Attorney Journal, Orange County, Volume 132

ORANGE COUNTY

Volume 132, 2017 $6.95

7 Disciplines Of a Leader

Jeff Wolf Delegate, Don’t Abdicate, Client Trust Accounting

Sheila M. Blackford 17 Ways to Increase Your Materials’ Readership and Response

Trey Ryder

Your Network is Your Net Worth

Ruth Carter A Closer Look at the Statistics of Online Reviews

Katie Johnson

Civil Alert Summaries

Monty A. McIntyre Learning to Learn

Mike O’Horo Law Firm of the Month

Connors & Associates PC

Seal Beach Excellence in Intellectual Property Law

KA

Keller/Anderle LLP BUSINESS TRIAL LAWYERS

Specialization matters.

Having represented more law firms over the last 25 years than any other broker in the region, no one understands their real estate needs better than I do.

— JASON HUGHES President & CEO, Hughes Marino

ORANGE COUNTY CORPORATE REAL ESTATE ADVISORS

At Hughes Marino we only represent tenants and buyers – never landlords – so we never have a conflict of interest. Our only fiduciary duty is to our client, the tenant.

We are fully committed to protecting our clients’ interests, and we always guarantee our service and results.

(949) 333-3111 | hughesmarino.com

ORANGE COUNTY LOS ANGELES SAN FRANCISCO SILICON VALLEY SAN DIEGO

2017 EDITION—NO.132

TABLE OF CONTENTS

16

6 McIntyre’s Civil Alert Organized Succinct Summaries

by Monty A. McIntyre

8 Seven Disciplines Of a Leader

by Jeff Wolf

10 Your Network is Your Net Worth EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brian Topor EDITOR Wendy Price CREATIVE SERVICES Skidmutro Creative Partners CIRCULATION Angela Watson PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Griffiths STAFF WRITERS Jennifer Hadley Bridget Brookman Karen Gorden

by Ruth Carter

12 COMMUNITYnews

LAW FIRM OF THE MONTH

16 Connor & Associates PC Seal Beach Excellence in Intellectual Property Law

by Karen Gorden

24

CONTRIBUTING EDITORIALISTS Mike O’Horo Monty McIntyre Jeff Wolf Ruth Carter Sheila Blackford Merrilyn Astin Tarlton

by Katie Johnson

24 17 Ways to Increase Your Materials’ Readership And Response

by Trey Ryder

26 Learning to Learn

by Mike O’Horo

28 Delegate, Don’t Abdicate, Client Trust Accounting

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Info@AttorneyJournal.us

SUBMIT AN ARTICLE Editorial@AttorneyJournal.us

ADDRESS CHANGES Address corrections can be made via fax, email or postal mail.

WEBMASTER Mariusz Opalka

OFFICE 30211 Avenida De Las Banderas Suite 200 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 www.AttorneyJournal.us

22 A Closer Look at the Statistics of Online Reviews

26

by Sheila M. Blackford

30 Five Ways to Know What’s Up with Clients and Staff

by Merrilyn Astin Tarlton

Editorial material appears in Attorney Journal as an informational service for readers. Article contents are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of Attorney Journal.

Attorney Journal makes every effort to publish credible, responsible advertisements. Inclusion of product advertisements or announcements does not imply endorsement.

Attorney Journal is a trademark of Sticky Media, LLC. Not affiliated with any other trade publication or association. Copyright 2017 by Sticky Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission from Sticky Media, LLC. Printed in the USA

WITH US, BUSINESS IS PERSONAL

Deposition tools at your fingertips.

DEPOSITION SERVICES

VIDEO SERVICES

ONLINE & MOBILE SERVICES

•Certified Court Reporters

•Certified Legal Videographers

•Online Deposition Scheduling

•Court-Appointed Official Reporters

•Video Conferencing

•Online Document Repository

•Certified Legal Interpreters

•Video Deposition Streaming

•Jilio-Ryan Mobile App

•24/7, Last Minute Scheduling

•Video Transcript Synchronization

•Mobile Transcripts

•Nationwide Deposition Coverage

•Digital Deposition Streaming

•Productivity Enhancing

•Deposition Suites, Conference Centers

•Video Editing Tools

Transcript Tools

•Realtime Depositions •Electronic Transcripts •Electronic Transcript CD •Litigation Support Software Integration

Contact us today for more about our newest time-saving deposition and litigation support services.

•Complete Case Management

W W W. J I L I O R YA N . C O M

800.454.1230

McIntyre’s Civil Alert Organized Succinct Summaries

by Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.

Monty A. McIntyre has over 30 years of experience as a mediator and arbitrator. More than 35 years of experience as a civil trial lawyer representing both plaintiffs and defendants in business and commercial, bad faith, brain injury, construction, land use/CEQA, medical malpractice, personal injury, real property and wrongful death cases. To schedule a meeting with Monty A. McIntyre contact Kelsey Hannah at ADR Services, Inc. at 619-233-1323 or kelsey@adrservices.org

CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT Civil Procedure (Motion for New Trial) Kabran v. Sharp Memorial Hospital (2017) _ Cal.5th _, 2017 WL 218033: The California Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal that upheld the trial court’s order granting a motion for new trial even though the plaintiff had failed to timely file the necessary filing fee for expert affidavits in support of the motion. Defendant did not object to the timeliness of the affidavits in the trial court. However, on appeal it argued for the first time that, under Erikson v. Weiner (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 1663 (Erikson), because the affidavits were not timely filed, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to rely on them in hearing the new trial motion. The California Supreme Court ruled that the 30-day aggregate period for the submission of affidavits under Code of Civil Procedure section 659a is not jurisdictional, and disapproved Erikson to the extent it was inconsistent with the decision. Because defendant failed to assert the timeliness objection in the trial court, it could not raise this argument for the first time on appeal. The lack of timeliness did not deprive the trial court of jurisdiction to consider the affidavits. (January 19, 2017.)

Government Association of California Insurance Companies v. Jones (2017) _ Cal.5th _, 2017 WL 280822: The California Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal affirming the trial court’s order ruling that the California Insurance Commissioner had exceeded his authority in issuing a 2011 regulation covering replacement cost estimates for homeowners insurance (California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2695.183). The California Supreme Court ruled that the statutory authority supported the Insurance Commissioner’s regulation. Because the regulation had been invalidated below solely under the Administrative Procedure Act and plaintiff’s remaining challenges to the regulation had not yet been considered, the matter was reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion. (January 23, 2017.)

6 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

CALIFORNIA COURTS OF APPEAL Civil Code (Civil Code section 895) Acqua Vista Homeowners Association v. MWI, Inc. (2017) _ Cal. App.5th _, 2016 WL 371379: The Court of Appeal reversed a judgment for plaintiff against defendant in the sum of $23,955,796.28 following a jury trial. Plaintiff alleged, and the jury agreed, that defective cast iron pipe manufactured in China was used throughout the building. The claim was brought under Civil Code section 895 et seq. (“the Act”). The Court of Appeal ruled that the Act requires homeowners suing a material supplier under the Act to prove that the material supplier caused, in whole or in part, a violation of a particular standard as the result of a negligent act or omission or a breach of contract. The Court of Appeal held that the trial court had erred in denying defendant’s motions for directed verdict, and later motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, on the basis that plaintiff had failed to present any evidence that defendant had caused a violation of the Act’s standards as a result of defendant’s negligence or breach of contract. The matter was remanded to the trial court with directions to grant defendant’s motion for a directed verdict and to enter judgment in favor of defendant. (C.A. 4th, January 26, 2017.)

