Specialized area of professional licensing law, this practice area is devoted to defending licensed attorneys from discipline before the State Bar of California. Involves violations of ethical rules, rules of professional conduct, and some criminal violations.
Research abounds showing that for many businesses, referrals are the most successful method for getting new clients. This is no different for the practice of law. A good referral is awesome: the client fits your practice and already has an incoming positive impression of you and the quality of your Read more…
Below, please find a blog entry penned by an aspiring California attorney and employee at Simas & Associates, Ltd. This individual took the July 2016 California Bar Exam and is awaiting results. Results are due to be announced on November 18, 2016. It takes a special kind of person to Read more…
An “advance fee” is money your client gives you upfront to pay the cost of legal representation. Typically, such payments are called “retainers.” However, unlike true retainers, which are paid to ensure your availability to a client and are therefore earned in full at the time you receive them, advance fees Read more…
Obesity is no longer considered just a case of over-eating and lack of self-control. It is acknowledged as a “chronic progressive disease resulting from multiple environmental and genetic factors” by various International and National scientific organizations, including the World Health Organization. The National Institute of Health recommends bariatric surgery as Read more…
A lawyer walks into a bar… While that is the title of a 2007 independent film about lawyers, law school, and the California Bar exam, it also relates to a very serious problem that has been brought to light. Attorneys are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than any Read more…
A temporary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman poses as one of the first applications of the February 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision, North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission. In granting the preliminary injunction, Judge Pittman provided an early victory for Dallas-based Teladoc, a company that connects Read more…
Our law firm works with professional licensees on a regular basis. Many of these individuals are independent, hard-working individuals, with usually barely enough time to handle their personal lives, let alone to administer or organize their profession as a going concern. This lack of time is often a direct cause Read more…
Code of Civil Procedure §1094.5(c) establishes the two basic tests for determining whether the evidence supports the findings in an administrative writ of mandate proceeding: If authorized by law to exercise its independent judgment on the evidence, the court determines whether the findings are supported by the weight of the Read more…
Internet fraud schemes are prevelant and diverse. Lately, they have been increasingly targeting lawyers and law firms – and more importantly, the banks where lawyers have their client trust accounts. While most are pretty obvious, there has been documented cases where attorneys have fallen victim. And as a result, thousands of Read more…
A longtime attorney would probably feel right at home if he/she were to return to law school today. Aside from the proliferation of laptops for notetaking, very little reform or modernization has occurred, despite significant changes in communications, technology and in the legal market. Recently, however, there appears to be Read more…