On October 7, 2013, Governor Brown signed AB 1000 (Consumer Direct Access to Physical Therapist Services: Professional Corporations) into law which is also known informally as the “direct access law.” Effective January 1, 2014, patients may directly seek physical therapist treatment under provisions of the new law. The debate about Read more…
Labor Code § 203 governs “Waiting Time” penalties in the state of California. This penalty is assessed when an employer fails to timely pay an employee all wages accrued upon termination or after resignation of his or her employment. California courts have a long history of strictly enforcing the waiting Read more…
The effect on the remainder of a statute when certain parts of it are held to be unconstitutional depends on whether the Legislature intended it to be severable. Severability is a contractual concept which permits a contract to survive despite an illegal or unenforceable provision within the contract. The illegal Read more…
Etiquette is essential for making a good impression in every social setting. And the law is no different. Legal professionals begin their lessons on the fine points of courtroom etiquette during their education. It is in their legal studies they can learn about the professional requirements of their careers and Read more…
The State Bar is proposing significant changes to its Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCBE) program. These proposed amendments would increase the educational requirement from 25 to 36 hours every 3 years, and modify the specialty credit requirements. There still will be 4 hours required in legal ethics, but an additional Read more…
We often read or get passed articles and blog entries relevant to our profession of practicing law. Every once in a while, one of these articles is worthwhile to link to and comment on. This morning, our office found the following entry from The Practice of Law Blog. It is Read more…
Technological change is extremely rapid, often leaving the law (including legislators and judges) struggling to catch up. This divergence is evident with search and seizure issues, such as with cell phones. Traditionally, the “search incident to arrest” exception to warrantless searches (which are generally unconstitutional) was based on the fear that Read more…
The most comprehensive overhaul of state government since 1968 became official on July 1. The Governor’s plan, which was implemented and transitioned to over the past year, cut the number of state agencies from 12 to 10 and eliminated and consolidated dozens of departments and entities. As a result, five existing state Read more…
Justin D. Hein, Managing Attorney of the Sacramento Office of Simas & Associates, Ltd., is participating in the Sacramento Executive “Lock-Up” of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) on July 17, 2013. As a participant, Justin has been set with a “bail” of $3,200.00 – an amount he is to try Read more…
Steven L. Simas, founder and owner of Simas & Associates, Ltd., was interviewed for and quoted within an article recently published by Law360, a LexisNexis Company. The article, entitled “Doctors’ Hospital Jobs Imperiled by California Hight Court Ruling“, was written by Jeff Overley and published on June 12, 2013. The Read more…