Civil Procedure Chen v. L.A. Truck Centers (2017) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2016 WL 192724: The Court of Appeal reversed a jury verdict and judgment for defendant because the trial court had declined to reconsider its earlier choice of law ruling to apply Indiana law after the only Indiana defendant settled with plaintiffs. Chinese citizen plaintiffs sued a California tour bus distributor for strict products liability for injuries and deaths suffered in a bus rollover accident in Arizona. The trial court initially applied Indiana law because the tour bus had been manufactured in Indiana by an Indiana manufacturer. This ruling, like an in limine ruling, was subject to reconsideration at any time before the submission of the case. The trial court erred in failing

to reconsider the choice of law question once the Indiana defendant settled. On the choice of law issue, the Court of Appeal held that California’s interest in imposing its rules of strict products liability in this case, in which a California dealership ordered an allegedly defective product, imported it into the state, and sold it to a California tour company for use on California roads, was strong. After the Indiana manufacturer defendant settled, Indiana’s interest in protecting its resident product manufacturers was no longer implicated by this case.

(C.A. 2nd, January 18, 2017.)

Stueve v. Buchalter Nemer (2017) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2017 WL 192727: The Court of Appeal reversed the trail court’s order granting a motion to dismiss under Code of Civil Procedure section 583.310 et seq. for failure to bring the action to trial within five years of the filing of the complaint. “In an action tried to a jury, the action is brought to trial when the jury is impaneled and sworn.” (Bruns v. E-Commerce Exchange, Inc. (2011) 51 Cal.4th 717, 723.) Three days before the five-year statute expired, a panel of 75 potential jurors was assembled and sworn. Seven days later, while voir dire was still in progress, defendants moved to dismiss under the five-year dismissal statute, and the trial court granted the motion, finding that the jury had not yet been impaneled and sworn. The Court of Appeal reversed, ruling that the jury was “impaneled” when the panel of prospective jurors assembled in the courtroom for voir dire, and the panel was “sworn” when the prospective jurors took an oath to respond truthfully, so the action was timely brought to trial. (C.A. 4th, January 18, 2017.)

Civil Rights Simmons v. Superior Court (2016) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2016 WL 7474536: The Court of Appeal granted a writ petition ordering the trial court to vacate the portion of its order granting summary judgment for defendant on the cause of action alleging damages under the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act (Bane Act; Civil Code, section 52.1). The trial court granted summary judgment on the basis that a Bane Act claim could not arise for acts following a lawful arrest. The Court of Appeal disagreed and ruled that a Bane Act claim may arise from excessive force or an unlawful search following a lawful arrest. (C.A. 4th, filed December 29, 2016, published January 25, 2017.)

Education San Jose Unified School District v. Santa Clara County Office of Education (2017) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2017 WL 345136: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s judgment granting a writ petition and issuing a peremptory writ of mandate directing the Santa Clara County Board of Education to rescind its resolution, approved under the alleged authority of Government Code section 53094, exempting from local zoning ordinances property to be used by Rocketship Education for a

charter school. The Court of Appeal ruled that section 53094 does not authorize county boards of education to issue zoning exemptions for charter schools. (C.A. 6th, January 24, 2017.)

Government Central San Joaquin Water v. Stockton East Water District (2017) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2017 WL 7438688: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s judgment that defendant’s 2010 and 2011 wheeling rates (water transportation charges) could not be upheld under the Wheeling Statutes (Water Code, section 1810 et seq.). The trial court correctly ruled that the Wheeling Statutes must be read as a whole and the language read in light of the purposes and policies of the statutes to facilitate the voluntary exchange of water, noting that the Legislature could have provided for a pro rata cost allocation but chose to omit reference to any specific formula or methodology and instead set forth a number of factors that must be considered in setting a wheeling rate. In light of the statutory language, rates must be set on a case-by-case basis, and in this case, defendant failed to consider all of the appropriate factors, including incremental costs and the value of offsetting benefits from the wheeling.

The rates set ran counter to an analysis of competitive pricing and violated the statutes’ directive that such rates be reasonable.

(C.A. 3rd, filed December 27, 2016, published January 25, 2017.)

Probate Pizarro v. Reynoso (2017) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2017 WL 192726: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s order denying petitions for relief under Probate Code 17200 following the sale of real property by the trustee of a trust, and also ordering petitioners to pay the trust’s attorney fees and costs. Petitioners forfeited their appellate argument by failing to present a focused, organized, and coherent argument for why the order should be reversed. The trial court properly awarded fees and costs, except to the extent that the trial court made petitioners personally liable for attorney fees and costs rather than liable solely from their shares of the trust assets. (C.A. 3rd, January 18, 2017.)

Torts Leyva v. Crockett & Co. (2017) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2017 WL 192980: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s order granting summary judgment for defendant golf course owner/ operator under the trail immunity in Government Code section 831.4. Plaintiffs sued after a golf ball struck plaintiff Miguel Leyva in the eye while he and his wife walked along a public path adjacent to the Bonita Golf Club. The Court of Appeal ruled that trail immunity extends to a trail’s design and location. (C.A. 4th, filed January 18, 2017, published January 25, 2017.) n

Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017 7

Seven Disciplines Of a Leader

by Jeff Wolf

A

ll the competitive advantages—strategy, technology, finance, marketing—that we’ve pursued in the past are gone. The disciplines haven’t disappeared, but they have lost their power as meaningful competitive advantages, as real differentiators that can set your company apart. Why? Virtually every organization has access to the best thinking and practices on those topics. As information has become ubiquitous, it’s almost impossible to sustain an advantage based on intellectual ideas.

However, one simple, reliable, and virtually free competitive advantage remains—team health. Healthy teams all but eliminate politics and confusion from their cultures. Thus, productivity and morale soar, and good people almost never leave. For those leaders who are a bit skeptical, rest assured that none of this is touchy-feely or soft. It is as tangible and practical as anything else … and even more important.

Even the smartest team will eventually fail if it is unhealthy.

But a healthy team will find a way to succeed. Without politics and confusion, it will become smarter and tap into all of the intelligence and talent it has.

Team health requires real work and discipline, maintained over time, and the courage to objectively confront problems hindering true team achievement. Leaders must confront themselves, their peers, and the dysfunction within their teams with honesty and persistence. Persistent leaders walk into uncomfortable situations and address issues that prevent them from realizing the potential that eludes them.

Four Disciplines To get healthy, leaders need to take four simple, but difficult, steps:

1. Build a cohesive leadership team. Get the leaders of the organization to behave in a functional, cohesive way. If the people responsible for running a team, department, or organization are behaving in dysfunctional ways, then that dysfunction will cascade down and prevent organizational health. And yes, there are concrete steps a leadership team can take to prevent this.

2. Create clarity. Ensure that the members of that leadership team are intellectually aligned around simple but critical questions. Leaders need to be clear on topics such as why

8 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

the organization exists and what the most important priority is for the next few months, and eliminate any gaps between them. Then people who work one, two, or three levels below have clarity about what they should do to make the organization successful.

3. Overcommunicate clarity. After the first two steps (behavioral and intellectual alignment), leaders can take the third step: over-communicating. Leaders of healthy organizations constantly repeat themselves and reinforce what is true and important. They err on the side of saying too much, rather than too little.

