Update 8/17/15, 9:45 am: State Bar colleagues inform me that they have reached capacity for this event and are no longer accepting reservations. But I would like to hear feedback after the event from this who attend. Write to me at arizona.attorney@azbar.org. And I look forward to seeing you there.

This Thursday, there’s an event occurring that I’m happy to share (and attend). It’s titled “Finding Your True Grit: A Discussion on the Secrets of Success for Women Lawyers.”

Here is how the organizers describe it:

“How does your mindset impact your success in the workplace? Studies have shown that highly successful women lawyers have ‘grit’—the perseverance and passion for long term goals—and that an individual can learn to develop more grit. In this interactive session you will learn from distinguished and accomplished women lawyers what grit is and how to implement a grit approach in your career.”

This is a free event, but registration is requested by Wednesday, August 19.

Here is the detail about the discussion and dialogue among experts and audience members:

When: Thursday, August 20; program 1:00 – 4:00 pm; reception 4:00 – 5:00 pm

Where: National Bank of Arizona, 6001 N. 24th Street, Building 2, Phoenix 85016

Register here.

Faculty:

• Julie Arvo MacKenzie, Arizona Health Facilities Authority
• Shawdy Banihashemi, Jaburg Wilk
• Sonia Martinez, Law Office of Sonia Martinez
• Lisa Maxie-Mullins, Office of the Attorney General
• Hon. Patricia Orozco, Arizona Court of Appeals Div. One
• Rosemarie Pena-Lynch, Office of the Legal Advocate
• Alexia Peterson, DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy PC
• Roberta Tepper, State Bar of Arizona
• Moderator: Elena Nethers, State Bar of Arizona

This program is presented by the State Bar of Arizona Committee on Minorities and Women in the Law and Young Lawyers Division and the Arizona Women Lawyers Association. This program is based on the Grit Project, created by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.

It is sponsored by the Arizona Women Lawyers Association and the Native American Bar Association of Arizona; and co-sponsored by the Arizona Women Lawyers Association, the State Bar’s Committee on Minorities and Women in the Law and Young Lawyers Division and National Bank of Arizona.

Questions: Elena Nethers, Diversity and Outreach Advisor, State Bar of Arizona, (602) 340-7393.

Today, I share a news story by colleague Alberto Rodriguez.

The State Bar of Arizona and Univision Arizona hosted the Abogados a Su Lado public service program on Monday, August 17, 2015. Volunteer lawyers answered calls relating to viewer’s family law issues. The following is a recap of the program.

There were six lawyer volunteers, two of whom were first-time volunteers:

• W. James Fisher Lopez, William James Fisher Law Offices
• Mark Hawkins, Hawkins & Hawkins
• Carlos E. Noel, Arizona Attorney General’s Office
• Christina Ortecho, Law Office of Christina Ortecho
• Daniel A. Rodriguez, Diaz Rodriguez & Associates
• Alejandra Valdez, Arizona Attorney General’s Office

The volunteer attorneys answered an impressive 84 calls during the two-hour phone bank.

Sample consumer questions:

• How do we begin the divorce process? Do we need an attorney?
• My husband left five years ago, can I file for a divorce without him?
• Can I sue for back child support if my children are over 18?
• How do I enforce a child support order? What if the parent doesn’t comply?
• How do I get grandparent rights?

And I didn’t tell Alberto I was going to do this, but here is a great visual tweet by Gerardo Higginson that shows my co-worker and a lot of the call-in activity:

Preguntas sobre divorcios? manutencion? custodias? llame ya al 602-232-3533 Estamos a su lado! @AZStateBar pic.twitter.com/xNgU6mhGLm

— GeRaRdo HiGGiNsOn (@PoRtAvOz) August 18, 2015

Just saw @azcourts Justice Berch on @azpbs Horizon; great & engaging, even re court cases! http://t.co/a3XLTsheOr pic.twitter.com/39kpyW9hmq

— Tim Eigo (@azatty) August 19, 2015

It’s always good to see an Arizona Justice in the news.

