LACBA ACS Nov. program on appellate ethics

Ethics: Yes, Appellate Attorneys Have Issues, Too.

Description of November's LA County Bar Appellate Section's program:
A legal ethics specialist and two veteran appellate litigators will present a free-wheeling discussion of ethical issues that face civil and criminal appellate counsel.  Among the ethical issues that will be covered are fee arrangements; identifying the client; relationships with trial counsel; and marketing your appellate practice.

1.5 hours of CLE (including Ethics credit) Nov. 16, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. in the Employee Lounge of the 2d DCA.

Also of interest: Posner says Supreme Court is 'awful,' top two justices are OK but not great

Sneak peak into a writs conference...

Bed's latest column The Great Laguna Niguel Landslide Writ, begins: "I was an appellate lawyer for most of my career. I petitioned for more writs than I care to remember. With results probably indistinguishable from your own."
And continues: "I would have given a lot then to have been a fly on the wall and actually learned what went on in those writ conferences. I always pictured them as three judges, a rubber stamp, a few sandwiches and a lot of beer."
And then he provides a writ conference transcription of sorts...


Also of note -- the opening line to this case here: "This suit involves garbage and, more specifically, statements about garbage."

Last week's DJ included its Top Boutiques in California 2016 insert, which profiled one appellate shop: the California Appellate Law Group LLP, a 10-attorney (soon to be 11) appellate boutique. This outfit contributes the Appellate Zealots column in the DJ, and this week's was by Charles Kagay about the Supreme Court's latest anti-SLAPP opinion, City of Montebello v. Vasquez.

Cal Bar kills Daily News Digest

The State Bar's Office of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement sent the following email last Thursday to all Daily News Digest subscribers:

The Daily News Digest will cease publication after tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 28. For State Bar news, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook or subscribe to the monthly California Bar Journal by sending an email to cbj@calbar.ca.gov. If you are looking for an alternative source of legal news, the Judicial Council publishes a daily newsletter called NewsLinks.

Too bad! As the Daily News Digest was kind of nifty... Precisely the sort of service one would expect from the State Bar's Office of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement ... assuming one even knew that the digest and the office itself even existed...

Cal Supreme Court Program on Nov. 15

5:00pm – 7:30pm @ Milton Marks Auditorium 455 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, California 94102 In the Ronald M. George State Office Complex (adjacent to the Supreme Court at 350 McAllister St.) Event Schedule: 5:00 – 6:00: Panel Discussion with Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye and former Chief Justice George 6:00 – 7:30: Reception (Complimentary hors d’oeuvers, wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages) CLICK HERE to register online today! Please join CSCHS along with our current and past Chief Justices to celebrate and review our newly published book, and to honor a recently departed former Chief. Tani Cantil-Sakauye January 2011 – Present Ronald M. George May 1996 – January 2011 IN MEMORY OF Chief Justice Malcolm M. Lucas February 1987 – April 1996 April 19, 1927 – September 28, 2016 "This far-reaching and scholarly text weaves together many of the key social, cultural, economic and political themes of the first 160 years of California. It reveals how, during each era, the justices and the court evolved, reacted, and contributed to the development of law and society. There is much to learn in each chapter for all who are interested in history, governance and the rule of law." – Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of the State of California

2d DCA pro tem update

The following are currently sitting on assignment:

• Judge Allan Goodman (Retired) of the Los Angeles Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Two until November 30, 2016.
• Judge Maria E. Stratton of the Los Angeles Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Three until November 30, 2016.
• Judge Sanjay T. Kumar of the Los Angeles Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Five until November 20, 2016.
• Judge Virginia Keeny of the Los Angeles Superior Court, will be sitting Pro-Tem in Division Seven until November 30, 2016.

RIP PJ Spencer 1920-2016

Former 2/1 Presiding Justice Vaino Spencer passed away on Tuesday at age 96. She was 2/1's PJ for over 20 years. Click here for an oral history.

The MetNew's story is titled: Vaino Spencer, Trailblazing Lawyer, Judge, Appeals Court PJ, Dies at 96--Jurist Was First African American Female Appointed to the Bench in California, Third in the Nation; Starting on the Los Angeles Municipal Court, She Served on the Bench for 46 Years

BHBA honors Judicial Excellence

The Beverly Hills Bar Association Litigation Awards Dinner will be Feb. 22 at the Montage and the honoree for the Ronald M. George Award for Judicial Excellence will be ... 2/7's Justice Zelon, who collects awards like this like clockwork. Remember CJ Rehnquist's gold-striped robe? Well, if our justices adorned their robes with 'esteem and excellence award' insignias, J. Zelon would give General Diaz a run for his pesos! Congratulations!

DJ profiles Reardon

Today's DJ profiles Judge Reardon. Right, that's 'judge' Sharon Reardon of the San Francisco Superior Court, not 1/4's Justice Reardon, who's (of course) her father. What does Judge Reardon have to say about Justice Reardon? "He's very calm, so it's nice to talk. I won't tell him anything case specific, but sometimes he's a good sounding board."

Only "sometimes"?! Harumph! Kids today!

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Ninth Circuit Judge Takes Part in Nuremberg Remembrance
Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently traveled to Nuremberg, Germany, to take part in the 10th annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogs, an assembly of current and former prosecutors of international criminal tribunals.

Do you really need 14K words for a brief?

Monday's Moskovitz on Appeals column was titled You Don't Need 14,000 Words, about the coming reduction (effective December 1) of the word limit for federal appellate briefs, dropping the word-count from 14K to 13K. He says that "except in unusual situations, you don't need more than 13,000 words." His briefs are usually under 10K words, and he has even filed 5K-word briefs -- and that "the shorter briefs win just as often as the longer briefs."
What the article doesn't mention is that the circuits are free to opt out of the new rule and continue to allow 14K briefs. So far, the 2d, 7th, 9th, and Federal Circuits have all decided to keep the 14K-rule in place. Hooray!

See also Preparing for Changes to FRAP on Law360.
And also on Law360, see 6 Ways to be the High Court's Best Friend: avoid the 'me too' brief; illuminate broader implications; make friends who can influence people; be clear, concise and creative; it's ok to pile on -- to a point; and pick your battles.
FYI, the 4th edition of The Amicus Brief: Answering the Ten Most Important Questions About Amicus Practice, is now available.

Finally, an unpub'd case of note here from 4/1 starts like this: "This appeal illustrates the hazards of going off the record to discuss issues involving a complicated 12-page, 52-question special verdict form." Yep, it's an invited error case.