4. Reinforce clarity. Leaders use simple human systems to reinforce clarity in answering critical questions. They custom design any process that involves people from hiring and firing to performance management and decision-making to support and emphasize the uniqueness of the organization.

Healthy teams get better at meetings. Without making a few simple changes to the way meetings happen, a team will struggle to maintain its health. Healthy teams rarely fail. When politics, ambiguity, dysfunction, and confusion are reduced to a minimum, people are empowered to design products, serve customers, solve problems, and help one another. Healthy teams recover from setbacks, attract the best people, and create exciting opportunities. People are happier, the bottom line is stronger, and executives are at peace when they know they’ve fulfilled their most important responsibility: creating a culture of success.

Applying the principles of great performance is hard, but the effects of deliberate practice are cumulative. The more of a head start you get in developing people, the more difficult it will be for competitors to catch you. n Jeff Wolf is the author of Seven Disciplines of a Leader and founder and president of Wolf Management Consultants, LLC, a premier global consulting firm that specializes in helping people, teams and organizations achieve maximum effectiveness. A dynamic speaker and highly requested executive coach, he was named one of the country’s top 100 thought leaders by the prestigious Leadership Excellence Magazine. For more insights from Jeff Wolf, check out his book, Seven Disciplines of a Leader.

REFERRAL & CO-COUNSEL RELATIONSHIPS

Your

NEVADA

P E R S ON AL I N J U RY PART N E R

NEVADA’S LARGEST & HIGHEST RATED INJURY LAW FIRM Your

NEVADA

“Rick is one of the best lawyers in the country. I call him every time I have any issue in Nevada and would not hesitate to refer R Ssize.”

ON AL I N J U RY PART N E R him any type of case ofP Eany ~ C. Michael Alder, Esq., Alder Law, Los Angeles, California CAALA Past President and Former Trial Lawyer of the Year

“I recently co-counseled a serious Las Vegas injury case with Rick Harris and his law firm. Rick’s advocacy and skills are extraordinary, and were instrumental in resolving and maximizing our client’s sizable recovery.” ~ Carl Wolf, Esq., Callaway & Wolf Northern California Super Lawyers San Francisco, California

© 2016 RHLF

Your Network Is Your Net Worth

by Ruth Carter

On a recent call with my business mastermind group, one member shared how quickly he was able to overcome a challenge in his company by tapping into his network for suggestions. He summed up the process with, “Your network is your net worth.”

He’s absolutely right­—success doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

WHAT DOES YOUR NETWORK MEAN TO YOU? When I look at my own journey as a lawyer and business owner, much of my success can be attributed, in part, to working with amazing lawyers; using a skilled accountant, bookkeeper, graphic designer, business coach and marketers; and being part of local, national and international communities. I’m part of a cadre of phenomenal people I can turn to when I need help and to whom I can refer others who need them. Even when I was a solo practitioner, I never felt like I was alone.

I kicked the quote from my mastermind group out to some of the people in my network and asked for their feedback. The diversity and thoughtfulness of their responses was inspiring.

They gave me the warm fuzzies, and made me proud to know so many amazing people.

PERSONAL CONNECTIONS Networking is more than going to events and exchanging cards with people. It’s about relationships, real relationships.

Everyone in your network should be someone you’d want to share a meal with. Hopefully, you can make it a priority to see them in person, or at least to talk by phone or via Skype.

Rackham Karlsson, owner of Zephyr Legal Services in Cambridge, Mass., shared: Anytime you’re building your career, there’s no substitute for 10 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

personal connections. That’s true whether you’re a rainmaker looking for clients or an employee searching for the right job.

Someone who knows you is in a much better position to send you a solid referral or connect you with an opportunity that might not have been available to you otherwise.

His sentiment was echoed by Mitch Jackson, a California personal injury lawyer and founder of Legal Minds: Networking isn’t about keeping score. It’s about helping others, adding value, and building relationships. Networking is one of the most important things we do each day.

START BY BEING HUMAN Getting business is a byproduct of being active in a strong network. Relationships only develop over time, and connections need to be nurtured if they’re going to be beneficial. It’s not just about promoting yourself as an attorney. Be a person first.

When people connect with and like you, they’ll send you their business. Former securities lawyer Katy Goshtasbi is the founder of Puris Personal Branding, a global brand development company for lawyers. In her own words: I always tell my lawyer clients that their brand is made up of so many different factors, stemming first from being an authentic human. Once you realize that it’s all about you the person, not you the lawyer, then you can start to choose to see your network differently. Your network is not just fellow lawyers who can send you business. Your network is very vast and rich. It’s made up of humans that can support you and receive support from you— both on a personal and professional level.

I shut a guy down during a networking coffee when he tried to give me his pitch about his company. I wanted to know who

he was as a person. I was going to remember that much more than his investment company’s services—and friends don’t give friends bad referrals.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR NETWORK Michelle Ogborne, a family law and estate planning lawyer in Phoenix, is one of the most well-connected lawyers I know.

And she does a phenomenal job of keeping up with everyone and facilitating connections. If you think you need to put more energy into developing your network, she suggests this course of action: 1. Make a list of the professions that complement but do not compete with yours (remember to think outside the box).

2. Call two professionals today and set up meetings to discuss ways to collaborate.

3. Start every networking meeting by asking what you can do to help that person build their business (if they are a good referral partner, they should ask you the same question).

Your main network should consist of people whose company you enjoy and with whom you can have a strategic relationship where you support each other. This is one of the reasons I love being in a mastermind group of all types of entrepreneurs— photographers, lawyers, graphic designers, marketers. Everyone brings something of value to the table, and we benefit from learning from one another’s experiences as business owners.

FIVE SIMPLE WORDS The value of a network is not limited to lawyers. It can help any entrepreneur or professional. Any person, really. But remember, having a network is a privilege, contingent on reciprocation and trying to give more than you hope to get.

Keynote speaker, author and entrepreneur Peter Shankman stated it eloquently: The goal of a network is to figure out what YOU can provide to IT, and not the other way around. Do that, and everything you want will come to you. Why? Because people tend to distribute opportunities to people they trust, and the best way to be trusted starts with five simple words: How can I help you? n Ruth Carter is a lawyer, writer and speaker. She is Of Counsel with Venjuris, focusing her practice on intellectual property, social media, First Amendment and flash mob lab. Named an ABA Journal 2012 Legal Rebel, Ruth is the author of the ABA book The Legal Side of Blogging for Lawyers, as well as Flash Mob Law: The Legal Side of Planning and Participating in Pillow Fights, No Pants Rides, and Other Shenanigans. In Nothing But the Ruth, she writes about the lessons she’s learning while building her practice. She blogs at UndeniableRuth.com.

Follow her on Twitter @rbcarter. Previously published in Attorney at Work.

Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017 11

COMMUNITY news n Archer Norris announced that effective January 1, 2017, Patrick R. Ball, resident in the firm’s Newport Beach office, has joined the partnership.

Patrick’s practice includes a strong emphasis on litigation involving fraternal organizations, as well as product liability, regulatory compliance, class action defense and commercial litigation, including PATRICK R. BALL employment law and business-related torts.

