Cannabis Legal Expert & Pincus Seminar Speaker Expands Law Firm to NorCal

Posted on June 13, 2018March 26, 2019 by Faith Pincus

13 Jun

Ariel Clark’s law firm are experts in Cannabis law – in Washington, California and elsewhere. She spoke at our June 2017 Marijuana Law 101 seminar (where she received great evaluations) and is expanding her practice to Northern California!

We wanted to pass on the Recorder’s article about her firm’s expansion, Women-Owned Cannabis Law Firm Expands in Northern California by Xiumei Dong.

After hiring three new associates to accommodate increased demand for legal services in the recreational cannabis businesses, Clark Neubert has opened offices in Sacramento and Santa Cruz. Congratulations Ariel!

Associate Joanna Hossack will head the firm’s office in Sacramento, while senior associate Nicole Laggner will head the firm’s Santa Cruz office.

Hossack specializes in the recently-passed Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, and California’s evolving regulatory processes for cannabis. Laggner’s expertise is on cannabis business formation and compliance.

“Demand for legal services is skyrocketing as cannabis businesses get licensed and enter the adult use market,” said Ariel Clark. “This is an exciting but complex time for business owners. We’re growing to ensure our clients have every resource they need.”

We will be diving into the laws on the Marijuana business at our upcoming two-day conference on November 1st and 2nd in Los Angeles.

Howard Goodfriend is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on June 12, 2018March 26, 2019 by Faith Pincus

12 Jun

Our latest Featured Speaker is Howard Goodfriend from Smith Goodfriend!

We are pleased to have Howard back for our upcoming 3rd Annual Advanced Appellate Conference in Seattle on September 14, 2018! Howard has previously spoken at our Advanced Appellate Roundtable in 2013, where seminar attendees raved about his knowledgeability, interesting comments, and respectful demeanor. We look forward to having him speak!

Howard M. Goodfriend is a principal in the Seattle firm of Smith Goodfriend, P.S., Seattle’s oldest appellate boutique. Howard has argued hundreds of civil appeals in almost every substantive area of the law, representing individuals, publicly traded companies, small businesses, professionals, hospitals, state and local governments. He is co-editor-in-chief of the Washington State Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Deskbook and author of the Appellate Practice chapter of the King County Bar Association Young Lawyer Division’s Washington Lawyers Practice Manual. Howard is a Fellow and a director of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, is a founding member and past president of the Washington Appellate Lawyers Association, and has been repeatedly recognized by his peers as one of Washington’s top ten appellate lawyers and top 100 lawyers.

Hot Weather and Pet Safety

Posted on June 8, 2018June 1, 2018 by Faith Pincus

08 Jun

LA Animal Services Offers Tips to Help Keep Your Pets Safe in the Hot Weather

Remember when it is hot for you, it is even hotter for your four-legged friends. Dogs and cats do not sweat through their skin. They cool themselves by panting or rapid breathing, which means dogs and cats must work extra hard to stay cool.

Too much heat can be extremely dangerous or even fatal for companion animals. LA Animal Services reminds pet owners about the hazards of hot weather and how to keep your furry loved ones healthy and comfortable. Here are some pet safety tips:

Never leave your pet alone inside a vehicle

If your pet cannot go inside at every stop with you, they are safer at home on hot days. Car interiors heat very quickly, even with the windows open. If it is 90 degrees out, temperatures can top 160 degrees faster than you can walk around the block. In fact, it’s against the law to leave an animal in a vehicle if doing so endangers the health or well-being of the animal.

Give your pet extra water

Always make sure that your dog or cat has plenty of fresh water to drink. A bucket that holds a gallon or more of water will stay cool longer than water in a shallow pan. Some dogs consider ice cubes a treat, and you can add a few to the water bowl.

Care for your pet’s coat

Longer coated dogs and cats who are brushed regularly have natural insulation from the heat. However, if the coat has gotten matted, a clip will make your buddy much more comfortable. Newly clipped and lighter coated pets, especially white ones, are at higher risk for skin cancer and they are more susceptible to sunburn.

