YCBA MEETS ON MAY 16

The Yolo County Bar Association will hold its regular meeting on May 16. YCBA President Allison Zuvela will make a presentation on Ethical Issues in the Electronic Age. Attendance at the meeting earns 1 hour MCLE credit. Here are the details:

Please R.S.V.P. to Allison Zuvela by Tuesday, May 14, so that we have an accurate count.

SEPTEMBER MEETING

At the September YCBA meeting the Yolo County Court will speak to the membership regarding the Court's budget and access to the courts. There will be a question and answer session as well.

NOTE: The YCBA will not meet during the months of June, July and August.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

I look forward to serving as President and welcome returning and new members to our organization.

The Yolo County Bar Association’s mission is to keep its members informed of the legal developments within our County, to provide low cost continuing education, and to promote the image of the legal profession in our community.

The Yolo County Bar Association, unlike our counterpart in Sacramento, is small organization that exists due to the efforts of volunteers. I want to thank all of you have served, helped, and tirelessly promoted YCBA. We could not exist without you. There are many other members who have volunteered to assist in future endeavors, and I want to thank you for that and let you know that you will be called or e-mailed. All these efforts have paid off so far with year with two excellent and well attended MCLE programs, “Meet the Judges” and “Nuts and Bolts Guide to Civil Trials in Yolo County.” I hope that we can continue to provide quality MCLE programs so that you will keep on supporting the Bar Association and attending our events for years to come.

For the last two years, Law Day in Yolo County has been a success. Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye of the Supreme Court of California was last year’s keynote speaker. This year, we will take a step back and look more inward and focus towards our local roots. Please mark your calendars and join us on May 1, 2013.

YCBA is a part of a smaller tight-knit legal community. I want everyone to feel welcome and feel free to contribute to the organization. As a result, YCBA can serve you best when you give us feedback. I invite you to contact me directly with your ideas, suggestions, and improvements. I also welcome you to invite others to attend YCBA events and join YCBA. The more we all participate, the stronger we can become as a group.

I look forward to 2013 and all that YCBA has for this year. I can be reached at azuvela@yolocounty.org or 530-666-8351.

-- Allison Zuvela, 2013 Yolo County Bar Association President.

2013 YCBA OFFICERS

Yolo County Bar Association Officers for 2013 are:

2013 MEMBERSHIP DUES

It is time for members to renew their dues for 2013, and of course The Yolo County Bar Association always welcomes new members. The Application for 2013 YCBA Bar Membership is HERE.

Dues are $50 for private sector attorneys and $25 for government sector attorneys.

If you would like to become a member, or renew your membership, please download and complete the application and mail it in with your payment. The mailing address is: Yolo County Bar Association, P.O. Box 1903, Woodland, CA 95776-1903.

Bar Association Committees - When filling out your application please express your interest in participating in the several committees that help our group serve our community.

The YCBA committees include:

Your Practice Area - Be sure to complete the part of the application that deals with your area of practice. Your contact information, including areas of practice, is listed on the Member Lookup area of the website, which can be searched by name and by area of practice. If you are a current member, please check your listing here.

Bilingual? There have been a number of requests for information about attorneys who provide services in languages other than English. There is a place in the application where attorneys can provide this information, which will then be listed in the Member Lookup area of the website.

Support the Yolo County Law Library - When completing your YCBA membership form, please consider including a donation to the Yolo County Law Library. Please see the renewal application for more details.

Mandatory Fee Arbitration Procedures Have Changed

The Yolo County Bar Association has announced that its Mandatory Fee Arbitration program is now administered by the California State Bar rather than by a local administrator.

The State Bar will utilize local arbitrators from Yolo and Sacramento counties to conduct fee arbitrations when fees charged by Yolo County attorneys are disputed and mandatory fee arbitration is initiated.

All requests for Mandatory Fee Arbitrations should be directed to the California State Bar. The main telephone number for the Mandatory Fee Arbitration department at the State Bar is 415-358-2200. Mandatory Fee Arbitration forms and resources are available at the State Bar's website at www.calbar.ca.gov. Once contact is made with the State Bar, it will start the arbitration process, accept pleadings, appoint an arbitrator, and issue the arbitration award.

VIP MENTORS

The Yolo County Bar Association is proud to support VIP Mentors (VIP) in its application for the Second Chance Act Mentoring Grant for Nonprofit Organizations.

VIP provides an extremely important support network for parolees, and is a sound investment of funds because it reduces recidivism, saves judicial, law enforcement, and correctional resources, and most importantly makes a positive difference in the lives of its participants and its mentors. We strongly support this program, and recognize the vital gap that VIP fills in our community.

VIP Mentors invites you to participate in its program. VIP Mentors (VIP) is the only program in California that recruits attorneys, and only attorneys, to be guides, advisors, friends and role models for men and women on parole as they struggle to turn their lives around. Although all VIP mentors are attorneys, they are not required or permitted to offer legal assistance to their mentees. Instead, time is spent however you and your mentee choose, and usually involves one phone call a week and one to two meetings throughout the month. Whether you grab a cup of coffee, see a game, play sports, or go for a walk, the most important thing is that you listen and encourage as the parolee learns how a successful person lives his or her life.

Please contact Jesse Navarrete, the Sacramento/Yolo Program Director, with any questions you might have, or to sign-up as a mentor. Jesse can be reached by phone at (916) 324-4141 ext 259, or by email at vip-sacramento@vipmentors.org. VIP Mentors' website, www.vipmentors.org, also has a wealth of information including a short video on what mentoring is all about.

LAW LIBRARY NEWS

New Material

The Law Library has received a very generous donation of books from the Sacramento County Public Law Library.

We now have publications on Internet Law, Copyright, newer material on Defense of Drunk Driving and Illegal Substances, a copy of the Model Penal Code and many more. The gift also includes an up-to date set of Corpus Juris Secundum.

Additionally, the library has added Forecite to its collection and to its online capabilities. All Forecite updates and peripherals are now available on the law library's public computers.