A member of the Greek Organization Litigation Practice Group, Patrick defends litigation claims and advises on risk management issues throughout the United States. In addition to his litigation work, Patrick is involved in his community where he is an active participant in Orange County’s Constitutional Rights Foundation mock trial program and previously served as an attorney-coach for the Rosary High School mock trial team. He received his J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2006 and his B.A. from Pepperdine University in 2002. n Cox, Castle & Nicholson, proudly announces the election of seven new partners including Julian Freeman, who is based in the firm’s Orange County office. Freeman is a real estate transactional attorney with broad experience in the acquisition, disposition, development and leasing of office, industrial and retail projects throughout the western United States and JULIAN FREEMAN routinely handles over 2 million square feet of commercial lease transactions annually.

He is a recent graduate of the NAIOP SoCal Young Professionals Group for outstanding leaders in real estate under the age of 35.

Have a Press Release you would like to submit for our Community News?

Email it to PR@AttorneyJournal.us

12 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

n Callahan & Blaine Trial Attorneys Daniel Callahan and Edward Susolik have been named to the Top 50 Orange Country Super Lawyers list for 2017. Callahan was named a Super Lawyer in the categories of Business Litigation; Personal Injury-General; Civil Litigation: DANIEL CALLAHAN Defense; Intellectual Property Litigation; Business/Corporate; and Securities Litigation. Susolik was named a Super Lawyer in the categories of Insurance Coverage; Personal Injury-General; and Business Litigation.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high EDWARD SUSOLIK degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The patented selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. n Wylie Aitken, founding partner of Aitken*Aitken*Cohn, has been named to the Top 50 2017 Orange County Super Lawyers list. Aitken was named a Super Lawyer in the categories of Personal Injury-General; Business Litigation and Personal InjuryProducts.

WYLIE AITKEN He has previously been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, 100 Most Influential Lawyers in California, Preeminent Lawyers of America, OC 50 Most Influential Business People and has received the Orange County Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Service Award, and OC Trial Lawyers Personal Injury Trial Lawyer of the Year Award.

COMMUNITY news n Jennifer Keller, trial attorney at Keller/Anderle LLP in Irvine, has been named to the “Southern California Super Lawyers” list for 2017. Keller was named a Super Lawyer in the categories of Business Litigation, Intellectual Property and White Collar Criminal Defense.

Keller has tried over 150 cases to JENNIFER KELLER jury verdict, ranging from complex civil matters—including business and intellectual property cases—to white collar to murder. She has received innumerable awards for excellence as a trial lawyer and excels at “bet the company” litigation. Ms. Keller is listed annually in “The Best Lawyers in America®” and is among the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America. Ms. Keller is a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitationonly organization limited to the top one-half of one percent of the nation’s attorneys.

n Newmeyer & Dillion LLP is pleased to welcome new associates Jenny Guzman and Jason Moberly Caruso, and welcomes back Lily (Toubi) Razai to the Newport Beach office. Guzman, Caruso and Razai each practice business and real estate litigation, with Razai’s practice including land use and eminent domain matters. Caruso also practices construction law and Guzman’s practice also focuses on business and real estate transactions.

JASON MOBERLY CARUSO

JENNY GUZMAN

LILY TOUBI RAZAI

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S LEADERS IN… • ESI Processing & Hosting • Data Acquisition & Forensics • Managed Document Review • Paper-based Discovery Services • Court Reporting With offices in LA Downtown, LA Century City, Irvine and San Diego DTIGlobal.com

FREE MCLE SEMINARS! Call us for information to schedule a complimentary in-person or webinar MCLE seminar on a variety of electronic discovery topics.

16842 Von Karman Avenue, STE 375, Irvine, CA 92606 Office: (949) 622-0650

Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017 13

E

xcellence

in

Intellectual Property Law

Connors & Associates PC is Orange County‘s Boutique Patent Law Firm for Inventors and Entrepreneurs

by Karen Gorden

“In the broadest sense, our job at Connors & Associates is to help people make their American Dream come true,” says John Connors, who launched the boutique patent law firm in Orange County in 1983. Today, more than 30 years later, the firm has grown to include his son Thomas Connors, and grandson Dylan Connors, who together as a family-run firm, specialize in obtaining patents for clients that can be successfully enforced in court. Although the Connors men are not litigators, they create the patent lawsuits.

“Our firm’s niche lies in securing a patent that will win in court. This does not mean we have nothing to do after the patent issues. We work closely with litigators in preparing patent infringement lawsuits, and provide an opinion explaining why one or more claims of the patent are infringed. Patent claims are the legal definition of the invention covered by the patent.

Because patent attorneys are responsible for obtaining the claims, the basis for the lawsuit, they can be more powerful than litigators. We potentially create a new lawsuit with each new patent we obtain for a client,” John says.

Continuing, John adds, “When you file the patent application, you can’t later rewrite the disclosure of the invention, but the claims can be amended, provided the original written disclosure supports the amendment.” Since one cannot foresee the future, the law allows filling continuation applications based on the original patent, adding more claims. This enables the inventor to guard against others easily designing around the patent. “Unlike litigators who must prove the facts in a trial, patent attorneys write the facts. In effect, what goes on trial in a patent lawsuit is the patent itself. The issue at hand therefore becomes: Is the claim valid and does it cover the accused product?”

16 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

Early Experience Leads to Establishing a Niche “I’m from the South Side of Chicago, and upon graduating from college with a degree in Chemistry, I realized I didn’t want to hang out in a lab, or sell chemicals. A classmate introduced me to his father, a partner in a big Chicago patent law firm. It was apparent to me being a patent lawyer was a very good livelihood.

So, I decided to go to law school with the objective of becoming a patent lawyer, too” John recalls.

After graduating from law school John would spend the early years of his career as an employee for big corporations. “I worked for Standard Oil, Brunswick, and then moved my family to California to work for TRW where I managed its aerospace and energy corporate patent department in Redondo Beach. I learned a lot, most notably how a big company has access to an army of lawyers and can bury its legal adversaries in huge legal expenses. But I felt like I was just another brick in the wall,” John says.

A fortuitous opportunity presented itself, which would prove to be a game-changer in how John chose to put his patent law expertise to use. “The first client I got on my own was Dr. George A. Lopez, M.D., founder of ICU Medical, Inc., based in San Clemente. I authored his original patents that prevented competitors from copying his inventions,” John says of the beginning of his relationship with the founder of the NASDAQ company. His talent earned him a place not only as Dr. Lopez’s patent attorney, but for more than 25 years John would serve on ICU’s board, including the audit, compensation and governance

LAW FIRM

OF THE MONTH

© Bauman Photographers © christopher TODD studios

2017 2014

Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 124, 2016 17

© christopher TODD studios

committees, before retiring as lead director in 2015, when the publicly traded company was valued at over $1 Billion.

“As a board member, I approved millions of dollars in attorney’s fees spent on enforcing ICU’s patents after discussing their strengths and weaknesses with the litigators appearing in court and whom I interviewed and approved before hiring. They were enforcing the patents I authored,” he says.

With that first opportunity to work with entrepreneurs, rather than for a corporation, John launched his own firm. “I like helping clients make dreams come true,” he says.

Thus, after leaving TRW, he hung out his own shingle, and become what he calls an “IP specialist” for startups, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and independent inventors.

“Big corporations don’t need patents to raise seed investments like startups do. Also, a small company would have to be crazy to infringe the patents of a company like IBM. Occasionally the Goliaths will engage in patent warfare, but usually settle before trial.”

To that end, John decided to focus his efforts on serving startups, small business owners, and individuals. Though today the firm has developed an expertise in medical device and instrument technology, John says that he’s written patents for inventions in myriad industries. “I’ve done it all— copy machines, chemicals, satellites, oil refining, metal fiber technology, control systems, really anything that can be dreamed up by independent inventors.” And that’s just one of the many reasons he says he’s grateful for trusting his gut, and forging out on his own.

