Legal Pad

Board of Governors Candidates Drop Out Quickly, Mysteriously

[Mike McKee]

Well, those were short campaigns.

A week ago, the State Bar announced that Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Valerie McGuire and Walnut Creek lawyer Jeffrey Conner were two of four candidates for the Board of Governors’ District 3 seat.

But on Monday, McGuire bailed out and on Wednesday, Conner, of Conner & Associates, joined her. Neither gave the State Bar a reason and neither returned two phone calls.

Christine Burdick, executive director of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, said via e-mail today that her group — as well as the three other county bar associations in District 3 — endorsed Alec Chang, a partner in the Palo Alto office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for the seat. (The district also includes Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties.)

Emeryville solo Michael Schmier is also in contention.

If you know why Valerie and Jeffrey are going to be no-shows, leave a comment below.

Schwarzenegger and State Bar Work Out Dues Bill

As expected, the governor late Monday signed into law the State Bar's annual dues bill, even though it's almost identical to legislation he vetoed last fall.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the original dues bill shortly after someone leaked word that the governor's nominee to the Fifth District Court of Appeal, former state Sen. Chuck Poochigian, had been labeled "not qualified" by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation. Schwarzenegger was also angered by news that a former Bar employee had embezzled $675,000.

In response, Bar officials conducted an unsuccessful search for the source of the leak, and they hired an auditor to review the organization's practices. Executive director Judy Johnson also announced her resignation (free reg. req.).

"I am pleased that the State Bar has taken these concerns seriously and has taken commendable steps to address these problems," Schwarzenegger wrote in a signing message. "I urge the State Bar to continue its efforts and look forward to evaluating its progress when next year's dues bill comes to my desk."

Bar President Howard Miller said in a prepared statement that the governor's veto "helped us to focus on issues and matters that are important. This entire period has strengthened the State Bar and given us important missions and goals that we now can actively achieve."

The $410 fees for active members will be due on March 1.

— Cheryl Miller

State Bar's Lobbyist Finds New Work

Anthony Williams, the State Bar’s contract lobbyist, announced today that he’s “taking leave” from his lobbying work and joining Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg’s staff as special counsel.

Williams said he’ll be handling issues involving state prisons, the judiciary, public safety and the many lawsuits filed against the state.

“There are a lot of interesting and complicated things going on right now,” he said. “I’ve always had my heart in public service.”

Whether Williams will ever return to his firm, the Wada Williams Law Group, or to lobbying work for the Bar, is unclear.

Speaking of interesting and complicated … after the jump.

Santa Clara Bar Judges the Judges So You Don’t Have To

Today the Santa Clara County Bar Association released the results of its biennial judicial evaluation survey.

It’s kind of like Rate My Professors, only without the insightful comments from students (as in one Boalt student saying of a professor: “incapable of making a clear statement with re to particular rules of law.”).

The sample size varies from judge to judge, so it’s impossible to compare judges. In fact, the bar association sternly cautions “any group, particularly the media, which may attempt to rank or use rankings derived from the survey results, that such rankings are an abuse of the survey results.”

After the jump: We throw caution to the winds and abuse the results!

Aussie Muckracker Seeks 'The Dirt on Jeff Bleich'

Legal Pad was wondering whether former State Bar President Jeffrey Bleich had made any headlines as the new U.S. ambassador to the Land Down Under. He’s been there a few weeks. [Corrected 11/13: We were mistaken; Bleich is not there yet. To Legal Pad’s embarrassment, Amy Merriweather, the L.A.-based practice development director at Munger, Tolles & Olson, e-mailed to tell us as much. Bleich — a partner with the firm — wasn’t confirmed until Monday, Merriweather explained, and will be officially sworn in on Nov. 20 in San Francisco. As punishment, Legal Pad will consume a full jar of that horrible-tasting Vegemite so beloved by our Aussie mates.]

So we Googled “Jeffrey Bleich + Australia.” Nothing newsy came up, but one item did catch our attention.

Posted in mid-September by someone disguising himself as “beagleone,” it was headlined: “What’s the dirt on Jeffrey Bleich?”

“I’m in Australia and I’m trying to research this lib. Van Jones style dirt would be awesome, but I’ll settle for just super-lib stuff.”

No dirt, but a defender from across the aisle … after the jump.

Governor vetoes State Bar dues bill

Channeling Pete Wilson, Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger late Sunday vetoed the State Bar’s annual dues bill, accusing the organization that represents 165,000 active lawyers of inefficiency and promoting a “political agenda.”

Schwarzenegger cited a July state auditor report that criticized significant increases in staff salaries and escalating disciplinary system costs despite a drop in cases. The governor also noted the discovery that a former Bar employee had embezzled $675,000 over eight years.

“As the organization charged with regulating the professional conduct of its members, the conduct of the State Bar itself must be beyond reproach,” Schwarzenegger wrote in an unusually lengthy veto message. “Regrettably, it is not.”

The governor takes on JNE, after the jump.

Snapshots From The State Bar Meeting

Among the here and there at the State Bar meeting last weekend, our reporter checked out the actual size of the hotel picket line, and checked in with a past State Bar president and the new one.

Below, members of Local 30 of Unite Here!, a national labor union, marched with gay rights advocates boycotting the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

 

And, in the video below, we had a quick chat with Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge James Herman (former State Bar president '02-'03), and then with the newly installed Bar president, Girardi & Keese partner Howard Miller.

— Photo/video by Mike McKee

Anti-Prop 8 Group to Protest State Bar Meeting. At Wrong Hotel.

What if you put on a protest and the people you really wanted to see it were a mile away?

That’s the situation for San Francisco’s Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, which takes to San Diego’s streets a week from Saturday to protest the State Bar’s refusal to relocate its annual meeting out of the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of protesters hope to convince attendees to boycott the Hyatt because owner Doug Manchester donated $125,000 to last year’s Yes on 8 campaign. (Details)

But BALIF’s organizers weren’t aware that the swearing-in ceremonies they targeted for their 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. event aren’t taking place at the host hotel, but rather 1.1 miles away inside the San Diego Marriott and Marina. Chief Justice Ronald George will be there, giving the oath of office to the incoming presidents of the State Bar and California Judges Association, as well as new members of the State Bar Board of Governors.

"Well, here's another fine mess ..." after the jump.

Tortured Logic: Strange Pursuit of Another Torture-Memo Lawyer

The National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter delivered more than 100 complaints to the State Bar on Friday, demanding disciplinary action against former Department of Defense General Counsel William Haynes — now GC at San Ramon-based Chevron Corp. — for “championing policies of torture” at Guantanamo Bay.

But no matter how persuasive the legal group’s arguments may be, Haynes won’t be disbarred. He can’t be. Haynes is not a member of California’s State Bar.

Details, schmetails, after the jump.

Alameda Bar Joins Prop 8-inspired Boycott

Add the Alameda County Bar Association to the growing list of groups treating the State Bar’s annual meeting like a pox-ridden village best to be avoided.

In an email issued yesterday, President Charles Bendes notified the association’s members that the ACBA will not be represented because the State Bar is holding its Sept. 10-13 meeting at San Diego’s Manchester Grand Hyatt. It’s not the accommodations that bother ACBA, but the fact that the hotel’s owner, Doug Manchester, donated $125,000 toward the passage of Proposition 8.

Sending a message … after the jump.