A to Z is a proud sponsor of the 14th Annual Wine Tasting/Silent Auction sponsored by the Ventura County Paralegal Association, Inc. (VCPA) This year’s event will be held at the elegant Four Points Sheraton in Ventura on Thursday, May 6th, 2010 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Along with wine tasting and hors d’oeuvres, each ticket purchased includes a commemorative wine glass and entry in the grand prize drawing. The silent auction features many unique items and valuable services from local vendors.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit VCPA’s Scholarship Program, and the Volunteer Lawyers Services Program, Inc. (VLSP), which provides legal services to the poor and under-served in Ventura County. VCPA, Inc. has been a valued donor to VLSP, and over the last 5 years has donated more than $3,000 in proceeds from this annual event.

Maria Godinez, a Certified Paralegal in the Probate and Estate Planning Department at A to Z, has been a member of VCPA for 8 years, and a member of its steering committee for 6 years. She currently serves as editor of the newsletter.

For more information and how to obtain tickets for this event, visit www.vcparalegal.org or contact Vivian Christiansen at vcpa.winetasting@gmail.com. We hope to see you there!

“Well, what does the bar really do, anyway?” As the 2010 President of the Ventura County Bar Association, this is a question I frequently get asked, and I know that many of my predecessors did, as well. Early on a recent Saturday morning, that question was answered loudly, as I had the privilege of leading 41 men and women in the 20th Annual Ventura County Bar Association Bar Leaders Conference.

VCBA has 35 distinct sections, committees and affiliates, and the work that is done there is the lifeblood of the bar. In addition to the various committees devoted to continuing education in substantive practice areas, the bar has other sections focused on providing support, mentoring and networking for their members, such as the Women Lawyers Association, the Mexican-American Bar Association, and the East County Bar Association. VCBA is fortunate to have activities and people wholly devoted to fundraising, including those that organize the annual Law Day 5K, and our Annual Dinner.

As President of the bar, I’m always gratified to see involvement by our younger and newer attorneys, and the Barristers – open to those attorneys 36 years of age or under, or who have been in practice seven years or less — is one of the busiest sections of our bar. Barristers provides opportunities for networking, mentoring and community involvement, and they always have a lot of fun doing it.

I take particular pride in how much our members give back to the community. At the conference, I learned that several of our sections, including the Mexican-American Bar Association and the Ventura County Asian-American Bar Association, award annual scholarships to law students, or those interested in the legal profession. But no better example of community service exists than in the work done by our highly regarded and honored Volunteer Lawyers Services Program, or VLSP, Inc.

Over a span of almost 15 years, hundreds of lawyers have provided pro-bono legal services to the low income and underserved population in the county. The backbone of the program is the panel of emeritus attorneys, which in 2002 was awarded the California State Bar President’s Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award. The award was presented to our panel in recognition of their commitment to provide or enable the direct provision of legal services to the poor in our county. As the needs of the community grow, so does the work of VLSP, and their service is immeasurable.

This conference was a reminder to me that I am a member of a truly vibrant and dedicated organization, and in which I’m proud to serve.

Kendall A. VanConas, a Partner at A-Z and head of the  firm’s Probate & Estate Planning Department, has been awarded a rating of ‘AV’ by Martindale-Hubbell, the distinguished resource for attorney peer review information worldwide.  This rating indicates that Ms. VanConas has met standards that denote her as Preeminent in her field.  The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating is based on the anonymous opinions of lawyers and judges familiar with the work and reputation of the attorney they are asked to review.

In order to achieve a peer review rating of ‘AV,’ an attorney must first meet a rating of “Very High” general ethical standards.  A “Very High” rating means the attorney has adhered to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities.

In addition to the ethical standards, an ‘AV’ attorney has been found to have the highest professional ability in a specific area of practice.  The legal ability rating is based on performance in key areas, including legal knowledge, judgment, analytical capabilities, and communication ability.

Ms. VanConas joined the firm in 2003 and became a Partner in 2007.  She is certified as a specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the California State Bar, Board of Legal Specialization, and holds the degree of Master in Science, Taxation from Golden Gate University.  Ms. VanConas practices in the areas of estate planning, conservatorship law, probate and trust administration, elder law & special needs planning.  She is the 2010 President of the Ventura County Bar Association.

The ongoing budget crisis in California – projected to grow to more than $28 billion by the end of 2009 – has affected virtually every aspect of doing business in the state, and the Ventura County Courts have not escaped the budget axe.

Over the last several months, California courts have instituted historical reforms to address the economic challenges. This summer, the clerk’s office at the Ventura County Superior Court began to close at 4:00 p.m. everyday. The only services available after 4:00 p.m. are now jury services and collections. On top of that, just a few weeks ago, the state took the drastic step of simply closing for an entire day, once a month. Now, every court in the state is closed on the third Wednesday of every month. The closures are scheduled to last until the end of the state’s fiscal year, or in June 2010.

The Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court acknowledged that the furlough days are unprecedented, but deemed necessary as the only “rational option available” to reduce the budget. In addition to the closures, the state has also increased court filing fees across the board as a way of raising revenue.

The closures – although they sound fairly benign – have a real affect on our law practice on a day-to-day basis. There was initial confusion about what affect the furlough day would have on filing deadlines, and these deadlines are now more carefully scrutinized. In the conservatorship area in particular, a court closure day results in delay in gaining protection for a senior who has been the victim of financial or physical abuse, or the filing of a petition to secure public benefits for a disabled person or child who needs public assistance. The same holds true for victims of domestic violence seeking restraining orders, and a wide variety of other persons simply looking to the courts to carry out their most fundamental role – to seek justice.

At A-Z, our attorneys and staff stay informed about all the most recent developments in the court system. If any of these developments affect the handling of a client’s matter, the client can be assured that it will be handled in the most timely fashion. If you want more information about the furlough days, please let one of our attorneys or staff know, and we will be happy to discuss it with you.