Last week, I mentioned a draft report from an Arizona Supreme Court committee that examines many elements of the State Bar of Arizona. And this week, task force chair and Arizona Justice Rebecca White Berch spoke on the PBS program Horizon about the group’s work.

Justice Berch also invited viewers to read the report and to send their own comments via email to bargovernance@courts.az.gov.

Justice Berch and Horizon provide the email for public comment on the task force report.

The task force’s website includes detail about its members, information about its many meetings, and a link to the draft report.

You can link directly to the report here.

On Horizon, Justice Berch discussed why the task force chose to keep a mandatory bar (with one dissent), and how important it is for all attorneys to pay for the various programs whether they use them or not.

I have a link to the Horizon program with the Justice Berch interview, though I hesitate to have you click it. AZPBS is notorious for posting a link that should work but really won’t be ready for days (<buffer> <buffer> <buffer>). Fingers crossed on this link.

Justice Rebecca White Berch speaks with Horizon host Ted Simons, Aug. 18, 2015.

For this Monday morning, here is some heartening news from my colleague Alberto Rodriguez:

The State Bar of Arizona was one of many organizations who participated in ABC15’s “On the Road with Let Joe Know,” a consumer assistance event held on Thursday, October 8, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Tempe Marketplace. The Bar recruited volunteer lawyers who answered participants’ questions regarding consumer issues.

Topics covered included family law, employment law, construction law, and products liability.

There were five volunteer attorneys:

• Denise Blommel, Denise M. Blommel PLLC
• Dave Degnan, Degnan Law
• Robert L. Greer, Baird Williams & Greer LLP
• Maya Milovic, Law Office of Maya Milovic PLC
• Javier Sobampo, The Sobampo Law Firm PLLC

The volunteer attorneys provided 52 one-on-one consultations during the two-and-a-half-hour phone bank.

Sample consumer questions:

• Do I qualify for worker’s comp? How do I file for it?
• What can I do for nonpayment of wages earned?
• How do I enforce child support?
• Do I qualify for spousal maintenance?
• What do I do when a contractor abandons a job?
• What can I do when a contractor provides defective workmanship?
• My vehicle’s warranty isn’t being honored; what can I do?
• Dealer won’t repair my vehicle although it is covered through an extended warranty; what can I do?

Joe Ducey, consumer reporter for ABC15, reported that more than 300 consumers were seen by more than 35 providers.

We thank ABC15 for including the State Bar of Arizona in this invaluable consumer event.

A State Bar of Arizona seminar on Thursday, June 25, will focus on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Fair warning: Next week will largely be all State Bar Convention news/all the time. I alert you to that to ensure you’re ready and well hydrated.

The hashtag is #azbarcon

But in advance of that great annual event, I share news about a program I’ve heard much about. Amidst what may be the bread-and-butter of lawyer conferences—updates and nuts-and-bolts sessions on developments in practice and substantive-law areas—a few programs are harder to categorize but sometimes offer a unique and valuable view.

One of those seminars promises to be a robust dialogue about legal pitfalls and possible solutions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has continued for more than a generation. Its description is in the image below and described online (though the online version has a faculty list that has been altered since press time). The program is presented by the Bar’s World Peace Through Law Section.

Excerpt from the State Bar of Arizona Convention brochure, World Peace Through Law Section seminar on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

More information on the Convention is here.

And the full Convention brochure is here.

In what may be a preview of the complexity of a topic on which strong advocates argue, its (overlong) title is “The Israeli–Palestinian Conflict Moves From the Battlefield and the Conference Room to National and International Legislative, Diplomatic and Judicial Bodies.”

Tony Zimbalist, the Vice Chair of the WPTL Section, described the seminar for me:

Dylan Williams

“Its subject is the new forms that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has taken in recent months. It features speakers representing the full spectrum of perspectives on the conflict, including those of the ‘pro-Israel, pro-peace’ advocacy group J Street and the Palestine Liberation Organization.”

“The J Street representative will be Dylan J. Williams, Vice President of Government Affairs. A member of the New York Bar, he served as Counsel for Foreign Relations, Trade and Immigration to former U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME).”