Don’t leave your pet outdoors for a long time

If your dog has to be left outdoors for awhile, make sure they have plenty of access to shade such as trees, a covered patio or cool spot under the porch. Apply a pet specific or hypoallergenic sunscreen on sensitive areas like the nose, tips of ears and belly especially if they have light or thin fur.

Avoid hot ground surfaces

While walking your dog outdoors, play particular attention to the pavement, sidewalks or sand. Check the temperature with your hand, if it’s too hot to touch then it’s too hot for your dog’s paws.

Know the signs of overheating

If your dog or cat begins very rapid, noisy breathing, has trouble swallowing and looks very distressed, they could be having a heatstroke. Get the animal out of the heat. Apply cold, wet towels to the back of the head. Place cold packs wrapped in towels or plain wet towels between the back legs and on the belly. Cool off your pet and take them to the veterinarian immediately.

Remember, companion animals want to be with you. They will be safer and cooler inside with you, where they can spend their time doing what they do best: being your best friend.

CA Attorney Re-Fingerprinting

Posted on June 6, 2018March 26, 2019 by Faith Pincus

06 Jun

Reported on the State Bar of California’s website, the Supreme Court issued a new California Rule of Court effective on June 1st, which will require re-fingerprinting most active California attorneys.

Starting June 1, 2018:

The State Bar will issue instructions, FAQs, mandatory re-fingerprinting forms, a schedule, and other relevant information
Email notifications with more detailed instructions will be sent on a rolling basis until early August
Any attorney can begin the re-fingerprinting process by logging into their My State Bar Profile even if they have not received an email
Attorneys should not undergo re-fingerprinting until this information is released

The deadline to submit new fingerprints without penalty will be April 30th of next year.

Jennifer Post is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on June 5, 2018March 26, 2019 by Faith Pincus

05 Jun

We are pleased to announce our latest featured speaker, Jennifer Post, from Thompson Coburn LLP! Jennifer will be speaking at our upcoming Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain & Initial Coin Offerings seminar, where she will discuss topics including: Forming a mining company, Fundamental tax considerations, SEC guidance, and Contract drafting issues.

Jennifer Post is a Partner in the Thomas Coburn’s Corporate and Securities practice group. She serves as primary outside counsel to a variety of individuals, institutions and companies, including entrepreneurs, venture capital firms and emerging companies, as well as domestic and international public companies.

Jennifer’s practice encompasses all areas of general corporate and securities law, including private placements of equity and debt securities, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital fund formation. Jennifer advises her company clients in many aspects of their businesses including financings, acquisitions, divestitures, licensing and distribution arrangements, equity compensation and joint ventures and strategic partnerships. Jennifer also represents venture capital firms in their formation, fundraising efforts and maintenance, as well as in their investments in early and later stage operating companies and in complex transactions and restructurings. Jennifer has a unique niche representing private capital lenders including venture debt lenders and hedge funds in lending transactions in both domestic and cross-border facilities.

A prolific speaker and media commentator, Jennifer was recently profiled in the California Lawyer’s M&A Roundtable. Additionally, Jennifer has presented at Digital Hollywood, the Metropole Global’s Crowdfunding Conference, NextGen’s Entrepreneurship & Global Crowdfunding Forum, the Beverly Hills Bar Association and the American Bar Association, among others.

Lowest February Bar Pass Rate Since 1951

Posted on June 4, 2018March 26, 2019 by Faith Pincus

04 Jun

Looks like California’s law students need to hit the books. According to an article posted by Cheryl Miller on The Recorder, a mere 27.3% of would-be lawyers passed California’s bar exam in February. Based on records dating back to 1951, this is the all-time lowest pass rate according to test data released this month.

The low scores reflect a national trend for the winter sitting of the exam. The average score on February’s multi-state bar exam fell 1.3 points from 2017’s scores to 132.8. This makes it the lowest average score in over a decade, and marks the fourth year in a row the month’s average score declined.

First-time test-takers of the February 2018 exam continued to do better than repeat test-takers with a 39% pass rate. Graduates of American Bar Association-approved law schools from California performed the best of any group, with 46% passing.