“I’m so glad I went into private practice.

We now have clients all over the country, and work with attorneys in all the major industrialized countries to protect our clients’ intellectual property throughout the world.”

Expanding the Standards of Excellence in Patents A second reason John continues to be grateful that he made that decision to practice patent law on his own terms has everything to do with turning his solo practice into a family affair more than a decade ago. As a corporate board director, manager of a corporate

18 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

© christopher TODD studios

department, litigation strategist, and student of a wide variety of scientific fields, John says that the opportunity to work with his son Thomas on a daily basis these days, is a dream come true.

“I have spent over a decade training Thomas to be a highly competent intellectual property attorney, holding him to the highest standards of excellence in the field. He is very knowledgeable about all aspects of intellectual property law, including patents.

He’s been working with me for almost 12 years, conferring with all the firm’s clients, reviewing the patent applications I have drafted, drafting patent applications that I review, responding to office actions by the patent examiners, filing international patent applications, doing all aspects of the firm’s trademark practice, including international trademark registrations. I concentrate almost exclusively on drafting patent applications. Thomas does almost everything else,” John says proudly.

Interestingly, at first blush, Thomas wouldn’t necessarily seem a likely candidate to become an IP and trademark attorney. “I studied music composition at UCLA, and was focused on performing arts, such as theatre and music,” Thomas says. However, a suggestion by his grandmother changed everything. “My grandmother was in her 90’s and suggested that I should go to law school,” Thomas recalls. Something about the idea frankly made a lot of sense. “I was very involved in music composition,” Thomas says. “I saw I would be composing legal documents. Composition is really at the heart of what we do,” he says. Laughing he continues, “I don’t think I’d be in business with my dad if he were a criminal lawyer, but being able to help people create intellectual property did appeal to me.”

John insists that Thomas is being humble. “He is absolutely a master of his craft, and an expert in what I call our Three C’s: We write all documents clearly, comprehensively, and concisely,” John says.

Moreover, “Thomas is outstanding at breaking apart any rejections by patent examiners. In the last ten years, there have been a lot of changes to the patent law: The America Invention Act of 2013 awarding a U.S. patent to the “first-to-file” rather than “first-to-invent,” and Supreme Court decisions having a major impact on the law of obviousness and patentable subject matter. Thomas is at the forefront of all them, and has been batting 1000% in this work,” John adds.

Furthermore, since Thomas joined forces with John, the firm has been able to expand their services to better assist greater numbers of clients. Although Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017 19

their patent work—including international patents, patent prosecution, patent validity opinions and patent litigation strategy— accounts for the majority of their business, the firm’s services also include copyright registrations, trademark registrations, and licensing negotiations.

Premier Protection of Intellectual Property For clients seeking copyright protection, Thomas provides both registration services along with infringement counsel, to clients primarily of an artistic bent. “Photographers, authors, musicians, and bands need to protect the expression of their ideas,” Thomas says.

Still other clients will need assistance with trademarks, which Connors & Associates also provides. From giving trademark validity opinions, to trademark searches, to trademark registrations, the firm’s mission is always to protect their clients’ brand identity, so that its distinctiveness cannot be copied.

“In some cases, a trademark is more important than a patent,” Thomas says.

Yet another area of expertise that Thomas provides to clients comes in the form of drafting Work for Hire Agreements. “Work for Hire Agreements must be clearly and concisely drafted to ensure that all intellectual property is protected in a purchase or sale. These agreements can be paramount to safeguarding copyrightable subject matter.”

The firm also offers comprehensive counseling to clients in drafting the patent application, which Thomas says is particularly fascinating. “Some ideas may look simple, but we help clients see their inventions from the perspective of testifying in court before a jury. We are preparing the inventor to be a star witness. We are working with the inventor to present to a patent examiner a complete written disclosure explaining the details of the invention and several different embodiments, typically illustrated by a drawing. When being cross-examined during a trial, we want the inventor to be able to refer to the drawing and written specification of the patent and explain to the jury why his or her invention is not suggested by the prior art.”

Future of the Family Firm The family-run firm has also added a third generation to its ranks, which both John and Thomas find to be a boon to their practice. John’s grandson Dylan Connors has joined the firm as an intern while he completes his degree in computer science at Cal State Fullerton. “I’m teaching Dylan how to draft claims that are allowed by the patent examiner and cover an infringer’s product or method. He will be eligible to take the patent agent examination upon graduating,” John says.

The full crew, which also includes Beth Ellison, executive assistant, who has been with the firm for more than 20 years, operates like a well-oiled machine, in terms of both service and efficiency. “Since 2010, I’ve been operating an essentially paperless office,” says John. “All legal documents we prepare, 20 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

including patent and trademark registrations, are filed with the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office over the internet.

We communicate with our worldwide associate network over the internet, transmitting documents to attorneys registered to practice in the countries where our clients seek patent and trademark protection. Everyone in the firm works from their own home office, and we meet weekly face to face. Of course, we do keep in daily communication with each other and anyone else as needed by text, skype, email and mobile phone. We meet prospective clients and current clients at their places of business, or at a conference room in Newport Center in Newport Beach,” John says.

Venture Charity Fund The efficiency with which the firm runs has enabled John to launch a unique venture benefitting startup companies, which he says is very rewarding. “I am in the process of starting a Venture Charity Fund that qualifies under 501(c)(3) to give grants to qualified medical startup companies,” John says. “Because of my experience as a board director of startups, I hope to be able to help the entrepreneurs founding these companies to avoid mistakes that too often kill startups.”

With Thomas taking over the reins of managing of the firm’s business and operations, John says he’s thrilled to do what he does best—write patents. However, he’s also excited about the time that he has now, to venture into new endeavors, which involve educating others. For example, he wrote the book Patent It and Grow Rich, which is for sale on the firm’s website. Incidentally, the purchase of the book also includes a consultation with Thomas. In addition, John has been able to spend time speaking to classrooms of entrepreneurs in local schools, while also maintaining his status as an expert-in-residence in the Applied Innovation Program at the University of California, Irvine. He says he is also excited to have time to identify qualifying startups that his Venture Charity Fund will be able to assist.

Suffice it to say, John and Thomas are looking forward to a bright future, all the while continuing to help entrepreneurs, inventors, small businesses, and any innovator to protect their ideas, products, and methods, using virtually all forms of IP. Along the way, the two plan to continue having a good time doing it. “Every client and every case is different, which keeps it challenging. I love the fact that I’m never doing the same thing over and over again,” says Thomas. John seconds that sentiment, “If you enjoy what you do, you never work a day in your life—it has always been enjoyable and challenging. That has been my experience in patent law.” n Contact Thomas Connors thomas@connorspatentlaw.com 949-833-3622 connorspatentlaw.com

A Closer Look at the Statistics Of Online Reviews

by Katie Johnson

In this article we will review some important and enlightening statistics that were found in a recent survey about consumer reviews performed by BrightLocal.

Both offline and online, a business’ reputation, as ReputationManagement.com says, is “your most valuable asset.

It’s what people find when they Google you, and it shapes their impression of you—sometimes before you’ve even met.”

Now more than ever, people are taking to the web to search for local businesses when in need of a service. Their search results return a list of options that often contain reviews and star ratings. Those reviews are a large part of what entices potential clients to contact you with confidence. In fact, 84 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

QUANTITY OR QUALITY? You may ask yourself, “What's more important? The amount of reviews or what’s written in the reviews?” The answer is... both!

