CLE Program

At the ABTL Wailea Conference, this dynamic panel will explore how lawyers and clients can navigate high-stakes litigation under the glare of public scrutiny. Using a realistic fact pattern enhanced with mock press releases, news coverage, and even simulated media interviews, panelists will demonstrate how legal teams must manage both courtroom strategy and crisis communications. The discussion will highlight how to align messaging for judges, juries, the press, employees, and investors—while managing unpredictable variables like executives going off-script. Attendees will leave with practical insights into building resilience under fire and transforming crises into opportunities for effective advocacy.

Go inside the room of a workplace harassment and retaliation mediation — facilitated by mediator MyKhanh Shelton. Watch as plaintiff attorney Andie Fields and defense attorney Eric Schwettmann play themselves in a scenario drawn from real world facts.

This interactive session pulls back the curtain on:

• How mediators and counsel navigate complex “gray area” cases
• Balancing risk, cost, and credibility when no side holds a clear win
• Negotiation tactics that help parties move past impasse toward resolution

Attendees will leave with actionable insights into mediation strategy, attorney mediator dynamics, and managing high stakes employment disputes.

Rare CLE Credit! This program includes a 1-hour program and dinner.  

When family members are named trustee or appointed administrator, what could go wrong? A lot, as most trust and estate litigators know all too well. This advanced-level CLE program explores the emotional, legal, and strategic challenges that arise when siblings, step-relatives, or other family members take on fiduciary roles—and the inevitable disputes that follow.

Led by Carmen Alberio and Bette Epstein, two seasoned trust and estate mediators, this program offers practical guidance for attorneys navigating these volatile dynamics. Topics include managing client expectations, bringing a realistic perspective to accounting and real property disputes, dealing with unrepresented or unreasonable beneficiaries, and leveraging mediation to reach creative resolutions. With real-world examples and insights from the settlement table, attendees will leave better equipped to counsel clients, reduce litigation, and achieve durable outcomes—even when family conflict runs deep.

Gain a deeper understanding of the insurance challenges arising from California wildfire disasters. This interactive CLE session examines actual claims and lived experiences of insured homeowners, alongside expert analysis from attorneys on both sides of the insurance aisle. Moderated by Len Levy, the discussion will unpack disputed policy provisions, key negotiation points, and effective resolution strategies, providing practical insights for attorneys navigating post-disaster claims. Learn the most common issues, effective resolution techniques, and the real human impact behind the paperwork.

This session will explore practitioners' top considerations in determining the appropriate value of cases at all stages of litigation, from pre-lit to post-trial.  Practitioners will share their experiences and advice for justifying and communicating “their number” to opposing parties, mediators, and jurors. (How to value cases to put out initial settlement demand; How that value might change over time; How to effectively negotiate for the best value considering that mills are driving down value).

Description:    Subrogation - Your Gateway to Personal Success - An Emerging Professionals' Workshop (Part 2) - October 27th Part 2 of this workshop will be a round-robin style workshop, where emerging professionals will be split into three groups, and they will get to meet with each panelist for 15 minutes and get to gain knowledge and perspective about how the panelists gained success in their subrogation career through their own tips and tricks and get to ask questions in a small group setting. The panelists’ perspectives will come from the claims industry, legal field, and alternative dispute resolution field....

Speaker: Hon. Kathleen Kelly (Ret.) – ADR Services, Inc. Oliver Vallejo, Esq. – The Veen Firm Hon. Sandra Margulies (Ret.) - JAMS Location: Zoom Cost: $55.00 SFTLA Member │$65.00 Non-Member

Speakers: Edward Weiss, Esq. - ADR Services, Inc. Hon. Randolph M. Hammock - LASC Paul Kiesel - Kielsel Law LLP Jay Spillane - Spillane Trial Group PLC   Location: Webinar   Cost: Free members, $45 non-members  

Speakers, a litigator, sitting judge, and retired judge turned mediator, will discuss how best to use a litigator’s toolbox of case management orders and RFOs to deal with litigants and “overly zealous” attorneys to try and curb bad behavior short of seeking Family Code 271 sanctions.

The recently-enacted Partition of Real Property Act creates new procedures for properties held as a tenancy in common. In the absence of published appellate cases interpreting the new statute, what are the best practices for navigating the new procedural requirements? Join real property/partition litigator Curtis Holdsworth, partition referee and attorney Matthew Taylor, and the Hon. Elizabeth Feffer (Ret.), as they provide an overview of California’s long-established partition statutory scheme, and also offer their perspectives on the impact of and implementation of the new statute. By the end of this session, attorneys with or without experience litigating partition actions will have an understanding of the Partition of Real Property Act, and will also receive practical tips and strategies to deploy in or out of the courtroom.

This 1-hour CLE presentation will discuss the important new torts cases published by California courts between January 1 and June 30, 2025.