Alec Chapa’s Post

Script of my speech today as Chair at the Law Society Dispute Resolution Conference prior to introducing Lord Justice Birss as our keynote. I stress these are my own views on Civil Justice. Was not easy to deliver my points, particularly as things are moving so fast in the FRC area. Plus, it is not a forte of mine but that is no reason to shy away from it. Someone has to make these points. One thing I can see from the keynote he has given today is that Lord Justice Birss has really good intentions and really wants to improve access to justice. His ideas for online portals etc sound promising. Unlike previous reforms, I hope his enthusiasm and drive for positive change can now be properly executed. P.s. He quite rightly didn’t say anything about the FRC because of the ongoing APIL JR. I didn’t think he would. Thank you Lord Justice Birss for contributing to what is hotting up to be an excellent event. I’m calling it the Glasto of Dispute Resolution Conferences. It certainly has the best lineup. #DisputeResolutionConference2023 #civillitigation #civilprocedure #accesstojustice #litigation

The California Bar is seeking a $125 fee increase--25%. It's justifications are absurd. First, in 2018, the Bar broke off the California Lawyers Association--an organization that provided services to lawyers, and joining that organization requires a MINIMUM of $120. So we're already paying the Bar $120 extra dollars that the Bar wants to take again. The Bar's justifications are even more dubious. https://lnkd.in/dYEMQDXv It asserts that it needs $35/per members for merit increases, COLAs, and IT increases. Then it says it needs $39/member to fund existing staffing. Merit increase and COLAs ARE funding existing staffing. The Bar has implemented a new "snitch" rule, requiring lawyers to report other lawyers. That might seem good; it's not. It just turns litigation more acrimonious. Now we have to report other lawyers; threats of reporting (which were always lame) now actually needed reporting. Guess what--the snitch reports are 60% of all reports. What percentage of these are actual complaints, much less discipline. It will be very low. The bar also requires $21/member to pay for the fact it sold its HQ in San Francisco, and now leases that space. It is in San Francisco. Every other state agency is headquartered in Sacramento--the state Capitol. But the Bar insists on leasing office space in the most expensive city in the state. Amazingly, the Bar sold the building for $54M, after seeking $85M. So it either overestimated the value by more than 1/3rd, or gave a 1/3rd discount. Either way, pathetic. Notably, the Bar claimed when it sold the building that (this really is a quote): "The sale is expected to shore up the State Bar financially." And here it is a year later asking for a 25% fee increase. The Bar also wants $5.75/member for it's CTAPP program. This is a program where the Bar asks every lawyer in the state to swear that their firm's client trust fund is properly managed, but most lawyers in private practice (unless they are sole practitioners or managing partners) have no control over CTAPP. The Bar should know this, though I suspect that the Trustees and the management is so detached from reality that they do not understand even the basics of practicing law. Meanwhile, instead of discipline and protecting the public, the Bar has been engaging in programs to let non-lawyers own law firms (very dangerous) or let computer apps give legal advice (beyond dangerous, just outright stupid), while it has shown no ability to actually engage in discipline. The Tom Girardi scandal continues to show how the Bar just has not done its job, has gone after petty problems while allowing big red flags persist, and there is no demonstration that it is doing better. The reality is that the entire Bar (trustees and management) needs to be cleaned out. The State Auditor says that Bar dues should go up $24.

https://lnkd.in/gEtfZ5Fn #BalancingJustice #LegalInsights #CourtroomTales #JusticeSeeker #StacyUpton #ShirleyMillwood #FairnessMatters #legaldrama Join us for an insightful discussion as we delve into the intricacies of justice and equity with esteemed guest Mickey Turner. From legal frameworks to social implications, we explore how to bring balance to the scales of justice in today's complex world.

Kyla Lee for Law360: Make No Mistake: Defence Counsel are Under Attack There are a few Charter-protected rights that accused people enjoy in Canada that are fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system. Among those, one of the most critical is the right to retain and instruct counsel. As Frank Addario once put it in a presentation to the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia at it criminal justice conference: we are the only lawyers in the Charter. But the special status that we should enjoy as gatekeepers against wrongful conviction, guardians of the presumption of innocence, and warriors for truth and justice for people facing the greatest societal stigma and the most serious charges is under attack. And this is by design, rather than by accident. https://lnkd.in/ggtb-6tZ

But what does such a categorical recognition and condemnation bring victims or the public at large? Leaving nuances out may, certainly in the long run, do more bad than good. It may lead to caricatural images of perpetrators, seeing monsters where there are none. By neglecting nuances, not only the victim but also the public at large may come to overgeneralise the event, which might foster the negative feeling as if nowhere is safe (Pemberton, Winkel & Groenhuijsen, 2007). Leaving out the nuances by framing culprits in categorical legal terms dehumanises a perpetrator and could stir up public concern and anxiety (Smith, 2014: 106). If the ordinariness of (most) perpetrators is hidden from our view, we may start fantasising about their evilness, thus enlarging the impact of the crime. Similarly, 'fixing' victims in their role as the passive recipients of a wrong as it is defined by the law may in a sense dehumanise them, turning them into 'patients' rather than agents. Van Willigenburg The International Journal of Restorative Justice 2022 vol. 5(1) pp. 18-36 doi: 10.5553/TIJRJ.000092 Restoration > retribution

As someone who saw the materials used for this I can attest that it’s a very thoughtful, and detailed yet accessible explanation, of one of the most important trends in markets today. Investors in a wide range of credit vehicles need to be aware of the intricacies of ever evolving approaches to liability management exercises and how their managers address this trend.

I'm very grateful for the opportunity to continuously submit my modest contribution to the most comprehensive research regarding the Rule of law in the world - World Justice Project. What I'm not proud of are the results, which are worrisome, as the rule of law and access to justice is declining worldwide. Let us not forget that each and every one of us are responsible for this situation, today, tomorrow and for the next generations. The decisions we make, the actions we take every day, cannot be subject to moral concessions and should be seen with their far-reaching consequences, as the legal profession deals with the essences of humanity and civilization. #WorldJusticeProject #ruleoflaw #accesstojustice

I’ll be speaking on the panel on “ESI Protocols: Promise vs. Reality" at the RAND Corporation's upcoming eDiscovery symposium in Washington, D.C. on October 3rd and 4th (registration at link below). Given the changing ESI landscape as newer communications and collaboration paradigms, such as social media, and platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams assume major roles alongside traditional email, “modern attachments” (links to documents in internal or non-public repositories like Google Workspace and Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive) supplant physical attachments, and TAR (technology-assisted review) becomes ascendant, well-drafted ESI protocols are essential to preserve the discoverability of substantial and critical ESI.

George will be participating as a panelist at this important invent on Oct 3rd and 4th. It's important to hear from all sides on how to improve the eDiscovery process for all parties. #EDiscoverySymposium #LegalTechDiscussion #RandInstituteEvent #chicagotriallawyer #EDiscoveryPanel #LegalInnovation #LegalPolicyDebate

The Scottish National Party (SNP)'s attempt to dismantle the Scottish Legal System has always been of great concern to me. In my view both juryless trials and abolishment of the "not proven" verdict are an afront to Justice. Whilst understanding the social context driving both of these proposals is important, we cannot use the Criminal Justice System as a political football. You want increased conviction rates for Rape cases? - Fund and resource the Police Scotland properly. You want quicker, swifter trials? - Fund and resource the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service properly. There are other ways to achieve these goals whilst ensuring our legal tradition remains intact. Scotland should, quite rightly, take pride in the unique aspects of our legal system and its preservation should be placed above the desire to achieve passing political objectives. https://lnkd.in/eT9AZWxk