The goal of every company is to obtain five Google reviews —the magic number that makes your ratings show up in search results. There is a common misconception that the more reviews you have, the better your business is perceived. However, potential clients care more about the sentiment and recency of the reviews than the total number of reviews. More reviews can mean that your firm is more likely to show up in search results. But, according to BrightLocal’s survey, consumers claim that the average star rating of a business is the most important factor when judging a local business. Therefore, a multitude of reviews with a low star rating won’t drive business through your front door.

22 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

WHERE TO FIND REVIEWS Google recently added reviews and ratings from third-party review sites to the Local Knowledge Panel near the Google My Business/Google+ reviews section. This shows that Google knows the importance and significance of online business reviews. And they’re not the only ones—87 percent of people say that a business needs a rating of three to five stars before they will use it.

According to the survey, 59 percent of people look at two or three review sites before they make a decision about a business.

63 percent find reviews on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo!, and 37 percent go directly to a review site, such as Yelp.

These statistics should encourage you to focus on gaining more online reviews for your law firm. If you are short on time, there are tools available that can help. For example, Birdeye is a service that can send emails to your recent clients, asking them to leave a review.

REVIEWS AND MOBILE DEVICES Reviews are still most often read on a PC, though the amount of people searching for local businesses on mobile devices has caused mobile review searches to almost double over the past year. Without a doubt, mobile usage will continue to increase, making a mobile-first website with optimal user experience even more imperative to the firm’s success.

MANAGING REVIEWS Most consumers claim that they read fewer than 10 reviews before they feel they can trust a business enough to make a decision to use its services. We recommend that you pay

attention to all your reviews, thanking people for positive reviews and responding carefully and appropriately to negative ones. Consumers mostly pay attention to the overall star rating of firms and spend their time reading the most recent reviews. If a negative review appears, respond tactfully and know that as you continue to work on gaining more reviews, potential clients will be more likely to focus on the most current information.

After reading reviews, potential clients are most likely going to visit your website to learn more about your firm before contacting you. This is where the user experience and user interface really come into play. Providing clear information on a well-designed page devoid of clutter is essential.

You want your potential clients to be able to find your contact information without having to dig too deep.

ASKING FOR REVIEWS One of the most important findings from the BrightLocal Survey is that “7 out of 10 consumers will leave a review if they’re asked to.” That means over half of consumers asked to leave a review about a business will follow through with it. This is great news!

Ask regularly for reviews, but don’t ask for reviews from many people at the same time. Review sites flag businesses that get too many reviews at one time, especially if you’ve never had reviews before. Remember to never offer compensation in any form to a client in exchange for a review, and never tell a client they are required to leave a good or positive review. Also, make sure that your approach to reviews is in line with bar guidelines, and those set by the platform on which the reviews are to be left.

EVOLUTION OF REVIEWS Word of mouth is still the most powerful avenue for recommendations.

However, the survey reported that the reviews found on social media, particularly Facebook, have dramatically increased. Only 16 percent of people surveyed in 2014 claimed to leave reviews for businesses on Facebook. As of 2016, that number had increased to 47 percent. The percentage of consumers leaving reviews for businesses on Twitter has also increased from 5 percent to 21 percent.

Facebook provides companies with a huge audience, as well as the ability to promote positive reviews to a custom audience in an effort to draw in more clients. The rise we have seen in social media is only expected to continue and should be included in your review-gaining efforts.

GAIN MORE REVIEWS We have prepared a client review resource bundle which contains tips for law firms on how to generate more online client reviews. We hope this resource will equip you and your firm to make generating client reviews a part of your firm’s daily agenda. n Katie Johnson is a Marketing Consultant with Consultwebs and manages the development and execution of clients’ online marketing campaigns.

She is also trained in SEO and maintains a Google Analytics IQ certification. www.consultwebs.com.

Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017 23

17 Ways to Increase Your Materials’ Readership and Response

by Trey Ryder

Tip #1 Make sure your headlines are large and bold. You don’t want them so large that they appear awkward, but large, bold lettering attracts your reader’s attention and directs his eyes to the beginning of your message.

Tip #2 Use subheads to draw readers through your copy. Many people scan subheads to get an overview of the contents. If you promise a benefit in each subhead, your reader will conclude that he stands to reap so many benefits that he must read your article or brochure.

Tip #3 Choose typefaces that are easy to read. Make sure you use common, everyday styles that look like those used in newspaper and magazine articles. Avoid fancy type. Avoid scripts. Avoid too many italics.

For Print: Serif fonts are easier to read than sans serif fonts.

You should always use serif fonts for paragraph copy. If you use sans serif fonts at all, limit their use to headlines and subheads.

Don’t use sans serif fonts for paragraph copy because they are hard to read and cause your reader’s eyes to tire quickly.

24 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

For Websites: The school of thought is that sans serif fonts are easier to read online. In this case, use serif fonts for headlines and sans serif for body copy.

Tip #4 Don’t use painfully small type. As I get older, I find small type really annoying. First, I have to find my glasses. Then I have to find the small type again. And then, when I finally read it, I often learn it wasn’t worth the trouble. Many artists use small type because it’s supposed to be elegant and stylish. How can anything be elegant or stylish when it’s too small to read!

Tip #5 Don’t put big spaces between letters. Another technique popular with artists is to put horizontal space between the letters within a single word. This us supposed to make the wording look upscale and sophisticated. What it really does is (1) make the words hard to read, and (2) make me wonder who paid money to an artist to create words that are hard to read.

Readability is king. If your words are hard to read, most people won’t read them. As a result, you’ve wasted your money—and lost the opportunity to deliver your message.

Tip #6 Use reverse type sparingly. Type that is said to be “reversed” or “reversed out” is lettering that is surrounded by an area of solid ink, where the letters themselves are actually the paper showing through. You’re fairly safe using reverse type for headlines and sub-heads if you use it to emphasize only a few words. But do not use reverse type for paragraph copy because it quickly tires your reader’s eyes.

Tip #7 Don’t use more than two different typefaces in a document.

(Bold and italic variations of the basic type font do not count as different type faces.) If you limit yourself to no more than two fonts, you avoid a clash of faces that don’t look good together.

Tip #8 Don’t let lines create obstacles for your words. Writers often insert a single line to make their layouts more attractive. The problem is, while the lines are intended to look nice, writers often put lines where they actually change the visual flow of the page. Last night, I was reading a magazine article that contained a horizontal line across the middle of the page. When I reached the line, I went to the top of the next column and continued reading. But the words didn’t match. I was supposed to jump over the line and continue reading below it in the same column.

But the line obstructed the copy, sent me in the wrong direction, and broke my concentration.

Tip #9 Set key paragraphs and important words in bold or italic type so they stand out from the rest of the copy. Indenting key paragraphs from both the left and right margins is another way to draw attention to the paragraph.

Tip #10 Justify type to create the appearance you want. For a friendly, informal appearance, use left-justified type with a ragged right.

For a more formal appearance, use fully justified type. Full justification gives you the added advantage of allowing you to squeeze more words into the same space. If you fully justify, proofread the copy to make sure your lines look natural. If you see a line where the letters are stretched so far apart that they look awkward, see if you can hyphenate the first word on the following line. This results in the first one or two syllables of that word returning to the previous line so they take up the extra space.