According to seminar materials, J Street “advocates for American leadership to end the Arab–Israeli and Palestinian–Israeli conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. … Williams is responsible for developing and executing the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement’s legislative strategy in Washington.”

David Schoen

Also on the panel is lawyer David Schoen, a member of the national board of the Zionist Organization of America. He also is “a founding member of the Center for Law and Justice, a member of a committee formed under the auspices of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations to defend Israel’s security fence, and Co-Chair of the Middle East and Africa Subcommittee of the ABA’s International Litigation Committee.”

Offering the Palestinian view will be George Bisharat, a Professor of Law at the University of California–Hastings College of Law. He is a frequent commentator on law and politics in the Middle East. He has also “worked with the Palestinian Legislative Council to develop and reform its judiciary system and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Palestine Studies.” In 1989, the University of Texas Press published his book Palestinian Lawyers and Israeli Rule: Law and Disorder in the West Bank.

George Bisharat

Bisharat came to law professoring after serving as a deputy public defender in San Francisco and having earned a J.D. and a Ph.D. (anthropology and Middle East studies) from Harvard. He was born in Topeka, Kansas but says he came to better understand his Palestinian identity in the 1967 war.

Daniel Rothenberg

Full disclosure: Bisharat was my law school criminal-law professor (and yes, I did well in the class). I also came to know him well as he was a faculty adviser on a team trip to Rhode Island (in 1992 or so) for a trial-advocacy competition with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Perhaps that background suggests why I’m happy to also note that Bisharat is an accomplished blues singer and harmonica player. I will point you toward his musical chops in another blog post … promise!

As Tony Zimbalist adds, “Moderating what sparks these panelists will be ASU Professor Daniel Rothenberg, Professor of Practice at the School of Politics and Global Studies and Lincoln Fellow in Ethics and Human Rights Law.” (I’ve written about Dan Rothenberg numerous times, including here.)

In what promises to be a week packed with great legal programs, I’m looking forward to how this compelling topic can be addressed in a timely and revealing way.

State Bar of Arizona building

Career news from the State Bar of Arizona:

The Bar has an opening for Intake Bar Counsel. The Intake Bar Counsel conducts initial assessments of new bar charges to determine whether a full screening investigation is warranted. Duties may include performing the following functions: extensive telephone contact with complainants and respondents; evaluation of charges, both written and telephonic, to determine ethical issues; conducting follow-up investigations as warranted; monitoring diversion cases; drafting letters and diversion agreements. On occasion, duties may also include handling formal litigation of discipline charges.

A J.D. required, as well as: being an active member in good standing of the State Bar of Arizona; and minimum five years’ successful practical legal experience (solo or small-firm practice preferred).

The complete job description and application form can be found here.

The State Bar is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes and encourages applications from diverse candidates.

Part of the opening spread in the profile of Bar President Bryan Chambers, Arizona Attorney Magazine, Sept. 2015.

Some organizational moves at the State Bar of Arizona:

As you probably know, the new President of the Bar took his leadership position at the close of the June Convention. At that time, we offered congratulations to Bryan Chambers, from Globe.

While all that was going on, Superior Court Judge Peter Cahill announced his retirement, mid-term, from the Gila County Superior Court. Bryan applied for the judgeship.

Recently, we learned that Bryan had, indeed, been appointed to the bench by Gov. Doug Ducey. You can read about that here.

Of course, that meant Bryan could not serve as a Bar officer, per State Bar bylaws. So at a meeting last week, the Board of Governors elected a new President, Geoff Trachtenberg, of Phoenix. Detail on that is here.

In that press release, we also learn that the board elected: Jeffrey Willis to fill the second vice president post vacated by Trachtenberg; and Steven Hirsch, to fill the secretary/treasurer seat vacated by Willis.

Meantime, I was working on the annual profile of new President Chambers. And he will have served for about 60 days by the time her steps down on August 31, so of course he deserves a profile. That’ll be in the September issue of Arizona Attorney. But now I suppose I’ll gear up to write one on Geoff Trachtenberg too. (That’s OK; it’s one of the perks of the job!)

September 15 is the deadline to file MCLE compliance affidavits. But that may lead you to have numerous questions.

