Happy New Year to all members of the Los Angeles County Bar Association!

A new year brings a new beginning, and we are very excited to have moved to LACBA’s new headquarters at 444 South Flower Street, 25th Floor, in downtown Los Angeles. The new LACBA office brings many benefits to our members, including state-of-the-art conference space, at nominal cost to LACBA. Our sections and committees can now host in-person meetings and CLE events for up to 60 people. We also have an outdoor terrace area with space for large gatherings and networking events. I look forward to welcoming you in our beautiful new downtown space!    

There are many other exciting events happening at LACBA. We are very happy to announce the formation of our newest section, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. The ADR Section, our 29th section, serves LACBA members, the profession, the courts, and the ADR community by creating a place for ADR professionals to network, share resources, gain invaluable educational resources, and provide leadership and innovation in the practice of ADR in California.

We are also pleased to announce that LACBA will be hosting a Diversity and Inclusion Conference at Loyola Law School on Friday, April 21, 2023. The Conference will be a full-day program offering six hours of CLE credit featuring exciting speakers and panel discussions on the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decisions, the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Diversity in Law Firms and Legal Organizations, Legal Ethics and Diversity, Implicit Bias, and Diversity in the Judiciary. We hope you can join us! For more information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Terrina Scott, tscott@lacba.org.

Our Future of Lawyering Task Force, chaired by Carolin Shining, is seeking new members to help work on initiatives to preserve excellence in the practice of law, reform the State Bar, and prevent State Bar initiatives to lower the standards for the legal profession. The initiatives this Committee is working on include the following: (1) continued opposition to elimination of the bar examination and weakened licensure standards; (2) increase State Bar operational transparency; (3) reform the State Bar Board of Trustees structure; and (4) improve access to justice by promoting public service, pro bono work, law school debt cancellation, and other measures to promote access to justice while keeping high standards of legal practice and public safety in mind. If you are interested in serving on the Future of Lawyering Task Force, please contact Carolin at cshining@wilshirelawfirm.com.

Please don’t forget to renew your membership in LACBA! For $85, you can have unlimited section memberships, meaning you will have unlimited opportunities to network, build your business connections, and develop your practice in LACBA’s amazing sections, including Litigation, Family Law, Small Firms, Immigration, and the Diversity in the Profession Section.

Again, my very best wishes to you in the new year!  May 2023 bring you many opportunities for growth, success, and happiness in your personal and professional endeavors. Thank you for renewing your membership in LACBA and for your continuing support for LACBA and Counsel for Justice!

Gratefully,

Ann I. Park, President

Los Angeles County Bar Association