BAR BRIEFS bar briefs... · anta Cruz County Bar Association 2 April, ay, une 2016 340 Soquel...

A Publication of the Santa Cruz County Bar Association and Lawyer Referral Service Second Quarter 2016

BAR BRIEFS

Pro Bono Award Recipient Lesley Harris Esq

Roland K Hall Award RecipientThornton Kontz Esq

2Santa Cruz County Bar Association April May June 2016

340 Soquel Avenue Suite 209Santa Cruz California 95062tel 831-423-5031 fax 831-423-6202email sccbarsbcglobalnetwwwsantacruzbarorgwwwlawyerreferralsantacruzorg

President Nathan Benjamin 600-8405President-Elect Laura Walther 457-1700Past President Pamela Mathiesen 429-0181Secretary Emily Trexel 429-1212Treasurer Laura Walther 457-1700Directors At Large Burleigh Cooper 425-5023 Nancy de la Pena 429-1311 James Eschen 466-0753 Andrew Janecki 459-0427 Ashley Wheelock 471-7170Executive Director Lolly Belanger 423-5031Editor Laura Walther 457-1700 Newsletter LayoutDesign Evelyn Volpa 684-3314

Bar Briefs is published four times each year by the Santa Cruz County Bar As-sociation Inc (SCCBA) The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the opinions of the SCCBA its officers directors members or the editor

Editorial submissions to Bar Briefs are welcome However we accept no responsibility for the custody or return of materials submitted for publication

All submissions for publication become the exclusive property of SCCBA All rights reserved

Advertising rates and policies are made available by the SCCBA Board and Executive Director Acceptance of advertisments for publication does not constitute an endorsement or recom-mendation of products or services advertised

Copyright copy 2016 SCCBA

Santa Cruz CountyBar Association

Calendar 3

Presidentrsquos Message 4

Awards

Pro Bono Award 5-6

Roland K Hall Award 7-8

Bench Bar Liaison 16

Court Announcement

New Presiding Judge 12-13

EventsPhotos

Annual Meeting 18-19

January 13 MCLE 10

February 9 MCLE 14

February 24 MCLE 17

Pulse Line 20

Attorney Shield - Liability Coverage 11Burton Joanne - Real Estate 14Burton John - Monterey Bay Mediation Services 11Casagrande Dan - Reverse Mortgage 15Cottle (ret) Justice Chris - MediationArbitration 14Creekside Court Reporting 11Hartsell Olivieri - Shorthand Reporting 17Haussler Lu - Mediation 17JAMS - The Resolution Experts 9Johannessen Mark - Family Law Center 15Premo Steve - Legal ResearchWriting 10Pulone - Reporting Services 15Santa Cruz County Bank 10Sayler Legal Service 16Stone Larry MFT 14

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AD

VER

TISE

RS

IND

EX

PhotosThornton Kontz EsqRoland K Hall Award

Lesley Harris EsqPro Bono Award


Apr

May

Tue 12

Wed 13

Wed 13

Wed 20

Wed 11

Tue 17

Wed 18

TBA

MCLE

MCLE

MCLE

MCLE

MCLE

SCCBAAnnual Awards and State of the Courts Program 1200ndash130 pm at the Back Nine Grill amp Bar 555 Hwy 17 Santa Cruz One unit MCLE credit Cost is $35 for members $40 for non-member attorneys $30 for judges amp non-attorneys RSVP by April 6 at wwwsantacruzbarorg or contact SCCBA 831-423-5031 or sccbarsbcglobalnet

SCCBA Real Property SectionTopic Real Estate Financing Speaker Tony Crane Mortgage Advisor Opes Advisors 715 am at DeLaveaga Golf Course Restaurant Cost $1500 (whether or not you eat breakfast) plus $10 for one unit MCLE credit Checks pay-able to Penrose Chun amp Gorman LLP No RSVP needed Contact Rochelle Mulder Penrose Chun amp Gorman LLP at 831-515-3344 rmulderpcg-llpcom

Bench-Bar Meeting NOTE TIME CHANGE1215 pm Dept 2 Santa Cruz Superior Court Send agenda items to bcooperburtoncooperllpcom

SCCBA Estate Planning SectionldquoSuccessful Business Transitions Preparing Owners for a New Financial Realityrdquo Attorney Justin Miller JD LLM TEP CFP National Wealth Strategist from BNY Mellon Wealth Management will present a talk on business succession planning DeLaveaga Golf and Country Clubhouse 715 am Cost $1500 An additional $1000 if you want MCLE credits Questions call or email Emily Buchbinder at 831-426-8484 or emilybuchbinderlawcom

