Class recorded January 25, 2023

A revocable living (or inter vivos) trust can benefit most Californians, and yet most fail to plan their estate appropriately using this important legal technique. Among other benefits, a revocable trust can avoid probate:  a complicated process that can cost your client’s family and heirs a lot of time and money. In this class, attorneys will learn how to draft an effective living trust.

Class covers:

• The differences between a living trust and a testamentary trust; 
• What protections trust assets have against creditors;
• How to amend or revoke a trust document; and
• Tax considerations.

Earn 1.0 hour General  participatory MCLE Credit: After registration, a staff member will email you the course materials, an evaluation form, and your Certificate of Attendance (usually the next business day). Register first, then watch the recording to the end and answer the questions provided in the popup to verify your attendance

MCLE Disclaimer:

MCLE credit is only granted to attorneys licensed to practice law by the State Bar of California. Attorneys from other jurisdictions should contact their state bar to learn about credit reciprocity.

Registration Fee: $20

Presented by Mina Sirkin:

Mina Sirkin is a certified Specialist in Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Law. Her practice involves trust and conservatorship litigation, as well as special needs trust planning. She holds a JD from Whittier Law School and an LLM in Taxation from Golden Gate University. Mina has served as a conservatorships and estates media expert to multiple media outlets. She also serves as a court appointed counsel for conservatees.

Class recorded January 26, 2023

For the last several years, the American West has been experiencing a mega-drought. As reservoirs, lakes, and rivers reach historic lows, governments have been passing new laws and regulations to mitigate a further loss of water. In this class, you will learn what specific laws California businesses and residents must comply with in these unprecedented times, and how the law may continue to adapt as climate change continues.

Class covers:

• Introduction to basic water rights concepts in California law
• Riparian and appropriative water rights, and how the two interact
• “Reasonable and beneficial” water use requirements under the California constitution 
• Federal and state environmental laws that impact water rights
• The future of water law in California and the West amid continuing drought

Earn 1.0 hour General  participatory MCLE Credit: After registration, a staff member will email you the course materials, an evaluation form, and your Certificate of Attendance (usually the next business day). Register first, then watch the recording to the end and answer the questions provided in the popup to verify your attendance

MCLE Disclaimer:

MCLE credit is only granted to attorneys licensed to practice law by the State Bar of California. Attorneys from other jurisdictions should contact their state bar to learn about credit reciprocity.

Registration Fee: $25

Presented by Patrick D. Skahan:

Patrick D. Skahan is an associate with Best Best & Krieger. He represents public and private clients on water law matters. He also advises clients on, and has extensive experience in, matters regarding conflicts of interest, election law, inverse condemnation, franchise agreements, public nuisance, and utility users taxes. Patrick received his BA from Berkeley and his JD from the University of Minnesota.

Thursday, March 16, 2023, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

--- CLASS WILL BE HELD VIA ZOOM. ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME ---

This class will explore your right to government information in California, and the processes and procedures for obtaining public records from state and local agencies. Topics include what constitutes a public record, deadlines and timeframes, exemptions for confidential and other materials and how to formulate an effective request.

Class covers:

• Importance of the Public Records Act, and why we need it
• What constitutes a public record
• Deadlines and timeframes
• Exemptions for confidential and other materials
• How to formulate an effective request

Presented by: Abenicio Cisneros, Law Office of Abenicio Cisneros

Registration fee: FREE

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The information presented in this program is not legal advice and is provided solely as an educational service to our patrons. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

Thursday, March 16, 2023, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

--- CLASS WILL BE HELD VIA ZOOM. ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME ---

Join a live question and answer session about accessing public records. An experienced Public Records Act attorney will be available to answer questions about how to request records from California public agencies, how the process works, the types of records subject to disclosure, and your options if the agency refuses or fails to respond. For maximum benefit, be sure to attend the class immediately preceding this Q&A session.

Please note this Q&A will focus on state agencies governed by the California Public Records Act. Federal agencies are generally governed by the federal Freedom of Information Act. For information about FOIA, see https://www.foia.gov/how-to.html, and feel free to contact the Reference desk for more information at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., (213) 785-2513, or https://calcountylawlib.libanswers.com/ (chat). You can also attend the Freedom of Information Day class “Panel Discussion: Public Access to Government UFO Files: Is the Truth Out There?”

Although you can listen to the class from various kinds of devices, you will need video to view the speaker(s) and any presentation materials, and will need to connect through a Zoom account to be able to participate in the written Q&A or chat features.

Presented by: Abenicio Cisneros, Law Office of Abenicio Cisneros

Registration fee: FREE

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice:

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice.  LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service.  The Law Library is pleased to offer our patrons the opportunity to obtain assistance from third party legal service providers at this and other events within the Library.  However, the Library does not control and is not responsible for the content or scope of any assistance given by those providers.