Tip #11 Use a column of bullets to emphasize important points. If you have a series of points you want to make, stack them in a straight vertical column and put a bullet or another symbol at the beginning of each point. The value of bullet points is in their

straight, vertical appearance. Don’t center the column of bullet points because when the bullets are not in a vertical row, you lose their value.

Tip #12 Vary paragraph lengths so your copy looks interesting. When your lines of copy go all the way across a page, try to limit your paragraphs to no more than seven lines. Not seven sentences, but seven lines. For brochure- and article-copy, use two or three columns on each 8.5" x 11" page. This works well because most people are accustomed to reading newspaper columns, which are fairly narrow.

Tip #13 Put a double space (one extra return) between paragraphs so they are separated by a line of white space. The white space makes the paragraphs look less threatening.

Tip #14 Break pages at mid-sentence so you “encourage” people to continue reading on the next page.

Tip #15 Write in lists rather than paragraphs. Many people shy away from reading paragraphs because they look like blocks of copy.

But people like reading itemized lists because they can read each point quickly.

Tip #16 Make sure your layout flows smoothly from upper left to lower right. This should be easy if your message is solid copy because people read from left to right, top to bottom. But things can get tricky when you include photos, illustrations, sidebars and other graphic elements. You want to avoid having anything block the visual flow so your reader can easily follow your message from beginning to end.

For example, in display ads, the coupon, phone numbers or other calls to action should always be at the bottom, right-hand corner because this is where the reader’s eyes stop after reading the ad.

Tip #17 Develop your own graphic style and use it in all your written materials. The related impact of your format, even with different content, can as much as double your material’s recognition and response. n Trey Ryder shares his marketing method with lawyers through a wide range of publications. In addition, he writes and publishes his free e-zine, The Ryder Method™ of Education-Based Marketing.

And he maintains the Lawyer Marketing Advisor at www.treyryder. com. He can be reached at trey@treyryder.com

Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017 25

Learning to Learn

by Mike O’Horo For 20 years, Mike O’Horo has been known by lawyers everywhere as The Coach. He trained more than 7000 of them, generating $1.5 billion in new business. Mike can be reached at mikeohoro@rainmakervt.com.

M

any lawyers struggle to learn business development skills, in no small part because they don’t embrace the need to get better at it. Oh, sure, they say all the right things, but when it comes down to setting aside time (and sometimes money) and committing to learning, applying, getting feedback, and practicing, they have lots of reasons why it can’t happen. It brings to mind the quote by entrepreneur Jim Rohn: “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”

I borrowed today’s title from an article in the March 2016 issue of Harvard Business Review, which points out that today’s pace of change forces us to understand and quickly respond to big shifts in the way companies operate. The author talks about “resisting the bias against doing new things, scanning the horizon for growth opportunities, and pushing yourself to acquire radically different capabilities—while still performing your job. That requires a willingness to experiment and become a novice again and again: an extremely discomforting notion for most of us.”

We know from the seminal work of Dr. Larry Richard that lawyers’ low resilience score makes this discomfiture particularly acute for them.

The HBR authors identified four attributes required to surmount this: • Aspiration • Curiosity • Self-Awareness • Vulnerability

We must truly want to understand and master new skills; see ourselves very clearly; constantly think of and ask good questions; and tolerate our own mistakes as we progress along the learning curve.

Here are some mental tools you can develop to boost all four attributes.

Aspiration It’s easy to see this as a fixed, binary thing: You want to learn a new skill or you don’t; you have ambition and motivation or you lack them. But great learners can raise their aspiration level from resistance, where we focus on the negative and unconsciously reinforce our lack of aspiration, to embrace by focusing on the positive—what we’ll gain from learning— and reaping the rewards of progress. Shifting your focus from challenges to benefits is a good way to increase your aspiration to do things that are beneficial, but that you don’t really want to do.

26 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

When I discuss goals with the lawyers I coach, I ask “Why do you want that? Why is that important? What will it do for you?” Visualizing the practical result of reaching a goal makes it real, and increases their willingness to do what’s necessary to get there.

Self-Awareness When it comes to the need for learning, assessing what we know and don’t know, what skills we have and don’t have, we come up short. In one study, 94% of college professors reported that they were doing “above average work.” Statistically, almost half must be wrong. Only 6% saw themselves as having a lot to learn. When you don’t perceive a deficiency, you have little appetite for improvement. This is known as “Unconscious Incompetence.”

Curiosity Curiosity makes us try something until we can do it. Instead of focusing on and reinforcing initial disinterest in a new subject, ask yourself “curious questions” about it and follow those questions up with actions. You can increase your willingness to tackle necessary tasks by thinking about how you could do the work differently. In other words, shift from “I don’t like BD,” to “How might I do it differently to make it more interesting?”

Take just one step to answer the question: Read an article, query an expert, find a teacher, join a group—whatever feels easiest. Ask “Why are others excited about BD?” Seek out the answers. Find just one thing about BD that sparks your curiosity.

Vulnerability Lawyers are reluctant to do things they’re not good at. (There’s that resilience issue again.) The idea of being bad at something for weeks or months; feeling awkward and slow; having to ask “I-don’t-understand…” questions; and needing step-by-step help and coaching over and over is scary. However, to progress, you’ll have to accept that beginner state. The ideal mindset for a beginner is both vulnerable and balanced: I’m going to be bad at this to start with, because I’ve never done it before. However, I know I can learn to do it over time. Acknowledging your novice status will make you feel less foolish and more relaxed.

The ability to acquire BD skills and knowledge quickly and continually is crucial to success in the modern law business. Try some of these self-talk techniques to help you overcome inertia and get started. n

IS YOUR LAW FIRM MAKING THE BEST IMPRESSION?

We’ll help you put your best foot forward.

From logos and brochures to websites, strategy, writing and beyond, we’ve got you covered!

Jenny Strauss, Partner & Brand Strategist (215) 460-0835 jenny@skidmutro.com

View our portfolio at skidmutro.com Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017 27

Delegate, Don’t Abdicate, Client Trust Accounting

by Sheila M. Blackford

W

ell-meaning lawyers who struggle to balance their personal checking account may think the safest way to protect their client trust account is to find a knowledgeable bookkeeper or CPA to take charge of it. In practice, though, this can add up to an ethics violation for shirking responsibility to properly manage the trust account.

The problem arises when the lawyer doesn’t merely delegate responsibility but actually abdicates responsibility for the trust account. What is the difference? Let’s look at two lawyers in action and inaction.

Bringing in the Bookkeeper John has hired Karen, an experienced bookkeeper, to track all deposits to and withdrawals from his trust account using QuickBooks. Initially, John tracked each client’s trust account funds, but realized that doing it by hand was not efficient or error-free. His CPA recommended he hire a bookkeeper experienced in using QuickBooks to manage a law firm trust account. After interviewing a number of candidates, he hired Karen, who is very familiar with setting up individual subaccounts to properly track each individual’s trust account.

Karen clearly understands that money deposited on behalf of a client needs to be actually collected and in the trust account before writing any checks, or else the check will be drawing down funds belonging to a different client. Assured that the funds have been collected by John’s bank, Karen writes checks from three different client trust sub-accounts and presents the checks with the underlying invoices along with each client’s ledger card report showing all the transactions and current balances. John reviews the documentation for each expense and each respective client ledger card report. Finding everything in

28 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

order, he signs the checks and initials the report at the line item.

