CLE Program

Presenters Bette Epstein and Richard Collier have decades of experience both litigating and mediating trust and estate disputes. This program will address issues that arise for trust and estate counsel from the time the proposed client walks in the door through the completion of the administration of the estate. Among other things, Ms. Epstein and Mr. Collier will discuss managing conflicts of interest, fiduciary duties vs. attorney’s duties, the importance of asking the right questions, and maintaining records.

We have an exceptional lineup of panel discussions, expertly crafted to enhance your knowledge and skills. Here's a sneak peek at the dynamic panels we have in store for you:

- Innovative Business Planning for Your Dispute Resolution Practice
- Legal Foundations and Operational Excellence in Your Dispute Resolution Practice
- Marketing 101: Effective Strategies for Your Dispute Resolution Practice
- Building Your ADR Practice: Insights from ADR Professionals

Rounding out our exciting lineup, I am thrilled to be moderating the panel "Leaders of ADR Providers: Wisdom from the Frontlines of Dispute Resolution."
We have invited distinguished leaders from prominent ADR providers to this panel, including:

- Joanna Barron, ADR Services, Inc.
- Bridget Mary McCormack, American Arbitration Association
- Parag Shah, Esq., MBA, Miles Mediation & Arbitration and
- Kimberly Taylor, JAMS

Their extensive experience and perspectives promise to make this an enlightening and invaluable program. Join us!

New Family Code section 6309 ends a longstanding controversy (yes, civil discovery is permitted in DVPA proceedings) but we now confront a host of new controversies generated by the statute. Some practitioners see section 6309 as a long overdue clarification and expansion of DVRO discovery rights; others see it as a welcome, or unwelcome, significant contraction.  Some see it as a risk of revictimization via discovery abuse while others see it protecting against that risk. Who's right? Probably everyone to some degree. This much for sure: the statute's unique provision, permitting discovery to be requested only at the evidentiary hearing and not before, is something totally new to practitioners. How will judges interpret the statute? How does it apply to "cross-over" situations where a DV petition is filed in an extant disso or parenting case? What are best practices?  What are the collateral effects under FC sections 3044 and 4320? Join our expert panel, including LA Superior Court judges Lawrence Riff and Susan Lopez-Giss (ret'd),  and practitioner Michael Hanasab, who will cover the basics of section 6300, practitioners'' and judicial officers' challenges and dilemmas, and possible best practices. This program will be focused towards family law practitioners.

Roundtable at 6 p.m. followed by dinner, and presentation commencing at 7:15 p.m. Join mediator and former LA Superior Court attorney Carmen Alberio, and current LA Superior Court Probate Attorney David Gibson as they discuss best practices in probate matters.

As our nation and state confront challenges in building new green economy infrastructure and housing, it is more important than ever to resolve environmental lawsuits. Hear from leading climate change, environmental and land use lawyers on their approach to litigation and negotiation.

Founded in 1978, CASCI is a professional, non-profit association of dues-paying Superior Court Investigators. The organization was formed because court investigators in each county wanted to meet and learn from others in the same profession.  Over 40 years strong, CASCI remains the primary source of probate court investigation training in California.  Effective January 2008, the Judicial Council of California approved CASCI as a provider for new mandatory training requirements.

Bette Epstein, Esq. has been mediating trust and estate disputes since 2000. Following a remarkable career first as a licensed Psychotherapist and then as a trust and estate litigator for over 30 years, she turned her focus to alternative dispute resolution and has been helping parties settle their disputes ever since. She is now available as a full-time mediator and discovery referee. Ms. Epstein is highly regarded as one of the Bay Area’s leading probate specialists. She spent the last 28 years of her litigation career handling trust and estate disputes, contested conservatorships, elder abuse claims, and serving as an expert witness in conservatorship, trust & estate litigation proceedings. As a neutral, she brings her unique emotional intelligence, sharp legal intellect, and psychotherapy background to highly emotional probate disputes, and is able to manage and successfully resolve even the most challenging and complex issues.

The California Employment Lawyers Association's Wage & Hour Committee presents a hybrid full‐day, advanced‐level seminar on wage and hour law. This high‐quality program will help plaintiffs’ attorneys stay abreast of this rapidly evolving practice area. In addition to an annual case law update and legislative review, panels will feature a discussion regarding best practices for class and aggrieved employee communications; what judges and mediators think about PAGA settlement terms; how to deal with multiple cases against the same defendant; and, best practices in crafting class and PAGA complaints and PAGA letters.

Since 1993, the West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar has become an institution, a staple and must go to event for all the members of the construction defect community. In no other single place can one learn so much about the prosecution, defense, insurance coverage, science and technology regarding this specialized subject of claims and litigation . . .  and . . .  in no other place will you be able to meet your colleagues where great long lasting relationships can be established which assist you in your claims and litigation handling throughout the business year. It has been long said about our event that it helps bridge the gap between parties by giving them an opportunity, in a neutral forum, to resolve many disputes that they couldn’t do otherwise.

The West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar series is the largest event of its kind worldwide and continues into its 30th year of bringing the national and international construction defect community its most informative event regarding this specialized subject.

Our attendees, from the legal, insurance, builder, contractor, subcontractor and numerous other communities averaging in number approximately 1200-1400 per year, come from all across the United States and several foreign countries to hear our speakers views on this continuing and emerging area of claims and law.

Generally, 67 different organizations grant West Coast Casualty the ability to provide some level of continuing education accreditation to their licensee/members.

The only reason we have achieved this status is because we concentrate our efforts on the most important people in this community, the attendees of our yearly events. Over the past years, we dedicated a lot of time to listening to those we serve at our seminars and we prepared our events with the ideas, suggestions and goals of our attendees in mind.

. . . we suggest you keep coming back to this website for future updates because May 2024 will be an event like one YOU will have never experienced before.

As lawyers, litigators, appellate practitioners and beyond, we use writing skills every day to craft compelling arguments. In this program you will learn how to elevate your legal writing skills.

Three speakers give varied perspectives: Hon. Leslie Landau (Ret.) formerly of the Contra Costa Superior Court and appellate practice, is now a mediator and arbitrator; Claudia Hagadus Long is a mediator and successful novelist; and Patrick Burns is an appellate practitioner.

The program will help you build on your existing writing foundation and “up your game.” The speakers will address how to understand and balance the competing interests of diverse audiences (court, counsel, client, mediator), and tailor your writing to meet the needs of your case. They will also examine what works (and what doesn't) in legal briefs.

Finally, they will provide concrete suggestions to help you take your writing to the next level.

Join us for an insightful webinar delving into the complex interplay between cannabis law and various realms of civil litigation. As the cannabis industry continues to evolve, its intersection with other areas of law presents unique challenges and opportunities. Led by former Napa Superior Court Judge Victoria Wood and seasoned cannabis law practitioner Lauren Mendelsohn, this program will provide an overview of the current legal landscape, and examine considerations when cannabis-related issues crop up in civil litigation.

The SMBA’s Trusts & Estates section welcomes back Santa Monica Courthouse Probate Division celebrities, Hon. Craig D. Karlan (Ret.) and former Probate Attorney Carmen Alberio, Esq. – now Mediators with ADR Services, Inc. – for a thoughtful program about hot to set up your Trust & Estate clients for better outcomes in mediations.

Please join us for a vibrant panel on the current state of investigations under the requirements of Title IX and the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Our seasoned panel will discuss recent developments in Title IX and the thorny process of satisfying the investigation requirements of both Title IX and California law. This will be an insightful discussion relevant to not only those who deal with Title IX, but anyone involved in workplace investigations.