Tuesday, December 15, 2020: 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

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

Please join the LA Law Library book discussion group as we conclude our 2020 theme of “Voting!” with a twist – a novel/thriller about voting! Join the discussion of The Voter File, by David Pepper on Tuesday December 15, 2020 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. This will also be an opportunity to look back at what happened in the 2020 election.

The Voter File features reporter Jack Sharpe, recently let go from his network TV job and drawn into freelancing by the surprising results in an obscure Wisconsin judicial election where a heavily favored incumbent inexplicably lost to a newcomer. Sharpe has to fend off a brutal hit man as he follows the trail of a foreign plot to take over entire segments of the U.S. economy. The book is a well-researched, gripping look at one of the many perilous wrinkles in the electoral system (plus it is fun to read!)

About the Author:

• Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party
• Graduate of Yale University (BA and JD)
• Adjunct Professor at U. of Cincinnati College of Law teaching election & voting rights law
• Former member of the Cincinnati City Council
• Former member of Hamilton County Commission

Presented by: Kathleen O’Laughlin, Managing Librarian, Reference & Research

Registration fee: FREE

Saturday, December 21, 2019  10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Learn how to evaluate and use free sources of legal information online. This class also introduces select low cost websites for researching California and federal law.

Class covers:

• How to search for bills, codes, regulations, and case law
• Sources for Los Angeles City and County law and government
• General legal research sites, including Google Scholar and FindLaw for Legal Professionals
• Legal research tips
• Hands-on exercises

Registration fees: $20 for the class
Non-refundable, payment reserves spot

No legal advice:
LA Law Library provides access to legal resources and assistance with legal research. LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

Class recorded January 14, 2021

Writing and presenting legal arguments is the essence of an attorney’s job, but it’s often hard to know where to start and what tools are available to give you a leg up. In this class, learn how to leverage judicial tentative rulings – not just the ruling on your matter, but the rulings written by your judge in other cases over time – to help give you and your client an edge in law and motion practice.     

Class covers:

• How tentative rulings can provide insight into how a particular judge reasons and rules
• How to use this information to jumpstart, hone, and clarify your legal arguments, and save time
• Insights into the tentative ruling process from a former L.A. Superior Court law clerk
• Tools available to help you find and analyze judges’ past tentative rulings

Earn 1 hour participatory California general 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.

Registration fee: $20
Non-refundable

Presented by Crawford Appleby, with Maria E. Hall:

Crawford Appleby is an attorney at the Los Angeles office of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC, and the founder of rulings.law, a free digital tool that makes tentative rulings searchable. He previously served as an L.A. Superior Court law clerk. He is a 2013 graduate of Loyola Law School.

Maria E. Hall’s practice focuses on civil rights, environmental justice, and representing tenants in actions against landlords, as well as real estate and business litigation and transactions. She has served as Vice President of the Mexican American Bar Association, and Co-President of the L.A. chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and currently serves as Attorney Development Director for the L.A. Incubator Consortium.

Class recorded January 13, 2021

It’s often said that you don’t really learn how to practice law until you get into your first few years of practice – but what do you learn in those first few years? And, what should you continue to learn in the years that follow? In this class, learn how to hone those vital but overlooked “soft skills” that you don’t get in law school.     

Class covers:

• How experienced attorneys navigate office environments, client interactions, and the courtroom – and how to emulate their success
• Which questions to ask about how things really work
• How to generate professional opportunities, and which opportunities to take advantage of
• How to stay focused on what you want to achieve in a given interaction
• How experienced lawyers approach litigation, and the value of “negative space”

Earn 1 hour participatory California general 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.

Registration fee: $20
Non-refundable payment.

Presented by Karen A. Rooney and Vince M. Verde:

Karen Rooney has over 30 years of litigation experience, mostly in employment-related claims, including extensive trial and arbitration experience. Ms. Rooney served on the Board of the L.A. County Bar Association Attorney Referral Service and has volunteered as a mediator with both the Bar Association and the L.A. County Superior Court. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Vince Verde is the head of Ogletree Deakins’ Trial Practice Group. He is a litigator and former prosecutor with extensive jury and non-jury trial experience in multiple jurisdictions, in single and multi-plaintiff actions. He was honored with the Philippine American Bar Association’s Trailblazer Award, and served as appellate counsel in several cases resulting in published opinions. He is a graduate of Boston University School of Law.