Category Archives: News

Pablo Drobny is the Featured Speaker!

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Pablo Drobny is this week’s Featured Speaker at Pincus Professional Education. Pablo has spoken at our appellate and writ related seminars since 2006. Wow! We all love Pablo and he is one of the most respected attorneys working for the California Appellate Court in California. In fact, Pablo is known as the Writs guru throughout the state.

Pablo is a speaker who always sends us detailed outlines and handouts weeks in advance of our deadlines, for which we are always grateful.

Most importantly, at least for our seminars, is that Pablo is universally loved by our attendees – attendees frequently mention that they learned so much from him that they think he should be invited to all of our programs (which of course he is).

Pablo Drobny
Lead Appellate Court Attorney

Pablo Drobny has been a Judicial Attorney for the California Court of Appeal, Second Judicial District, since 1983. Mr. Drobny is a writ specialist and has authored various legal articles on civil and criminal law practice, is a frequent lecturer and panelist on appellate law and procedure, and is past Chair of the California Judicial Attorneys Education Committee. Mr. Drobny received a B.A. degree with highest honors from Johns Hopkins University, and a J.D. degree cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Thank you Pablo!

…During Arson Trial

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According to NBC news, during a closing argument, in an arson trial no less, an attorney’s pants literally caught on fire.  Stephen Gutierrez had several electronic cigarette batteries in his pocket.  Witnesses said it was “surreal.”  Mr. Gutierrez left the court room as the heat intensified for a bathroom where he tossed water on his pocket.  Read more here.

Supreme Court Declines to Lower California Bar Score

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13 Mar

The California Supreme Court has declined to temporarily lower the score need to pass – for now.  Recently, democratic legislators and law school deans complained that the California Bar Exam’s minimum passing score is too high.  Currently California’s required score is the second highest in the nation.  Read more from The Recorder.

Daphne Subar Interview

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08 Mar

Recently Faith interviewed a friend, Daphne Subar, about her leaving the law to open her own baked goods company, Subarz.  Since Faith left the law 13 years ago to open up Pincus Professional Education, she thought it would be interesting to hear from another attorney about that experience.  And, well, she also loves the Subarz treats, so that’s worth talking about too!

Daphne Subar is the creator of Subarz and she took the time to answer a few questions about her background and journey in creating the company:

1.  How long did you practice law?I practiced law for approximately 26 years.  I started out as a litigator at Knapp, Petersen & Clarke for the first 10 years of my career.  My litigation practice included aviation law, product liability, personal injury and insurance defense.  The highlight of my years at Knapp, Petersen & Clarke was serving as national counsel for a large pharmaceutical company involved in national and international litigation.  After leaving Knapp, Petersen & Clarke, I spend the rest of my legal career as a contract attorney taking on special projects and assignments from a variety of law firms, both large and small.

2. When did you decide to leave law and create Subarz?

For years I have loved to bake and due to food allergies and dietary issues with my three daughters, I needed to experiment in the kitchen to make recipes safe for my family.  I have always wanted to start a bakery but honestly was scared.  When I finally decided I would try, I wanted to invent or create a baked good that no one else had made.  After many experiments in the kitchen, Subarz were developed. Subarz are a cross between mandelbread/biscotti and a cookie/bar. They combine the crunchiness of biscotti with the sweetness of a cookie. I also wanted to experiment with different flavors and while I started with a Traditional Chocolate Chip with Cinnamon Sugar, I soon began experimenting with other unique flavor combinations and the results have been wonderful. One of our most popular barz is Salted Apricot Caramel.

3. Why these particular cookies?

Over the years, I baked mandelbread (a traditional Jewish cookie similar to biscotti) for family and friends and it was a favorite by many.  I decided I wanted to keep some of the traditional texture of mandelbread and the flavor, but I wanted to modify it somewhat to make it unique and different.

4. Where are you located?

The barz are baked in Studio City and sales are through the website and email order.

5. What was the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge was probably getting enough nerve to do it and not to question it and worry about every detail.  A million things can go wrong and many things can go right and if you don’t try, you will never know. I did not want to be one of those people who late in life questioned what they did, if they should have done something different, or why they didn’t follow their passion.  I am continually faced with challenges and am learning new things every day. Currently, my biggest challenge may be marketing and determining the best way to spread the word about these unique treats.

6. Are you glad you did it and what advice would you give to others?

Yes, I am glad I did it.  It was scary (and still is at times) but until I tried it, I would never know the potential of Subarz.  While I truly enjoyed the practice of law, I was ready to try something new.  As for advice for others, you should never stay in a field that doesn’t interest and excite you. If there is something that you are passionate about and want to try, you should.  If it doesn’t succeed, or isn’t what you had hoped, you can always return to the practice of law.

