of hearsay in our sleep. It’s the application of the hearsay rule that’s trips up lawyers and judges alike.

In this incredibly insightful course, Paul S. Marks provides you with better organized framework for analyzing potential hearsay evidence that has been gleaned from over twenty years of trial practice. Paul will mainly cover the basic elements of the hearsay rule, oral testimony vs. written testimony & “The Hearsay Conundrum” and exceptions to the hearsay rule. Paul will also discuss why the hearsay rule is a lawyer’s dream, non-verbal conduct intended as communication, implied statements, quickly assessing possible hearsay statements, the veracity of the statement, using motions in limine to keep possible hearsay away from the jury, FRE 105 - Limited Admissibility, FRE 403 - Prejudicial vs. Probative and FRE 803(6) - The Business Records exception.

Paul Marks has practiced civil and commercial litigation in California for over twenty years. Mr. Marks has served as first chair trial counsel in over thirty cases that have reached verdict, about half of them being jury trials.