Dear Counsel,
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.
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.
Hello SDCBA New Lawyer Division,
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.
When I think about how I became a lawyer, I don’t picture a classroom or a courtroom.
By Charles Berwanger
Generative AI is a tool that has wide-ranging application for the practice of law and administrative functions of the legal practice for all licensees, regardless of firm size, and all practice areas. Like any technology, generative AI must be used in a manner that conforms to a lawyer’s professional responsibility obligations, including those set forth in the Rules of Professional Conduct and the State Bar Act. A lawyer should understand the risks and benefits of the technology used in connection with providing legal services. How these obligations apply will depend on a host of factors, including the client, the matter, the practice area, the firm size, and the tools themselves, ranging from free and readily available to custom-built, proprietary formats.
Generative AI use presents unique challenges; it uses large volumes of data, there are many competing AI models and products, and, even for those who create generative AI products, there is a lack of clarity as to how it works. In addition, generative AI poses the risk of encouraging greater reliance and trust on its outputs because of its purpose to generate responses and its ability to do so in a manner that projects confidence and effectively emulates human responses. A lawyer should consider these and other risks before using generative AI in providing legal services.
The following Practical Guidance is based on current professional responsibility obligations for lawyers and demonstrates how to behave consistently with such obligations. While this guidance is intended to address issues and concerns with the use of generative AI and products that use generative AI as a component of a larger product, it may apply to other technologies, including more established applications of AI. This Practical Guidance should be read as guiding principles rather than as “best practices.”
Greetings New Lawyer Division!
I’m Lilly Glenister, your 2026 Chair for the New Lawyer Division (“NLD”). Born and raised in San Diego, I graduated from San Diego State University and California Western School of Law—a true local girl! Now, I am an associate at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in its Business Trial Practice Group at the firm’s downtown San Diego office. This is my third year as an Executive Committee member of NLD and I am stoked to help my team bring you more events and CLE content this year. It can feel isolating being a new attorney, which is why we encourage you to reach out to us. Whether it is just attending our events throughout the year or getting involved with various volunteer opportunities, NLD is where you can start to build your community here in San Diego.
In the popular imagination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often reduced to a handful of quotations, a single holiday, or a softened narrative of inevitable progress. But the King who wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and who stood at the Mason Temple in Memphis on April 3, 1968, the night before his assassination, was not offering comfort. He was issuing a demand. That demand was grounded in what might best be described as radical love, a disciplined, uncomfortable, and courageous commitment to human dignity that refuses neutrality in the face of injustice.
By Dave Majchrzak and Heather Rosing
On October 10 and 11, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills, Assembly Bill 931 and Senate Bill 37, that will impact the law of lawyering effective January 1, 2026. We want the membership to be aware of these new laws since they may impact the way you advertise and attract clients. The changes are significant and violations can have serious consequences.
NLD,
As my term as Chair of the New Lawyer Division comes to a close, I am filled with gratitude and awe at what we accomplished together this year. Thank you for trusting me, for electing me, and for showing up with so much energy, creativity, and passion. You made this year unforgettable and reminded me again and again why this Division is so special.
By Edward McIntyre
A recurring series where fictional characters discuss real
ethics scenarios. Macbeth, a long-recognized expert in legal
ethics, professional responsibility, and the law of lawyering
is joined by his nephew Duncan and Sara, the very bright
newest member of the firm.