SCCBA Real Property SectionTopic Change of Ownership and Reassessments Speaker Santa Cruz County Assessor Sean Saldavia and Claudia Cunha Chief Deputy-Administration 715 am at DeLaveaga Golf Course Restaurant Cost $1500 (whether or not you eat breakfast) plus $10 for one unit MCLE credit Checks payable to Penrose Chun amp Gorman LLP No RSVP needed Contact Rochelle Mulder Penrose Chun amp Gorman LLP at 831-515-3344 rmulderpcg-llpcom

SCCBARalph Boroff Esq discusses substance abuse in the legal profession 1200ndash100 pm Brown Bag Lunch Santa Cruz Courthouse Dept 5 Cost Free $10 for MCLE credit Contact SCCBA 831-423-5031 or sccbarsbcglobalnet

SCCBA Estate Planning SectionldquoWhen Trusts and Inherited IRAs Colliderdquo CPA Michael Jones will present a talk on avoiding pitfalls with inherited IRAs and trusts DeLaveaga Golf and Country Clubhouse 715 am Cost $1500 An additional $1000 if you want MCLE credits Questions call or email Emily Buchbinder at 831-426-8484 or emilybuchbinderlawcom

SCCBA Program 1200ndash115 pm at the Back Nine Grill amp Bar 555 Hwy 17 Santa Cruz One unit MCLE credit Cost is $35 for members $40 for non-member attorneys $30 for judges amp non-attorneys RSVP at wwwsantacruzbarorg or con-tact SCCBA 831-423-5031 or sccbarsbcglobalnet

SCCBA Real Property SectionNo meeting in June July August

SCCBA Estate Planning SectionNo meeting in June July August September

June

MCLE

MCLE


by Nathan Benjamin EsqThe Law Office of Benjamin Leibrock

Presidentrsquos Message

I am honored to deliver the Presidentrsquos Message to the Santa Cruz County Bar Association membership The SCCBA is strong and we are positioning the organization to thrive in the future I must start by thanking Pamela Mathiesen for her hard work and service over the prior year Little did she know how demanding her presidency would be as a result of major changes within the SCCBA Those changes included bringing on board our new Executive Director Lolly Belanger and implementing new computer and web systems Pamela went out of her way to assure that the transition was seamless and effective Thanks for your service

One of our biggest challenges is growing the SCCBA membership I encourage members to recruit their colleagues to participate in and join the SCCBA It is no secret that Santa Cruz is a difficult community for new attorneys It often seems we have more retirements than new members However there are young attorneys and others who simply have not yet appreciated the value of the SCCBA I see that value as including networking opportunities While the practice of law can sometimes feel abrasive itrsquos just harder to have a difficult exchange with an attorney with whom you enjoyed a glass of wine at the last SCCBA Fall Fling

Another great value is the ability of the membership to speak with a unified voice lobbying for the shared needs of practitioners A great example is the implementation of the WiFi system at the courthouse allowing attorneys to utilize online services including the Courtrsquos new Odyssey system The SCCBA was instrumental in bringing together stakeholders and moving that project from vision to reality

Finally the SCCBA will continue to provide educational opportunities assuring members the opportunity to gain required MCLE hours merely by attending our MCLE lunch events Once again each MCLE event offers an opportunity to meet and mingle with the people who likely will end up on the other side of a case There will always be somebody on the other side somebody with a different opinion How you work with that person can make a big difference for you and your client

A recent MCLE ethics presentation led me to realize there are very few clear cut black and white decisions in the practice of law The presentation involved an ethical dilemma in which the court orders counsel to reveal a clientrsquos confidential communications in support of a motion to withdraw necessitated by the clientrsquos revelation of an improper motive for prosecution of the case The attorney is confronted with an order to disclose the sacrosanct confidential communications or to willfully disobey the courtrsquos order and face contempt and potential jail time I was sitting with a couple of respected senior practitioners and we all agreed the right answer was the lawyer must take the trip to jail in order to meet the ethical obligation Yet we were surprised when the presenter indicated the State Bar Opinions and case law voice some ambiguity refraining from categorically opining that the duty to maintain client confidentiality is paramount

Such is the practice of law Just when you think you have the right answer there is another argument a different answer Fortunately when it comes to the SCCBA there is a right answer Join the Bar take part have a bit of fun get to know your colleagues I look forward to working with you all in the coming year

Sign up for an annual WiFi subscription by calling the SCCBA office at 831-423-5031


keep kids at home in lieu of court placement to a group home and to assist the family in resolving conflict through mediation ldquoI loved this job I was all of 22 and was meeting with Family Court personnel including judges probation officers and public defenders and persuading them to use our programrdquo The chutzpah of a young upstart