Jor Law is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on June 1, 2018March 26, 2019 by Faith Pincus

01 Jun

We are pleased to announce our latest featured speaker, Jor Law, from Homeier Law PC and VerifyInvestor.com!

At our upcoming Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain & Initial Coin Offerings program on June 22nd in Los Angeles, Jor will be speaking about: Securities registration & jurisdictional issues, Characteristics of ICOs, Private exemptions, JOBS Act exemptions, Other exemptions and Concurrent offerings.

Jor Law practices corporate and securities transactional law in Los Angeles and is a founding shareholder of Homeier Law PC. Jor maintains a broad-based general corporate legal practice with an emphasis on mergers & acquisitions and finance.

He is most well-known for his expertise in alternative finance, including cryptocurrency ICOs, EB-5 finance, and crowdfunding, all industries where he is one of the most influential transactional attorneys in the world. Jor received his J.D. from Columbia University and his B.A. from UC Berkeley. Jor is licensed to practice law in California and New York.

Jor Law is also a co-founder and the principal architect of VerifyInvestor.com, the resource for accredited investor verifications trusted by broker-dealers, law firms, companies, and investors who insist on safety and reliability. These verifications are required by federal laws for generally solicited Regulation D, Rule 506(c) capital raises.

Bhaskar Krishnamachari is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on May 30, 2018March 26, 2019 by Faith Pincus

30 May

We are thrilled to announce our latest featured speaker, Bhaskar Krishnamachari, from the USC Viterbi Center for Cyber-Physical Systems and the Internet of Things!

At our upcoming Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain & Initial Coin Offerings program on June 22nd in Los Angeles, Bhaskar will be speaking about: How it all works, Coins v. Tokens, ERC-20, Blockchain, Key Applications and alt-coins.

Bhaskar Krishnamachari did his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering at The Cooper Union in New York City, and got his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University. He is currently a Professor of Engineering at USC, and serves as the Director of the USC Viterbi Center for Cyber-Physical Systems and the Internet of Things. He is an academic researcher working on the Internet of Things, Blockchain Technologies, Wireless Networks, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, Machine Learning and AI, Edge Computing, Network Economics, and Distributed Robotics. He has authored/co-authored two books and more than 300 technical publications, that have together received more than 23000 citations and several best paper awards. He was listed in MIT Technology Reviews TR-35 list of 35 top innovators under 35 in 2011 and Popular Science’s Brilliant 10 in 2015.

Sheila Oretsky is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on May 22, 2018March 26, 2019 by Faith Pincus

22 May

Our latest Featured Speaker is Sheila Oretsky from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney!

Sheila is a new speaker this year and she is set to speak at our 7th Annual Circuit Court & Litigation Boot Camp in Fort Lauderdale on June 1, 2018. Sheila is a trial attorney who focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation matters that span a variety of industries. From entertainment, real estate and healthcare, to construction, condominium associations and hotels, her experience also includes money transmitters, professional services, moving and mobile storage, automobile dealerships and audio/visual services. We know our attendees will benefit from the knowledge she has to share, and we are happy to have her speak for us!

Sheila successfully defended a $14 million commercial foreclosure trial and successfully prosecuted the counterclaim for declaratory relief in that action that went to trial for over 4 days. She has handled matters involving partnership and business disputes, commercial foreclosures, civil theft, breach of contract, civil fraud, motor vehicle dealership law, consumer fraud, bank litigation, commercial landlord/tenant disputes, condominium law and public adjuster compliance nationwide. Sheila also has experience in assisting clients with general corporate and contractual matters.

Sheila has been selected for inclusion in Florida Trend’s Legal Elite 2010 as a top “Up and Comer” and was selected by her peers as an honoree for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s 40 Under 40 Outstanding Lawyers of Miami-Dade County Award in 2012. She was also selected as one of the Top 14 Lawyers to Watch in 2014 by Attorney at Law Magazine and named a Rising Star in Business Litigation by Super Lawyers in 2016.

Sheila is conversational in Farsi.

30% off any of our previously recorded appellate seminars.