Karen then goes over a three-way reconciliation of the overall trust account: After adding the balances of all of the client ledgers, she compares this total balance of all the client subaccounts with the total balance of the overall trust account.

The total balance of the overall trust account is determined by reviewing the trust account journal of transactions, which, like a checkbook register, provides a record of all deposits and withdrawals. Karen then reconciles the trust account monthly bank statement by adding outstanding deposits not yet credited to the account and subtracting outstanding deposits not yet cleared. The three balances must be the same: total of client ledgers, trust journal of transactions, and reconciled trust account bank statement. All three numbers equal each other so Karen and John are confident the client trust account is in order.

Although John has delegated the details of trust accounting in QuickBooks to his bookkeeper, he consistently reviews her work. He does not write a single check without verifying that the charge is accurate and that there is adequate trust account money held on behalf of the specific client for whom the check will be written. Otherwise, John could be using money belonging to another client to cover the expense.

Meanwhile, On Another Floor ...

Stacy is a solo practitioner like John, but she handles her trust accounting differently. Realizing that she has no aptitude for handling bank accounts, she has entrusted her law clerk, Jacob, with handling her bookkeeping.

Jacob is very smart but had never used QuickBooks or handled a trust account before being hired six months ago.

Jacob carefully follows the directions. He notates what each

trust account check is written for in the memo field, but he does not separately track each client trust sub-account.

Jacob has never done a three-way reconciliation but he looks at the bank statement and reviews the online account balance before paying any invoices from the trust account. Stacy believes that as long as the trust account balance in QuickBooks is compared to the trust account bank account statement, that Jacob is doing everything right. As long as the bank and her trust account are in balance, she is happy.

Last month, however, something went wrong and Jacob could not get the two numbers to equal. Stacy told him to just use the balance the bank showed. Accordingly, Jacob made a trust account reconciliation adjustment to correct a bookkeeping error.

Stacy is too busy practicing law to handle the billing and banking. Jacob thinks he is doing too much bookkeeping and not enough legal work.

A few days later, while opening the office mail, Jacob sees an envelope marked “personal and confidential” from the state bar. When Stacy finally opens it up, she sees that it is asking for trust accounting records for a client who has complained that she never provided an accounting of his money. She now must provide an accounting of the client’s trust funds along with bank statements covering the duration of the client matter.

Stacy begins to panic when she realizes that Jacob only kept

statements long enough to review their balances, and that there is no way to reconstruct any accounting of the client’s trust account money for the nine months she held his client funds.

Monitor and Protect Your Clients’ Property Trust accounting not done well is one of the fastest ways to becoming subject to discipline, suspended or disbarred. Use a bookkeeper, but review the work. Delegate duties, but monitor work. Ultimately, you must remain responsible and accountable for protecting your client’s property. n Sheila M. Blackford is an attorney and Practice Management Advisor for the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund. She received her J.D. with Tax Law Concentration from McGeorge School of Law. She is the author of the ABA book “Trust Accounting in One Hour For Lawyers,” co-author of “Paperless in One Hour for Lawyers,” and a past Editor-in-Chief of the ABA’s Law Practice magazine. Sheila is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and member of the OSB eCourt Task Force and Public Service Advisory Committee. She writes the Just Oregon Lawyers Blog. Follow her @SheilaBlackford. Previously published in Attorney at Work.

• Wrongful Termination, Discrimination, Harassment, Wage & Hour • From Hourly Employees to Executive Level • Client-Centered Tenacious Representation • Exclusively Representing Employees • Se Habla Español

16700 Valley View Ave., Suite 170 La Mirada, CA 90638

562.444.0010 laralunalaw.com

Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017 29

Five Ways to Know What’s Up with Clients And Staff

by Merrilyn Astin Tarlton

T

he first Sunday New York Times Magazine after the 2017 presidential inauguration featured a cover story titled “To Obama With Love, and Hate, and Desperation” by Jeanne Marie Laskas. It is an excellent article and, regardless of your political leanings, I recommend it to you.

It tells the story of the 50 staff members, interns and many volunteers in the White House mailroom charged with reading every single letter and email delivered to the Office of Presidential Correspondence during Barack Obama’s time in office. Their goal? To each day select 10 letters to place at the back of that evening’s briefing book for the president — so he could “sample” the unfiltered story of the nation.

Every leader needs feedback. (Some need a little too much!)

But, truly, how can you do your job without understanding what’s going on in the lives of those impacted by your work?

In the case of a lawyer, I’m thinking, of course, of your clients.

But the lives, moods and opinions of your staff and colleagues count just as much.

“Big Data” Be Damned!

Sure, gathering oceans of information into a single succinct chart or graph can ease comprehension in the aggregate. But if the leader of the free world found it just as important to hear stories from the real lives of those around him, maybe you should, too.

So here are five ways to stay in touch with what’s going on with your clients, colleagues and staff. But, most of all, just make it your M.O.!

1. Ask. Inside your firm, start with a coffee meeting to explain a new resolve to stay more personally in touch this year.

Encourage people to talk with you personally if they have questions or problems—or send you a note or email if they feel shy. (Promise confidentiality if they wish, and deliver it, too!) For clients, finish every gig with a request for ongoing feedback. Be clear that you will make the time for their input—then make sure you do exactly that. Randomly select a few clients each month to share lunch with—and don’t make it about business development, it’s just staying in touch. Make sure that agenda is clear.

30 30 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 132, 2017

2. Tell. Let the people around you know what is going on in your life—at home and at work. New client? Explain who it is and how and why they have engaged you. New baby? Share your photos and lack of sleep. Don’t be afraid to express it if you’re feeling tired or stressed; people like to know you are human, too. And when you need help, ask for it. Sometimes that is the most flattering thing you can do.

3. Organize. There are any number of ways to get official or institutional about the telling of stories and sharing of information. A suggestion box, perhaps? For clients, include a stamped, addressed blank postcard in the end-of-matter packet each one receives, asking for debriefing thoughts.

Institute a routine all-hands celebration at the successful close of a client matter. Someone’s birthday? Gather around the cake and ask for stories of birthdays gone by.

4. Share. If you receive a particularly interesting note (good or bad!) from a client, make sure you share it with all involved.

Yes, with your assistant as well as the senior partner. It’s a great way to learn how things look from the other side of the desk, to know how to handle a similar matter next time, and to identify systems or technology bugs that need sorting out.

5. Allow anonymity. It’s only fair, if you plan to share information or a story from someone, that you get their permission first or remove their name. It’s their story to tell. This is even especially true as it applies to sharing client stories or quotes on your website. n Merrilyn Astin Tarlton is the author of the new Attorney at Work book “Getting Clients: For Lawyers Starting Out or Starting Over.” She has been helping lawyers and law firms think differently about the business of practicing law since 1984. She is a founding member of the Legal Marketing Association, an LMA Hall of Fame inductee, and a past President of the College of Law Practice Management. Merrilyn was a founding partner of Attorney at Work. Follow her on Twitter @astintartlton.

Previously published in Attorney at Work.

UNRIVALED JURY VERDICTS S ETTLEMEN T S PERSONAL SERVICE REFERRAL FEES

PANISH SHEA & BOYLE is happy to discuss how

we may assist you in your case. Please contact

the Honorable Judge Peter Polos (Ret.) for more information at polos@psblaw.com.

WWW.PSBLAW.COM

310.477.1700

1.877.800.1700

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Post Falls, ID PERMIT NO. 32