While three years of low pay and long hours has its own reward Lesley wanted to move on and chose law over social work She initially planned to follow in her fatherrsquos footsteps to the New York City District Attorneyrsquos Office but after attending law school at Hastings College of Law in San Francisco New York lost its appeal And anyway her dadrsquos most proud moment from his days in the DAs office was the case he declined to prosecute -- Lenny Bruce being tried for obscenity ldquoThey were playing a recording of his bit in the courtroom and I couldnrsquot stop laughingrdquo her father recalled During law school Lesley volunteered in the Workersrsquo Rights Clinic

After a stint abroad following the bar exam Lesley found employment with the firm of Neiman Marcus selling Christmas baskets A promising career was derailed however when more lucrative employment was offered by Lillick McHose amp Charles where she became an associate in the tobacco defense group There she ldquoexperienced litigation at its worstrdquo To compensate

for that Lesley raised her hand when the firm asked if any associate wanted to take on a pro bono matter She represented an Islamic San Quentin inmate in a civil rights case where the client complained that his right to practice his religion was unfairly restricted Lesley remembers

Santa Cruz is fortunate to have living proof of the old maxim about apples not falling far from the tree Lesley Harris this yearrsquos recipient of the Santa Cruz County Pro Bono Award was born in the Bronx to a peace activist mother and a father in law school Lesley was dragged by her mother to many rallies and recalls fondly when as a young child she first heard profanity from her mother which happened to occur just as then-president Richard Nixonrsquos motorcade drove by So it is no surprise that as soon as Lesley was of sufficient years she was contributing to the community candy-striping in a local hospital and tutoring at Childrenrsquos Village a local residential program for troubled boys The family moved from the Bronx to Manhattan then to the mean streets of Westchester County for Lesleyrsquos formative years Lesleyrsquos academic success was matched or maybe exceeded by a money jump shot and she found herself back in NYC playing point guard on the basketball team at Barnard College the womenrsquos affiliate of Columbia University ldquoTitle IX had just passed and the program blossomed in the four years I was there ndash from practicing a few days a week in the old gym to six days a week on Columbiarsquos court It was exciting to be part of a movement that propelled womenrsquos sports nationallyrdquo Lesleyrsquos dedication to volunteer work continued in college where she was a Big Sister to a young girl living in the poor neighborhood surrounding Columbia ldquoHer whole family slept on one mattress It opened my eyesrdquo By her sophomore year Lesley had primary responsibility for running the Universityrsquos Big BrotherBig Sister program Upon graduation Lesley worked for The Childrenrsquos Aid Society New Yorkrsquos largest and oldest social service agency Her job was to help develop and launch a new pilot program PINS (Persons In Need of Supervision) Mediation one of the first mediation programs in the country The goal of the program was to

Lesley Harris EsqPro Bono Award Recipient

Debating with Mom at NBC Studios


the very kind federal judge (Hon Robert Peckham) who overruled objections to her rather leading questions when he sensed that her combined inexperience and persistence was going to make for a long trial Lesley volunteered for VLSP (Volunteer Law Services Panel) of the SF Bar Association providing representation in guardianship cases to parents and proposed guardians ldquoThe work was extremely rewardingrdquo

she says ldquoI recently received a graduation announcement from one of those families When I worked with them the child was two years oldrdquo She was also a member of the Women Lawyers of San Francisco where she worked on domestic violence legislation After 14 years at Lillick Lesley headed to Santa Cruz She enjoyed an extended maternity leave then hung out her shingle in suite 100 of 55 River Street where she still practices today along with yours truly In Santa Cruz Lesleyrsquos volunteer hours were mostly spent in her daughter

Nataliersquos classroom When Natalie got old enough to think better about having her mom around Lesley put her energy back into her first career choice mediation In the fall of 2011 Lesley attended the Harvard Mediation Workshop and soon after completed the Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz (CRC) mediator training Since then Lesley has been volunteering with CRC and now participates in all four CRC programs including Community Mediation Divorce Mediation (FAM) Parent-Teen Mediation and the Restorative Justice Program which provides a forum for crime victims and perpetrators to create remedies unavailable through the courts Lesley provides legal consultations for members

of the Western Service Workerrsquos Association a resource group for low income workers and she regularly consults with local businesses and individuals as a member of the LRS panel She also helps bring to Santa Cruz each year LunaFest a traveling film festival of short films by for and about women All proceeds benefit WomenCARE This yearrsquos screening is at the Del Mar on May 5 For details and tickets check out the website for LunaFest Santa Cruz 2016 Lesley manages her own busy law practice specializing in contracts business litigation and personal injury But after 30 years of litigating her roots are calling and shersquos focusing more and more on mediation She recently formed Spark Resolution Group and she looks forward to serving you and your clients Lesley loves to travel ndash shersquos been on safari in Africa trekking in Nepal clubbing in Europe cycling through Scandinavia snorkeling in Mexico surviving Israel and blissed out in Greece At home her days start about 6 am when shersquos running on the beach or up the stairs at Seacliff State Park with the Santa Cruz Challenge better known as ldquoboot camprdquo Shersquos traded the basketball for a softball and plays 2nd base and outfield on a womenrsquos softball team ldquoWhatrsquos my batting average Um Next questionrdquo Lesley is grateful for the art and culture right here in Santa Cruz ndash you might find her at the Tannery Moersquos Alley or the Santa Cruz Symphony Lesley is especially grateful for her family who donrsquot complain much about her late nights and missed dinners That includes her teenage daughter Natalie who is kind and loving especially when asking for a later curfew her beau Daniel a contractor and sailor by virtue of recently acquiring a small boat and braving the Monterey Bay and Stella her beautiful sweet smart loyal slightly neurotic golden retriever