Fortunately, smarter Bar colleagues than I have anticipated your needs. So head to this page to read some useful FAQs about the process.

The page explains how you must complete your CLE tracking page before completing the affidavit. Once you’ve finished entering your tracking information, you can click to reach your affidavit—which now will be pre-populated with the information you provided.

If you prefer the hardcopy approach, you may be happy to discover that a blank copy of the affidavit can be found in the September issue of Arizona Attorney Magazine, right there between pages 14 and 15. That issue should be in your mailbox soon after August 21.

More questions about the process? Call the Member Resource Center at 602-340-7322.

A Supreme Court task force report on the State Bar of Arizona is described by Justice Rebecca Berch, via video available on the Court’s website.

In July 2014, Chief Justice Scott Bales signed an administrative order creating a task force to examine “the mission and governance of the State Bar.” The new group was charged with drafting its report by September 1, 2015. That draft report is now available, and the Court is seeking comment.

The task force’s website includes detail about its members, information about its many meetings, and a link to the draft report.

You can link directly to the report here.

Also on the website is an introductory video by Justice Rebecca White Berch, who chaired the task force.

Among multiple recommendations, the task force recommends: a reduction in the size of the State Bar Board of Governors (from 30 to between 15 and 18); and clarification of the Bar’s primary mission, which is to serve and protect the public.

One of the elements discussed by the task force was whether the Bar should be maintained as an integrated (mandatory) organization. The task force recommended that it should (though the decision was not unanimous among task force members).

After reading the report, public comment on it can be submitted by email to BarGovernance@courts.az.gov.

You can read Chief Justice Bales’ original Administrative Order here.

More information about the report (and maybe some coverage in Arizona Attorney Magazine) will follow as we head into the fall.

Free is something anyone can support. Fastcase is free for State Bar members, and discounts are available for other services.

You may have noticed that the July/August issue of Arizona Attorney had more heft than usual.

No, that’s not due to our awesome cover story on the wisdom of having a beard on your witness. (Spoiler alert: It’s complicated.) Instead, it is due to the inclusion of a great booklet filled with State Bar of Arizona member discounts.

Normally, that’s not my neck of the woods. But a colleague, Michael Peel, designed the book this year, and when I got my hands on it, I was very impressed.

So much so that I made a Vine (a short video that has nothing to do with vines … just roll with it). You can watch it here (though they do even better if you watch them on your cellphone!).

The State Bar of Arizona 2015 Member Discounts booklet

And because you may be in need not just of a stunning piece of videography, but of discounts themselves, here is where you can find all of them on the State Bar website.

Congratulations to Michael Peel on a job well done!

Update 8/17/15, 9:45 am: State Bar colleagues inform me that they have reached capacity for this event and are no longer accepting reservations. But I would like to hear feedback after the event from this who attend. Write to me at arizona.attorney@azbar.org. And I look forward to seeing you there.

This Thursday, there’s an event occurring that I’m happy to share (and attend). It’s titled “Finding Your True Grit: A Discussion on the Secrets of Success for Women Lawyers.”

Here is how the organizers describe it:

“How does your mindset impact your success in the workplace? Studies have shown that highly successful women lawyers have ‘grit’—the perseverance and passion for long term goals—and that an individual can learn to develop more grit. In this interactive session you will learn from distinguished and accomplished women lawyers what grit is and how to implement a grit approach in your career.”

This is a free event, but registration is requested by Wednesday, August 19.

Here is the detail about the discussion and dialogue among experts and audience members:

When: Thursday, August 20; program 1:00 – 4:00 pm; reception 4:00 – 5:00 pm

Where: National Bank of Arizona, 6001 N. 24th Street, Building 2, Phoenix 85016

Register here.

