Author: San Diego County Bar Association

President’s Message: December 13, 2021

Thank you to everyone who attended last week’s Stepping Up to the Bar. It was wonderful to see everyone in person and celebrate the holidays together. As we close out 2021, I wanted to share with you all just a few of the incredible accomplishments of the volunteer leaders and staff this past year: Read More

Mindful Minute: The Balance of Gratitude

By Pauline Villanueva

 ’Tis the season to give thanks, count our blessings, and remember all the things we have to be grateful for. For some, this is a welcome reminder; for others, it is a challenge. Worse, it can make some of us feel resentful, as if we’re being pressured to feel “grateful” while simultaneously being forced to acknowledge our struggles. Read More

Efferin Deans and the Boundaries and Evolution of the Practice of Law

By Jessica Park and Andrew Servais

The California State Bar recently seized the client files of Efferin Deans, a man with a 25-year history of impersonating attorneys and two prior convictions of identity theft.[1] On Oct. 27, 2021, a criminal complaint was filed in Los Angeles County naming Efferin Deans and twenty-two aliases that Deans utilized to impersonate a lawyer and appear on the record as a licensed attorney for family law and personal injury cases from January 2019 to September 2021 (See People v. Deans, Los Angeles County Superior Court,Case No: BA499952).  Read More

President’s Message: November 29, 2021

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but before we leave November, there are two more days of the 30-Day Gratitude Challenge and I’m determined to end strong. Today’s challenge is to call or text someone and share a reason I’m grateful for them (the tough part will be narrowing down whom to send that message to), and tomorrow’s challenge (spoiler alert) is to start a gratitude journal. I’ve been meaning to do that, so this was just the prompt that I needed. If you keep one, I’d love to hear if you fill it out in the morning or in the evening, and why. Read More

President’s Message: November 22, 2021

This week many of us are, or will be, focused on the meal-planning for Thursday’s food fest. The tryptophan and carb comas are coming, and creative left-over makeovers will make up the rest of the weekend. So, I was a little surprised to read that today’s action item in the 30-Day Gratitude Challenge, the Monday before Thanksgiving, is to cook a meal for someone who is stressed or tired. More cooking?? Read More