Written by Jim Danaher EsqJim Danaher has been practicing family law in Santa Cruz County since 1993 and is a former recipient of the Pro Bono Award

Art installation in NYC

Sportswoman in a sports bar

Stella and Natalie


Thornton Kontz EsqRoland K Hall Award Recipient

Each year the Santa Cruz County Bar Association awards the Roland K Hall Award to an attorney within the legal community who has displayed outstanding community service over the years and ldquoepitomizes the spirit of Rollie Hall eclectic and kind spirited with a great sense of humor and who works and plays hardrdquo Bar Briefs is happy to announce that this yearrsquos Roland K Hall Award goes to Thornton Kontz who joins the august group of previous honorees including avuncular Austin Comstock demure Dana Scruggs and humble Nathan Benjamin Bar Briefs is pleased to provide you with some background on the new honoree for reasons other than the fact that Bar Briefs is his only friend

Thornton is a proud son of the South claiming to be a member of the New South that arose after the War of Northern Aggression He was born and raised in

Atlanta Georgia and attended The Westminster Schools a preparatory school for Southern aristocrats He received his bachelorrsquos degree from the University of Virginia founded by his idol Thomas Jefferson and received his JD degree from Mercer University in Macon Georgia the home as he is proud to say of some of the finest rock and roll to come out of the south He proudly proclaims that he used to make an annual pilgrimage to Duane Allmanrsquos grave site and Bar Briefs did not want to depress him by telling him that the Allman Brothers came out of Jacksonville Florida

not Georgia (Of course Bar Briefs is still proud of Brewer and Shipley that great band from Kansas City Missouri)

Thornton does represent the finest aspects of the Roland K Hall Award criteria His sense of humor is clearly shown by the fact that he has already laughed at the above paragraph but more importantly he plays hard He has always been almost as proud of his ldquojock hoodrdquo as he is of his southern roots He played football even before high school scoring 16 touch downs in one year at his grade school a feat that he will be only too happy to tell you at great length about Bar Briefs was not aware that jocks could also be intellectuals but Thornton is quick to refute the canard His football team won the Georgia State football championship in 1971 thanks according to Thornton to his great prowess He also developed a great love for skiing even though there isnrsquot a lot of skiing in those Georgia hills But there is in Vail Colorado where he moved after college For several years he lived an idyllic itinerant life of youthful indulgence in Vail selling ski paraphernalia at a ski shop making enough money for the ski runs that he and his friends would use on a daily basis

Nevertheless after a while adulthood beckoned and he returned of course to Georgia where he attended Mercer University Law School graduating in 1981 However he couldnrsquot stay away from skiing for the full three years of law school and was able to secure a skiing instructor position in the Swiss Alps with a group called Village Camps This allowed him to extend his youthful exuberance for a while and it is where he met his wife Terri who was also sowing her wild oats by taking time off from graduate school to spend a marvelous time skiing in Europe Terri is a native of Soquel and is responsible for Thornton being among us today However before their move to California they set up house in Atlanta where Thornton worked for the Georgia legislature as legal counsel for the Georgia State Senate Committee on Banking Financing Insurance He also was an enforcement officer for legal and legislative affairs for the Georgia State Insurance Commissioner in Atlanta

The very early days in Atlanta


In 1984 Thornton Terri and their first daughter Kristin moved to Santa Cruz Thornton first obtained a job at the Popelka Law Firm in San Jose but was able to avoid Highway 17 when he joined the Grunsky law firm as an associate In 1989 he joined Lloyd Williams another Roland Hall honoree at Murphy Williams Book and Stevens just before they merged with the Bosso and Williams law firm At Bosso Williams he took over the litigation practice of Sam Stevens who had just been appointed to the Superior Court

At Bosso Thornton in an act of magnanimous southernness befriended a northerner of Missouri (Bar Briefrsquos still maintains Missouri is an honorary southern state particularly the way it has voted recently) and the two of them formed a partnership with Austin Comstock and Jim Thompson where they practiced law as Comstock Thompson Kontz amp Brenner for the next 18 years Recently the firm reorganized as Thompson Kontz amp Brenner and came full circle when it agreed to share office space with the Bosso Williams law firm They have now been joined by Cameron Brady their associate and they practice estate and real property litigation family law personal injury estate planning probate and employment law