Faculty:

• Julie Arvo MacKenzie, Arizona Health Facilities Authority
• Shawdy Banihashemi, Jaburg Wilk
• Sonia Martinez, Law Office of Sonia Martinez
• Lisa Maxie-Mullins, Office of the Attorney General
• Hon. Patricia Orozco, Arizona Court of Appeals Div. One
• Rosemarie Pena-Lynch, Office of the Legal Advocate
• Alexia Peterson, DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy PC
• Roberta Tepper, State Bar of Arizona
• Moderator: Elena Nethers, State Bar of Arizona

This program is presented by the State Bar of Arizona Committee on Minorities and Women in the Law and Young Lawyers Division and the Arizona Women Lawyers Association. This program is based on the Grit Project, created by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.

It is sponsored by the Arizona Women Lawyers Association and the Native American Bar Association of Arizona; and co-sponsored by the Arizona Women Lawyers Association, the State Bar’s Committee on Minorities and Women in the Law and Young Lawyers Division and National Bank of Arizona.

Questions: Elena Nethers, Diversity and Outreach Advisor, State Bar of Arizona, (602) 340-7393.

Today, I share a news story by colleague Alberto Rodriguez.

The State Bar of Arizona and Univision Arizona hosted the Abogados a Su Lado public service program on Monday, August 17, 2015. Volunteer lawyers answered calls relating to viewer’s family law issues. The following is a recap of the program.

There were six lawyer volunteers, two of whom were first-time volunteers:

• W. James Fisher Lopez, William James Fisher Law Offices
• Mark Hawkins, Hawkins & Hawkins
• Carlos E. Noel, Arizona Attorney General’s Office
• Christina Ortecho, Law Office of Christina Ortecho
• Daniel A. Rodriguez, Diaz Rodriguez & Associates
• Alejandra Valdez, Arizona Attorney General’s Office

The volunteer attorneys answered an impressive 84 calls during the two-hour phone bank.

Sample consumer questions:

• How do we begin the divorce process? Do we need an attorney?
• My husband left five years ago, can I file for a divorce without him?
• Can I sue for back child support if my children are over 18?
• How do I enforce a child support order? What if the parent doesn’t comply?
• How do I get grandparent rights?

And I didn’t tell Alberto I was going to do this, but here is a great visual tweet by Gerardo Higginson that shows my co-worker and a lot of the call-in activity:

Preguntas sobre divorcios? manutencion? custodias? llame ya al 602-232-3533 Estamos a su lado! @AZStateBar pic.twitter.com/xNgU6mhGLm

— GeRaRdo HiGGiNsOn (@PoRtAvOz) August 18, 2015

Just saw @azcourts Justice Berch on @azpbs Horizon; great & engaging, even re court cases! http://t.co/a3XLTsheOr pic.twitter.com/39kpyW9hmq

— Tim Eigo (@azatty) August 19, 2015

It’s always good to see an Arizona Justice in the news.

Last week, I mentioned a draft report from an Arizona Supreme Court committee that examines many elements of the State Bar of Arizona. And this week, task force chair and Arizona Justice Rebecca White Berch spoke on the PBS program Horizon about the group’s work.

Justice Berch also invited viewers to read the report and to send their own comments via email to bargovernance@courts.az.gov.

Justice Berch and Horizon provide the email for public comment on the task force report.

The task force’s website includes detail about its members, information about its many meetings, and a link to the draft report.

You can link directly to the report here.

On Horizon, Justice Berch discussed why the task force chose to keep a mandatory bar (with one dissent), and how important it is for all attorneys to pay for the various programs whether they use them or not.

I have a link to the Horizon program with the Justice Berch interview, though I hesitate to have you click it. AZPBS is notorious for posting a link that should work but really won’t be ready for days (<buffer> <buffer> <buffer>). Fingers crossed on this link.

Justice Rebecca White Berch speaks with Horizon host Ted Simons, Aug. 18, 2015.

For this Monday morning, here is some heartening news from my colleague Alberto Rodriguez:

The State Bar of Arizona was one of many organizations who participated in ABC15’s “On the Road with Let Joe Know,” a consumer assistance event held on Thursday, October 8, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Tempe Marketplace. The Bar recruited volunteer lawyers who answered participants’ questions regarding consumer issues.

Topics covered included family law, employment law, construction law, and products liability.

