New rules concerning lawyer advertising or use of lawyer referral services (LRS) have been enacted as of January 1 that make profound changes in the law. For decades the rules concerning advertising and LRS were only weakly enforced by the state bar. One of the important parts of the new legislation is that it provides for private rights of action. This includes statutory damages and recovery of attorney fees along with injunctive relief. Read More
Somewhere along the way, you may have been taught that to be an effective attorney for your clients, you need to put on a tough front. You’re taught to be the aggressive, trailblazing lawyer who fights for their clients like a warrior. Loyal, brave, and true. But within that, we often forget that at the end of the day, we’re simply human. We all feel the weight of being the person who puts the needs of others before our own. Read More
Every new attorney-client engagement must begin with a conflict check. In this process, the law firm endeavors to discover whether it has ever represented any of the parties involved in the matter prior to the potential client. An ineffective conflict check can lead to disqualification after months (or years) of time and effort invested in the client’s matter, not to mention fee disputes and complaints to the State Bar. Read More
Around a conference table at the SDCBA Bar Center, lawyers with decades of experience gathered to discuss a pressing question of how do we build better mentorship in the profession? The conversation was led by Janet Sobel, chair of the SDCBA’s Senior Advisors Section, one of the newest sections of the bar association. The section’s mission is simple but ambitious: Connect experienced attorneys who want to share their knowledge with lawyers who are looking for guidance. Read More
Many of you might remember Bradwell v. Illinois, 83 U.S. 130 (1872), from your law school days. The Supreme Court held that the Privileges and Immunities Clause did not guarantee a right to practice one’s chosen profession and upheld Illinois’s decision to deny Myra Bradwell admission to the bar solely because she was a woman, declaring that a woman’s “paramount destiny and mission” was to fulfill the roles of wife and mother.Read More
Many attorneys now rely on AI tools to draft pleadings, summarize materials, or evaluate legal theories before consulting Lexis and Westlaw. While its speed and convenience are undeniable, AI is no white knight—its outputs can be inaccurate or biased, client information can be compromised, and overreliance may erode a lawyer’s independent professional judgment. These risks place every day AI use squarely at the intersection of emerging technology and a lawyer’s ethical duties to their client. Read More
Legal ethics for the practitioner is often about drawing lines. Often, it is not clear where the line should be drawn. The California Rules of Professional Conduct[1] and the statutes in the Business and Professions Code often seem clear when read in a vacuum, but not so clear when a lawyer must apply them in practice. Many published decisions from the California Courts of Appeal and the Review Department of the State Bar Court are valuable in the exercise of drawing the fine lines between what is ethically permissible and what is not.Read More
February asks us to love. It’s all around us, almost obnoxiously. Roses everywhere, balloons filling up stores. It’s a great reminder for us to show love to those in our lives. But in this profession where we’re called to critique, advise, and protect, no one really harps on what’s also just as important: loving yourself. Read More
This topic will not go away: misuse of generative AI producing hallucinated case citations and quotations. As of early February 2026, there have been more than 600 judicial decisions across the United States in which judges have criticized, sanctioned—including some hefty monetary sanctions—and in some instances, referred lawyers to relevant disciplinary authority. California has contributed more than its fair share to that total.Read More
I know many of you – but for those I have not yet met – my name is Robert Shawhan, and I am the new Vice Chair of the San Diego County Bar Association New Lawyer Division. I am excited to serve another year on the Board and look forward to supporting you through programming, networking opportunities, and other resources that help foster a tighter-knit legal community. Last year, I was proud to help organize many of our events, including the Gulls Hockey Game Watch, the Summer Soiree, the Beach & Bonfire Networking Meetup, and the 4th Annual Naughty & Nice Sweater Holiday Party, where we collected blankets and clothing for people who are homeless through the local agency PATH.Read More