Thornton and Terri have three children Kristin Karen and Steven and they are very happy that the three of them have remained in the San Francisco Bay Area Kristin is working with the developers of the new Warriors Stadium in San Francisco Karen is a graduate of Davis

School of Law and is working with Legal Aid of Northen California in Ukiah Steven is working for Yummly a food and recipe app Thornton is a loving father and husband and believes that doing good for the community is not

only a responsibility that an individual has to his family and his community but enhances the world in which his family lives Thornton has coached for many years the sports teams that his children were on even after they had graduated He has served as the President of the Soquel High Fund which raises money for Soquel High He

has also coached the Soquel High Mock Trial Team for many years He is a past President of the Young Lawyers section of the Santa Cruz Bar the Santa Cruz Trial Lawyers Association and the Capitola Soquel Rotary Club He serves on the Santa Cruz County Red Cross Board of Directors and has offered to show Bar Briefs how to survive a disaster as he is constantly getting training as part of his Board responsibility

Thornton has also served the Santa Cruz County Bar Association in many ways and continues to be a member of the Barrsquos Lawyer Referral Committee helping young lawyers develop clients and help the public Thornton is now a member of the Santa Cruz Rotary and in the past has taken his students to work in the barrios of Managua Nicaragua which was a program that he and a number of friends and family developed In similar fashion he is a long term participant in an annual drive to provide presents for migrant families children at Christmas time known as the Christmas Project That project also includes Judge Denine Guy Larry Biggam Judge John Salazar and Anna DiBenedetto

In summary Thornton well deserves this award Sometimes nice guys do finish first

Writtten by Larry Brenner EsqLarry is a partner with the firm of Thompson Kontz amp Brenner and was last yearrsquos recipient of the Pro Bono Award

A dashing Swiss Alps ski instructor

Soquel High Schoolrsquos Mock Trial Team



Panel Members Edison Jensen Esq Nancy de la Pena Esq Matthew Baker Esq Archie Webber Esq Emily Trexel Esq Judge John Salazar

ldquoElimination of Bias Does Diversity Matter

on the Bench and in our Practicerdquo

January 13 2016

SCCBA MCLE


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Santa Cruz Superior Court Welcomes a New Presiding Judge Santa Cruz has a new Presiding Judge Denine Guy who though only on the job for two and a half months is already full of great ideas for our courts over the next two years Bar Briefs greatly enjoyed hearing all about her ideas and the various new things taking place within the court system and was willing to come out of retirement to be her enthusiastic publicist Her tenure as PJ should be very interesting not only because of her innovative ideas but also because of the various structural changes that are now being implemented by the court

As many of you know the court has begun full implementation of Tyler Technologyrsquos Odyssey file and serve e-filing system Through it attorneys and self-represented parties will e-file their legal documents to the court electronically and serve those documents to opposing counsel without the necessity of filing them at the courthouse This system is intended to be implemented in all areas of the law by the end of this year and will greatly reduce the burden on court personnel with respect to in-person filing

While Judge Guy recognizes there will be a significant learning curve for attorneys and court personnel the benefits far outweigh any short terms burdens There will be a number of seminars and online training sessions that will assist every attorney in the implementation of this mandatory e-filing system Judge Guy is particularly grateful to Executive Officer Alex Calvo and Sasha Morgan Director of Operations for their immense help in this endeavor In fact Judge Guy believes the Presiding Judge really has the role of chairman of the board of directors while Alex Calvo is the true CEO That may be the case but Judge Guy has a distinct vision of the direction in which the court should go which is to a much more collaborative environment both within

the court system itself and between the court and the community She wants to encourage groups within the legal community and the judicial system to meet regularly to discuss ways to make a better system not just when there is a particular problem She is quite proud of the progress that has been made by the Civility Committee and she sees that as a model for other areas of the court

Such a vision is certainly a natural outgrowth of the six years she previously spent as the designated juvenile judge in Santa Cruz County where she was known for her innovative and active role in the lives of the juveniles she was overseeing She often came off the bench to talk directly with juveniles to determine their

actual needs and otherwise tried to minimize formalities Her adoption ceremonies were known as celebrations during which she would hand out quilts that were handmade by her mother and a group of friends She has been honored for her work on behalf of foster kids by CASA of Santa Cruz County along with several other organizations Her policies encouraged a collaborative approach among the parties in juvenile court and she can be expected to do the same as Presiding Judge

Before Judge Guy was appointed to the bench in 2006 she had worked for 12 years with the Monterey County District Attorney in the consumer and environmental protection unit after serving for a number of years as prosecutor in criminal cases During