There were five volunteer attorneys:

• Denise Blommel, Denise M. Blommel PLLC
• Dave Degnan, Degnan Law
• Robert L. Greer, Baird Williams & Greer LLP
• Maya Milovic, Law Office of Maya Milovic PLC
• Javier Sobampo, The Sobampo Law Firm PLLC

The volunteer attorneys provided 52 one-on-one consultations during the two-and-a-half-hour phone bank.

Sample consumer questions:

• Do I qualify for worker’s comp? How do I file for it?
• What can I do for nonpayment of wages earned?
• How do I enforce child support?
• Do I qualify for spousal maintenance?
• What do I do when a contractor abandons a job?
• What can I do when a contractor provides defective workmanship?
• My vehicle’s warranty isn’t being honored; what can I do?
• Dealer won’t repair my vehicle although it is covered through an extended warranty; what can I do?

Joe Ducey, consumer reporter for ABC15, reported that more than 300 consumers were seen by more than 35 providers.

We thank ABC15 for including the State Bar of Arizona in this invaluable consumer event.

State Bar of Arizona lawyers answer family-law questions, Nov. 10, 2015.

On Tuesday, November 10, the State Bar of Arizona and 12 News hosted the Lawyers on Call public service program. There, eight attorneys volunteered their time and expertise to answer viewers’ questions on family law issues.

The following update comes from my colleague Alberto Rodriguez:

Eight attorneys volunteered their time:

• Taylor Anderson, Anderson & Cabrera Law Group
• Ryan Borges, The Borges Law Firm
• Rebecca Browning, Browning Law Office
• Tabitha Cabrera, Anderson & Cabrera Law Group
• Craig Cherny, Canterbury Law Group
• Kina Harding, The Harding Firm
• Daniel Rodriguez, Diaz, Rodriguez & Associates
• Jennifer Shick, Shick Law Offices

The lawyers answered 156 calls during the two-hour phone bank.

Sample consumer questions:

• How do I file for a divorce? Do I need an attorney?
• Can I stop paying alimony/spousal support?
• How long do I have to be married to get alimony/spousal support?
• How do I enforce court-ordered child support? Can I modify child support?
• How do I modify a parenting plan/parenting time?
• Do I have any rights as a grandparent?

Four of the eight attorneys were first-time volunteers. Congratulations and thanks to all who participated.

Today is all about cornhole. The game, not the metaphor for the risks of holiday work parties.

By the time you read this, I may be engaged in revelry the likes of which Western civilization has never witnessed. Yes, that means I’ll be at my workplace’s annual holiday party.

Fortunately, just yesterday I was able to benefit from reading a helpful compilation of tips on surviving and thriving at your office party.

Yes, the essay is aimed at law office parties. But I think the messages Adrian Ballinger conveys are universal:

• Think before you talk and act.
• Stay hydrated, but ixnay on the intoxication.
• Chat with folks—even some you don’t normally work with—but don’t overdo it. They can only take so much of you.
• Don’t overstay your welcome. They’re co-workers, not family.

For too many of us, office parties are an opportunity for unfortunate missteps.

Probably his most important advice—ignored too often—is that you are AT WORK while you’re at a holiday party. Disregard that counsel at your peril.

So Adrian’s advice was great, but our own workplace—the State Bar of Arizona—has the added wrinkle that there will be competitive sport involved—cornhole, to be precise.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the game, I offer the research gleaned from Wikipedia. Plus my own advice: Be careful Googling cornhole at work. Be ready to avert your gaze.

Our estimable party committee (they have a more formal name, but I like that one) must have anticipated the rivalries that will ensue when we gather at the restaurant Culinary Dropout at The Yard. (A photo of cornhole at The Yard is below.)

The cornhole field of battle at The Yard. Eight people enter … and eight people leave. (I know, not too dramatic, right?)

How do I know? Well, via email, they provided … the rules of cornhole.

Um. The rules of tossing a beanbag into a hole?

Not just that. It turns out 16 bullet points are needed to explain the intricacies of those cornhole regulations.

Understand, I am not being critical. I know exactly why they’re acting this way: Because crazy competitive.

Many folks here at the State Bar of Arizona are likely in Olympic-level practice sessions, all while I sit at my desk and type. God bless ‘em, they WILL crush the cornhole competition.

