• Events,  Judges

    Highlights from an Evening with the Division 6 Justices

    Picking up CLE credit is never as easy or fun as an evening with the justices of Division 6, which I and a few dozen other lawyers did last night at the courthouse for District 2, Division 6 in Ventura. The discussion was very informal, but there was still a lot to be learned — or in some cases, have confirmed. Much of the evening was give-and-take. I tried to take detailed notes, but I can only write so fast. So, to avoid misquoting anyone, I’ll stick to paraphrasing and, for the most part, will not attribute comments to any particular person. My intent is not to deprive anyone of…

  • Events,  Judges

    Another Supreme Court Justice Meet-Up at Pepperdine

    After hosting Justice Alito and Justice Scalia, Pepperdine recently hosted an event with Justice O’Connor. Read appellate attorney Ben Shatz’s account of the Justice O’Connor event at the Los Angeles County Bar Association blog, en banc, where you can also find his previous posts on the Justice Alito and  Justice Scalia events.

  • Events,  Judges

    Scalia and Starr at Pepperdine

    Too late, you’ve missed it.  But if you want to read all about the “conversation” between Dean Kenneth Starr and Justice Antonin Scalia held at Pepperdine yesterday, check out the very detailed write-up of the event  by appellate attorney Ben Shatz at En Banc.  Consider Ben the Pepperdine bureau chief, as he also had a good write-up last August on Justice Samuel Alito’s appearance there.

  • Events,  Judges,  Legal Writing

    Pepperdine’s Justice Alito Event — Video Available

    Pepperdine has video of the conference on judicial opinion writing that I commented on here (actually, I was commenting on Ben Shatz’s write-up of the event).  Here’s the description accompanying the video: The Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr., associate justice of the United States, spoke on “Lawyering and the Craft of Judicial Opinion Writing” at the School of Law on Wednesday, July 30, to a crowd of more than 200 students, alumni, law professors, journalists, judges, and special guests. Justice Alito was joined by The Honorable Michael W. McConnell, United States Appellate Judge for the Tenth Circuit; The Honorable Walter E. Dellinger III, former United States Solicitor General; Pepperdine School…

  • Blogging,  Events

    Report from the Pepperdine Conference on Judicial Opinion Writing

    Pepperdine hosted a conference Wednesday on the craft of judicial opinion writing, with a panel that included Justice Samuel Alito. LA appellate attorney Ben Shatz attended and today posts his write-up of the event at the Los Angeles County Bar Association Blog, En Banc. His post is worth a read, especially if you wish you had been there. Two things jumped out at me from Ben’s report. First: Where were all the lawyers? Ben notes that the auditorium didn’t exactly look empty, but wasn’t close to capacity, either, and he wonders if Justice Alito is unpopular with the bar. Second: Tenth Circuit Judge Michael McConnell gave some praise to the…

  • Attorney Fees,  Events

    Attorney Fee Program Coming Up in Los Angeles

    One of the organizers of an upcoming attorney fee CLE program in Los Angeles was lucky enough to reach me by phone this morning before I was too embroiled in my work, and asked if I would be kind enough to help publicize the program. Well, I’m a sucker for a request like that, and especially so in this case, since attorney fees are of particular interest to me (and The Pro Bono Road to Riches is still one of the most traffic-generating posts I’ve had). So, here’s the skinny: Date: June 19, 2008 Time: noon- 5 pm Place: Southwestern Law School (Los Angeles) This description of coverage comes straight…

  • California Supreme Court,  Events

    Correction re: Live Coverage of Marriage Cases Oral Argument

    Thank you to alert commenter Stephen Ehat for pointing out an error in my post announcing television coverage of the marriage cases oral arguments before the California Supreme Court on March 4. I originally posted that the arguments would be taped for later broadcast, but they will actually be broadcast live. For details, see the announcement at the California Courts website.

  • Events,  Ninth Circuit

    Ninth Heads for Vegas

    A 3-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit, including Chief Judge Kozinski, will hear three cases at the William S. Boyd School of Law on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas on February 27. Details here. As everyone knows, a published opinion resulting from any of those cases will become precedent in nine western states and two Pacific Island jurisdictions. Which means that for the panel to uphold the “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” motto, they’ll have to resist certifying the opinions for publication.

  • Events

    DRI Appellate Advocacy Seminar: February 28-29, 2008

    The 2008 DRI Appellate Advocacy Seminar is scheduled for February 28-29 in Orlando, Florida.  I was tipped off to the event by New Orleans appellate attorney Ray Ward of the (new) legal writer, who gives this annual seminar a glowing recommendation at his blog: I have been fortunate enough to attend every DRI Appellate Advocacy Seminar ever held, from the first one in 1999 in Washington, D.C. through last year’s in Phoenix, Arizona. The DRI seminars are, in my opinion, the best of their kind in the nation. You can learn more about the presentations scheduled for the seminar from Ray Ward’s post, the DRI website, and this PDF brochure.

  • Blogging,  Events

    Thank You to LACBA Appellate Courts Committee

    I had the honor of sharing the stage on Monday with Denise Howell of Bag & Baggage fame (not to mention Lawgarithms and other projects) for a presentation on blogging and other internet media to the Los Angeles County Bar Association Appellate Courts Committee. Denise has more than six years of blogging under her belt. I spoke specifically from the “young blogger perspective.” The committee members were quite receptive and interactive, with great questions that were fun to answer. Thanks to all involved, including Denise, and to Ben Shatz for setting it up. By the way, because I expect a few visits from committee members as a result of my…