Judge Guy with husband Berkeley Brannon and son Berkeley Guy Brannon


that period she was involved in the California District Attorneys Association and served on the board of the Monterey College of Law from which she graduated in 1989

Before that Judge Guy was a fixture in the Santa Cruz legal community as she worked as a legal secretary for both Ed Newman and later Judge Yonts during law school and was a proud member of Yonts and Fulton prior to Judge Yonts being appointed to the bench In fact she was the first woman and youngest attorney to serve as President of the Santa Cruz Trial Lawyers Association in 1993 In 1997 she was presented with the employee of the year award from the County of Monterey for her overall performance and training efforts while a prosecutor in the domestic violence unit She enjoys working with the Judicial Council in the Administrative Policy Committee of the Statersquos Judicial Branch where she teaches new judges

various problems they will encounter upon being new judges She is now taking a more active role in teaching newly sworn judges about ethics and ethical issues

Itrsquos hard to imagine that Judge Guy has much free time with all these activities she has on her plate but somehow in addition to being a judge she is a great mother and

wife She is married to Berkeley Brannon who she met while a law student and who also worked at the Monterey District Attorneyrsquos office They share a mutual interest in snow and water skiing as well as scuba diving In

fact both of them separately started skiing around the age of 10 she in California and he in Colorado where he grew up Not surprisingly their son Berkeley Guy Brannon shares their interest in water and snow skiing

and especially scuba diving on their various trips to Mexico and Central America He is graduating from PCS this year and is applying to colleges in Colorado not only because there is good skiing but if he should decide to go to Colorado College a small liberal arts college in Colorado Springs he would be the fourth generation of his family to attend As Judge Guy put it since he started skiing at age 2 a family that skis together stays together

Obviously family is important to Judge Guy not only in the world of scuba and skiing but also in the quilting world As indicated earlier Judge Guyrsquos mother is an avid quilter a hobby which Judge Guy enthusiastically has followed However she is quick to point out that she is not a traditional quilter but rather has turned many of her quilts into garments that she wears While she has not yet branched out as a fashion icon she is very proud of the purses she is now making out of Berkeleyrsquos old sweaters which she prefers to refer to as ldquoupcyclingrdquo rather than ldquorecyclingrdquo Although she is not currently taking orders for her innovative designs Bar Briefs cannot wait until someone asks ldquoWhat are you wearingrdquo and the answer will be ldquoa Guy of courserdquo

Clearly Judge Guy has diverse interests which should make her tenure as Presiding Judge a fascinating ski run for all of us

Written by Larry Brenner EsqLarry is a partner with the firm of Thompson Kontz amp Brenner and a long time contributor to the Bar Briefs

Judge Guy with Yonts amp Fulton colleagues David Fulton and Robert Yonts

ldquoA family that skis together stays togetherrdquo


ldquoeDiscovery Ethics and Competencyrdquo

February 9 2016

SCCBA MCLE

Speaker Josh Gilliland Esq with SCCBA Board President Nathan Benjamin

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Bench Bar Liaisonby Burleigh Cooper EsqOf Burton and Cooper LLP

Thank you to Laura Walther for her extended service as Bench Bar Liaison I look forward to assisting the Bar membership with a smooth transition into the e-filingpaperless era The next Bench Bar meeting is scheduled for April 13 2016 at 1215 pm in Dept 2 I encourage you to attend

ODYSSEY PORTAL Access into the portal does not require registration for use however registrants requesting Attorney or Justice Partners access on Tyler Case Manager are required to provide additional information You can register at the ldquoPortal - Case Inquiryrdquo tab located on the upper left hand portion of the Courtrsquos homepage [wwwsantacruzcourtorg]

E-FILING Permissive e-filing is here On March 21 the court commenced its permissive electronic filing in civil cases types this includes civil family (except Department of Child Support Services) probate LPS appellate (except felony appellate filings) and dependency cases types E-filing becomes mandatory

August 29 for the case types listed above Currently there is no planned date to start electronic filing in criminal case types To get started go to wwwefilecacom and select an Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP) Each EFSP provides tutorials on how to use their service The courtrsquos local rule regarding electronic filing is currently a proposed local rule that will become effective July 1 2016 The court requests that anyone using electronic filing follow the Proposed Local Electronic Filing Rule More information on e-filing may be found under the ldquoElectronic Filingrdquo tab located on the upper left hand corner of the Courtrsquos homepage including the March 9 Odyssey eFileCA Overview Bar Presentation the Court Civil Operations February 24 memo re Paperless Files and Electronic and FAQs Lastly kudos to the Santa Cruz Superior Court Executive Director Presiding Judge and Bench officers for graciously allowing the continued intermittent use of Department 5 for accessible and low cost Santa Cruz County Bar Association MCLE events