Meanwhile, I’ll be looking for a Moscow Mule at The Yard’s accommodating bar. Because the holidays are about all of our diverse interests. And the kids. Always the kids.

Enjoy your own holiday parties. And be careful out there.

The only kind of stubborn I like to encounter in a bar: the Moscow Mule.

State Bar of Arizona dues are due on or before Feb. 1, 2016.

On the very top of the front cover of Arizona Attorney Magazine’s January issue (the space we call an eyebrow), we reminded Arizona Bar members of an important deadline: February 1 is when the annual statement and dues are required to be filed.

Because everyone can stand another reminder (and because I suddenly remembered my own California Bar dues this past Friday!), I share the news with you again.

All the detail, and a place to get started online, are here.

Our January magazine ‘eyebrow’ shares the dues news.

Paying dues may be the least-enjoyable part of any membership. But it sure makes February 2 feel better.

Today I share news from the State Bar of Arizona about a new spoofing scam that is afoot.

If that sentence sounds funky to you, it’s because it’s simply a new and different way to “exploit the attorney/client relationship and defraud consumers of their money.”

You can read all the information here.

And if your outlook was not fraught enough, turn to this helpful piece on additional cybersecurity tech tips to avoid getting “the willies.” The risks include ransomware, pfishing, and even the threat your own employees may represent.

Finally, here is my previous coverage of a panel discussion last summer that managed to cause quite a few willies. Live and learn.

News from the State Bar of Arizona:

The State Bar of Arizona’s Board of Governors is accepting applications from nonlawyers from outlying counties to fill one seat on its board. The application deadline is Friday, March 18, 2016. Participation of public members is essential to the State Bar’s mission of serving the public and its efforts of making sure the people of Arizona have a strong voice in the legal system.

A total of four public members, who serve three-year terms, sit on the 30-member board. The board establishes the vision, mission and policies of the association and ensures that there are sufficient resources for its management and operations.

Applicants for the public member position may be from any county within Arizona except Maricopa County and:

• Must be at least 21 years of age
• Must have resided in Arizona for at least three years
• May not be an active or inactive member of any bar association
• May not have, other than as a consumer, a financial interest in the practice of law

Individuals with experience in human resources or accounting, or who have previous experience serving on professional boards, are especially encouraged to apply.

Members of the Board of Governors attend approximately 10 all-day meetings each year. Meetings are usually held on the third Friday of the month at the State Bar’s office in Phoenix. Preparation in advance of the meetings, including review of related materials, is essential. In addition, members attend the Bar’s annual convention in June and a two-day retreat in July. Board members also serve on standing board committees. Travel and meal expenses are paid for all meetings, but there is no other compensation for service as a board member.

An application form must be submitted to the State Bar by Friday, March 18, 2016. The form can be found online here or by contacting Nina Benham at 602-340-7329 or by email at nina.benham@staff.azbar.org.

State Bar of Arizona Board of Governors, 2015-16

This month: Free online learning from Citrix ShareFile

This month, two free webinars will be available to members of the State Bar of Arizona via Citrix ShareFile. The first will be this Thursday, Feb. 18. (I’ll share next week’s webinar soon.)

Here’s the important information:

Citrix ShareFile has partnered with expert speaker Rasheryl McCreary to host a leadership webinar this month.

DATE: Thursday, Feb. 18, at 1 p.m. EST

TOPIC: How to elevate your personal brand to attract your ideal customers

Rasheryl McCreary

SPEAKER: Rasheryl McCreary – As a personal brand strategist, leadership presence expert and host of the new podcast Communicate With Impact for Virtual Teams™, she helps Fortune 500 companies, business owners, and others identify, communicate, and leverage their authentic personal brand.

WEBINAR OVERVIEW: This webinar will provide you with the tools to elevate your authentic personal brand in ways that attract and delight your ideal customers. Learn how to craft your “Brand P.I.E.™” – a simple formula for leveraging your Presence, Image and Environment in ways that make you stand out, increase your visibility, and keep your customers coming back for more.

More information and a registration link are here.