7. What is your website and contact information?

My website, www.subarzsweets.com is constantly being updated as new flavors are added monthly.  All orders can be placed through the website or by sending an email to orders@subarzsweets.com.  If you have specific questions or need more information about any of the products, I can be contacted directly at daphne@subarzsweets.com.  Lastly, our telephone number is (323) 905-BARZ (2279).

New Featured Speaker Kelly Kolb

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06 Mar

Kelly Kolb, a Shareholder at Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney P.C., is our latest Featured Speaker!

Kelly has defended employers against employment claims for over 20 years in state court, federal court and before administrative bodies and arbitration panels in Florida and Texas. Kelly uses his vast experiences to advise management on best practices and claims avoidance and to oversee internal investigations. He also works with clients in the construction, education, marine, healthcare, transportation, aerospace and electronics industries as well as public sector clients.

It comes as little surprise that we have asked Kelly to speak at upcoming Mastering the Deposition seminar coming up in Ft. Lauderdale on March 10th. This program has received top reviews in the past like:

“I know a lot more practical information about depositions than when I woke up this morning.”– Nicholas A. Marzuk, Esq.

“I am preparing for my first depo and felt that [the seminar] gave a good overview.”– Amanda Allen, Esq.

“This was a great way to get insight on taking good depos.”- Cecilia Barber, Esq.

Very nice program and great speakers.” – Michael Shue, Esq.

We are confident that Kelly will add a great deal of insight to this program. He spoke at our more advanced program last December: “Hone your Litigation Skills: Successfully Gathering and Using Your Evidence” and received terrific reviews.

Kelly has been incredible to work with and has been instrumental to the planning process. We are looking forward to the upcoming program and to working with Kelly more in the future!

Commission Confirms Three Calif. State Appeals Judges

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01 Mar

Three California State Appellate judges were appointed to the bench by Gov. Jerry Brown and confirmed  February 9th.  San Diego Superior Court Judge Willilam Dato and Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields were approved to and are now on the Fourth District Court of Appeals.  Judge Kathleen Meehan of Fresno County Superior Court was appointed to the Fifth District Court of Appeals.  Read more here from The Recorder.

Automatic EAD Extensions under the January 17th Regulations

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The following is a guest post from frequent Pincus Professional Education speaker Carl Shusterman.  Carl has spoken at many of our California immigration programs including Asylum Law, Immigration 101 and our upcoming Visas 101.  He has over forty years of immigration experience and served as an attorney for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) until 1982 when he entered private practice.  You can read the original post here.

By Carl Shusterman:

In the December 2016 issue of our newsletter, we summarized the new 366-page DHS regulation regarding employment-based immigration which will become effective on January 17, 2017.

In this article, we focus on the portion of the regulation which allows certain persons to obtain temporary automatic extensions of their Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).

Under the new regulations, the USCIS will no longer be required to adjudicate requests for EADs within 90 days.  However, persons with existing EADs will be able to apply for extensions of their work permits 180 days (up from 120 days) before they expire.
The regulation designates the following 15 categories where people will be eligible for automatic 180-day extensions of their EADs as long as they submit timely requests to extend their EADs:

  1. Aliens admitted as refugees;
  2. Aliens granted asylum;
  3. Aliens admitted as parents or dependent children of aliens granted permanent residence under section 101(a)(27)(I) of the INA;
  4. Aliens admitted as citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, or Palau;
  5. Aliens granted withholding of deportation or removal;
  6. Aliens granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS);
  7. Aliens who have properly filed applications for TPS and who have been deemed prima facie eligible for TPS and have received an EAD as “temporary treatment benefit”;
  8. Aliens who have properly filed applications for asylum or withholding of deportation or removal;
  9. Aliens who have filed applications for adjustment of status under section 245(a) of the INA;
  10. Aliens who have filed applications for suspension of deportation under Section 244 of the INA, cancellation of removal under section 240A of the INA, or special rule cancellation of removal under section 309(f)(1) IIRAIRA;
  11. Aliens who have filed applications for creation of a record of lawful admission for permanent residence;
  12. Aliens who have properly filed legalization applications pursuant to section 210 of the INA;
  13. Aliens who have properly filed legalization applications pursuant to section 245A of the INA;
  14. Aliens who have filed applications for adjustment of status pursuant to section 1104 of the LIFE Act; and
  15. Aliens who are the principal beneficiaries or qualified children of approved VAWA self-petitioners.

The rule does nothing to assist first-time applicants for EADs, nor does it permit automatic extensions of Advance Parole.

Many persons, such as spouses of nonimmigrants (L-2s, H-4s, etc.) are ineligible for automatic extensions of their EADs.

The automatic EAD extension portion of the regulation is more complicated than this summary of the rule would indicate.  Small employers without the resources to regularly check the USCIS website or consult with immigration lawyers may find it burdensome to comply with the I-9 requirements that this rule will entail.

It is recommended that persons with EADs should submit applications for extensions of their EADs and Advance Paroles 180 days before the expiration date to protect their ability to work and travel without interruption.  Doing so will also aid their employers.