If time is of the essence during your busy work day email your pdf documents to infosaylerlegalcom No fillable forms requiredmdashjust email us what you need We will complete the courtrsquos online electronic filing for only $25

Let us assist your office by providing

Process Serving Subpeona PreparationRecord

Retrieval On-Site Digital Copying Same Day Court Service CourierMessenger Service NAPPS amp CALSPro Member Licensed Registered amp Bonded

8313844030 Visit our website wwwSaylerLegalcom for

news and updates


Speaker xxxxx

ldquoNew Laws amp Best Practices in Law amp

Motion Proceedingsrdquo

February 24 2016

SCCBA MCLE

Speaker Judge John Gallagher SCCBA President Nathan Benjamin and Speaker Judge Paul Burdick

Now with 2 offices to serve the Santa Cruz MontereySalinas Carmel Gilroy Hollister amp San Jose Area

Hartsell amp Olivieri Certified Shorthand ReporterswwwHartsell-OliviericomReporterssbcglobalnet

40 Ragsdale Drive Suite 160 621-A Water StreetMonterey CA 93940 Santa Cruz CA 95060831-655-5911 831-423-5911

Fax 831-423-7189


Santa Cruz County Bar Association Annual Meeting amp Installation of Officers

January 29 2016 at Chaminade Resort


Thank you to our generous sponsors Atchison Barisone Condotti amp Kovacevich Burton amp Cooper John Burton of Monterey Bay Mediation Law Office of

Benjamin Leibrock Dan Casagrande of Retirement Funding Solutions Creekside Court Reporting Jody Gold of LexisNexis JAMS Santa Cruz County Bank


The battle between the FBI and Apple over the unlocking of a terroristrsquos iPhone is being described in the simplest terms as security vs privacy

What do you think

Security v privacy is a false narrative put forth by the Administration The dispute is more accurately described as privacy v deception The government

is telling us how concerned it is about this phone because it may somehow assist

the US in combatting terrorism The problem with the governmentrsquos position is the facts The government is releasing known mass murderers (terrorists) back to the Middle East The Administration traded five of the highest ranking terrorist leaders in exchange for an American that abandoned his post Recently the Administration released top recruiter Ibrahim Al Qosi to Sudan Within a short time he surfaced on recruiting videos for Al Qaeda When asked directly about it John Kerry responded with ldquohersquos not supposed to be doing thatrdquo In short the governmentrsquos position is untenable when itrsquos actions indicate that terrorism isnrsquot really a number one priority How can it be when you simply let the bad guys go back to doing what they were doing when you detained them

So this Pulse Line question assumes a premise that may not exist If the government truly was cracking down on these top terrorists rather than simply letting them go the question becomes more relevant-Terry L Baker

I am concerned about the mind set of Tim Cook and Apple regarding this Most of us will have already read the fine biography of Steve Jobs a brilliant business

mind But after reading the book by a sympathetic writer I am convinced that he was a ultra libertarian For instance he made a point of parking in a spot signed and set aside for the disabled as if he was saying that no individual or governmental agency could tell him where to park I wonder whether this mentality is still at large in Apple and that it is saying that no governmental agency even the FBI will tell it how to handle this situation I seem to remember hearing Bill Gates support the FBI on this one We cannot allow big business to interfere with legitimate police work -Ian McPhail

The phone was owned by the employer They are not objecting to opening the phone Whose rights are being protected here Dead terrorists or their associates The State Bar does background checks going back decades so our privacy is already compromised On the other hand terrorism is real If the FBI can learn if there were other participants in the San Bernardino massacre and perhaps prevent future attacks why should Apple not want to help Do we need another 9-11 for people to wake up to what is happening in the real world-Gil Stein

Rest assured the NSA and CIA can open Apple iPhones The law enforcement problem seems to be within the United States government bureaucracy This ldquoissuerdquo merely exposes the failure of these agencies to communicate with each other in critical areas of homeland security-Don Schwartz

Mentorship Program Not Just for New LawyersWhile many people seek out a mentor at the beginning of a career having a mentor during a transition time can be just as valuable Whether you are entering a new practice area striking out on your own or simply considering the possibility of change the SCCBA Mentorship Program can help Our mentors are experienced thoughtful lawyers who are willing to share their expertise knowledge and time to help others in the legal profession Find out more at the SCCBA website or by calling the Bar office at 831-423-5031


340 Soquel Avenue Suite 209Santa Cruz California 95062tel 831-423-5031 fax 831-423-6202email sccbarsbcglobalnetwwwsantacruzbarorgwwwlawyerreferralsantacruzorg

