December 2011 - Riverside Lawyer Magazine - Riverside County ...

these issues relate to CEQA, CERCLA or cultural resources,the sections strive to provide a place where environmentalissues that are of local as well as state and nationalinterest can be discussed. Guest speakers are often usedto present a talk on areas of interest to all environmentalattorneys, and we are always open to suggestions on howthe section can grow and be more responsive to the needsof practicing environmental attorneys in the local area.As chair, I am always looking for new speakers and topicsand look forward to suggestions in that regard. We meeton the last Wednesday of the month, during the lunchhour, alternating between Riverside and San BernardinoCounty.Garry Brown can be reached at (909)890-4499 or garry.brown@greshamsavage.comEstate Planning Probate and Elder LawSectionThe Estate Planning Probate and Elder Law Sectionis co-chaired by Pamela Valencia (of Dennis M. Sandoval,a PLC) and Laila Kepler (sole practitioner). The sectionprovides speakers on the third Wednesday of each month,except December. Our December meeting has traditionallybeen an update on estate planning laws hosted by BestBest & Krieger at their Riverside office. That date is stillto be determined. We are looking for speakers on estateplanning issues, both transactional and litigation-related,as well as elder law issues. Our October speakers, a panelfrom the district attorney’s office, discussed criminal elderabuse, and our November speakers discussed registereddomestic partner estate planning. Generally, the meetingsare brown-bag, but the RCBA staff provides coffeeand bottled water. When we remember, we bring cookiesas incentive for the members who are dithering betweencoming for the shared expertise and remaining burrowedin their offices.For more information about the section, you may contactLaila Kepler at (951) 265-9716 and Pamela Valencia at(951) 787-7711.Human Rights SectionThe RCBA Human Rights Section focuses on issuespertaining to human rights in our modern society. Thegoal of the Human Rights Section is to educate lawyersand others about such matters as human trafficking, childslavery, civil rights, political incarceration and related topicsand to provide an opportunity for attorneys to becomeinvolved.On November 10, 2011, the Human Rights Section,in cooperation with the Institute for Children’s Aid, helda conference in Temecula to address issues pertaining tochild rights. If you have an interest in becoming involved,please contact DW Duke at dwduke@spile-siegal.com.Immigration SectionThe Immigration Section is chaired by Kelly O’Reilly,formerly an immigration officer and now a partner in theboutique immigration firm of Wilner & O’Reilly. As a resultof Mr. O’Reilly’s former employment with the INS, thesection is able to book current administrative supervisorsand front-line officers to address real-world problems andto give best-practice advice to immigration attorneys andattorneys who have come across immigration issues. Thegoal of the section is to supply practical information andto develop agency contacts so that the practitioner willnot only know how to solve a client’s problem, but havethe contacts to make it happen quickly. The section meetsbimonthly on the third Thursday at noon in the GabbertGallery of the Riverside County Bar Association. For moreinformation about the section, please contact Kelly O’Reillyat (562) 207-6789.Landlord/Tenant SectionThe Landlord/Tenant Section of the RCBA meets eighttimes a year as a joint section with the San BernardinoCounty Bar Association. We meet on the second Tuesday ofthe month, January through May and September throughNovember. About 25 members attend each meeting, withan equal amount from the tenant side and the landlordside.We alternate between the Cask ‘n’ Cleaver in Riversideand Napoli’s in Loma Linda. We have had various federaljudges, state court judges and commissioners speak duringthe year. There are various topics that cross over into landlord-tenantissues, and we are always having new expertscoming to the meetings to speak. We would love to haveyou attend meetings. Contact Barry O’Connor (951-689-9644 or UDlaw2@aol.com) or Bill Garrett (909-889-0631or billgarrett@dslextreme.com) and we will add you to ouremail list.Solo/Small Firm SectionThe Solo Practitioner/Small Firm Section is chaired byConnie Younger and co-chaired by Jean-Simon Serrano.We are hoping to re-energize this committee this yearwith exciting new topics and speakers that cater to theunique needs and interests of the solo practitioner andthose in small firms. Future meetings will include topicssuch as “Available Software for Solos” and “Teaming upwith Other Solos to Handle Larger Cases.”Jean-Simon Serrano of Heiting & Irwin joins the sectionas co-chair this year and welcomes all suggestions andideas. Contact him at (951) 682-6400 or via email at jserrano@heitingandirwin.com.We look forward to seeing you at our meetings.Riverside Lawyer, December 2011 9