President Nathan Benjamin 600-8405President-Elect Laura Walther 457-1700Past President Pamela Mathiesen 429-0181Secretary Emily Trexel 429-1212Treasurer Laura Walther 457-1700Directors At Large Burleigh Cooper 425-5023 Nancy de la Pena 429-1311 James Eschen 466-0753 Andrew Janecki 459-0427 Ashley Wheelock 471-7170Executive Director Lolly Belanger 423-5031Editor Laura Walther 457-1700 Newsletter LayoutDesign Evelyn Volpa 684-3314

Bar Briefs is published four times each year by the Santa Cruz County Bar As-sociation Inc (SCCBA) The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the opinions of the SCCBA its officers directors members or the editor

Editorial submissions to Bar Briefs are welcome However we accept no responsibility for the custody or return of materials submitted for publication

All submissions for publication become the exclusive property of SCCBA All rights reserved

Advertising rates and policies are made available by the SCCBA Board and Executive Director Acceptance of advertisments for publication does not constitute an endorsement or recom-mendation of products or services advertised

Copyright copy 2016 SCCBA

Santa Cruz CountyBar Association

Calendar 3

Presidentrsquos Message 4

Awards

Pro Bono Award 5-6

Roland K Hall Award 7-8

Bench Bar Liaison 16

Court Announcement

New Presiding Judge 12-13

EventsPhotos

Annual Meeting 18-19

January 13 MCLE 10

February 9 MCLE 14

February 24 MCLE 17

Pulse Line 20

Attorney Shield - Liability Coverage 11Burton Joanne - Real Estate 14Burton John - Monterey Bay Mediation Services 11Casagrande Dan - Reverse Mortgage 15Cottle (ret) Justice Chris - MediationArbitration 14Creekside Court Reporting 11Hartsell Olivieri - Shorthand Reporting 17Haussler Lu - Mediation 17JAMS - The Resolution Experts 9Johannessen Mark - Family Law Center 15Premo Steve - Legal ResearchWriting 10Pulone - Reporting Services 15Santa Cruz County Bank 10Sayler Legal Service 16Stone Larry MFT 14

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AD

VER

TISE

RS

IND

EX

PhotosThornton Kontz EsqRoland K Hall Award

Lesley Harris EsqPro Bono Award


Apr

May

Tue 12

Wed 13

Wed 13

Wed 20

Wed 11

Tue 17

Wed 18

TBA

MCLE

MCLE

MCLE

MCLE

MCLE











June

MCLE

MCLE



























Stella and Natalie



























January 13 2016

SCCBA MCLE



reg






NFL 9288

Scan this code













































February 9 2016

SCCBA MCLE










NMLS 561104

































news and updates


Speaker xxxxx



February 24 2016

SCCBA MCLE





Fax 831-423-7189









What do you think











Apr

May

Tue 12

Wed 13

Wed 13

Wed 20

Wed 11

Tue 17

Wed 18

TBA

MCLE

MCLE

MCLE

MCLE

MCLE











June

MCLE

MCLE



























Stella and Natalie



























January 13 2016

SCCBA MCLE



reg






NFL 9288

Scan this code













































February 9 2016

SCCBA MCLE










NMLS 561104

































news and updates


Speaker xxxxx



February 24 2016

SCCBA MCLE





Fax 831-423-7189









What do you think




































Stella and Natalie



























January 13 2016

SCCBA MCLE



reg






NFL 9288

Scan this code













































February 9 2016

SCCBA MCLE










NMLS 561104

































news and updates


Speaker xxxxx



February 24 2016

SCCBA MCLE





Fax 831-423-7189









What do you think




































January 13 2016

SCCBA MCLE



reg






NFL 9288

Scan this code













































February 9 2016

SCCBA MCLE










NMLS 561104

































news and updates


Speaker xxxxx



February 24 2016

SCCBA MCLE





Fax 831-423-7189









What do you think












reg






NFL 9288

Scan this code













































February 9 2016

SCCBA MCLE










NMLS 561104

































news and updates


Speaker xxxxx



February 24 2016

SCCBA MCLE





Fax 831-423-7189









What do you think


































February 9 2016

SCCBA MCLE










NMLS 561104

































news and updates


Speaker xxxxx



February 24 2016

SCCBA MCLE





Fax 831-423-7189









What do you think













NMLS 561104

































news and updates


Speaker xxxxx



February 24 2016

SCCBA MCLE





Fax 831-423-7189









What do you think





















news and updates


Speaker xxxxx



February 24 2016

SCCBA MCLE





Fax 831-423-7189









What do you think











Speaker xxxxx



February 24 2016

SCCBA MCLE





Fax 831-423-7189









What do you think


















What do you think










BAR BRIEFS bar briefs... · anta Cruz County Bar Association 2 April, ay, une 2016 340 Soquel...

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Transcript of BAR BRIEFS bar briefs... · anta Cruz County Bar Association 2 April, ay, une 2016 340 Soquel...