Upcoming Events
The following events may be of interest to panel attorneys and generally provide MCLE credit.
Opportunities for Appellate Practitioners
CAPLA Executive Director Position Open
The Executive Director’s main responsibility is to provide leadership and direction for the attorneys and support staff employed by CAP/LA, particularly in the requisite high quality of legal practice, in the tone and manner of dealing with panel attorneys, and in the way that all office personnel work together. This leadership must also be directed to the attorneys in private practice who take appointments from the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District. The ED must be able to function comfortably and effectively working with supreme and intermediate appellate court justices, with the clerks of the court, with Judicial Counsel personnel, and with colleagues on state-wide Judicial Council committees and task forces. The Assistant Director (AD) should be a resource and partner in handling these many responsibilities.
For more information, see the job posting.
The deadline to apply is March 31, 2025.
2025 Annual Defender Dinner
Friday, April 25th | 5:00 p.m. No Host Cocktails | 6:00 p.m. Dinner
Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter
910 Broadway Circle, 4th floor Ballroom
Featuring Keynote Speaker Danalynn Recer
Awards Presentation includes:
- Conant-Cleary Award presented to Shervin Samimi
- Paul Bell Award presented to Richard Levy
Please join us for our annual dinner to unite the entire San Diego criminal defense community.
RSVP by April 11, 2025: RSVP
CADC's 31st Annual Conference & Seminar 2025
Friday & Saturday, May 16th-17th | In-Person
Location: Liberty Station Conference Center
Registration is now open for CADC’s Annual Conference and Seminar. The two-day conference will be filled with informative and inspiring presentations, including the Project Directors Roundtable, a report from CADC’s lobbyist and criminal and dependency break-out sessions, providing a total of up to 8.5 hours of MCLE credit.
For more information and to register, please visit CADC’s website: https://cadc.net/product/conference/.
Upcoming Trainings by the Appellate Projects
CDCR Insights: Classification, Programming, Re-sentencing – A Correctional Counselor’s Perspective
April 9, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Remote
Hosted by: ADI
CDCR Counselor Clarence Hogan will provide information on the programming/jobs available at a prison, the new California Model, how an incarcerated person is classified and assigned to a prison, the process for determining which incarcerated person merits resentencing letters, and prison mail regulations, tablet usage, and visiting.
1.0 hours of general MCLE credit and appellate and criminal specialization will be offered.
The Ethics of Client Communications
April 23, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Remote
Hosted by: ADI
ADI staff attorneys Charles Anderson and Laura Furness will moderate a virtual discussion of strategies and ethical considerations when communicating with challenging clients. The presentation, which includes hypotheticals and polling questions, is relevant to both criminal and dependency appellate practitioners.
1.0 hours of MCLE Ethics credit will be offered.
Persuasive Legal Writing
April 29, 2025 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. | Remote
Hosted by: CAP-LA
Presented by Daniel U. Smith, retired Certified Appellate Specialist and member of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers. In “Persuasive Legal Writing,” Mr. Smith teaches the key writing techniques that judges advocate to make legal writing persuasive. This is a general legal writing seminar on how to achieve clarity with writing that exemplifies brevity, simplicity, continuity and specificity. Attendees will receive a copy of “Persuasive Legal Writing” at no cost.
2.0 hours of MCLE credit will be offered.
MCLE Programs Offered by Other Defense Organizations
The New Age of Sentencing Part 2: Enhancements and Beyond
March 25th from 12:15 – 1:15 p.m. | Remote
Presented by OSPD
Learn the most recent statutory and caselaw updates in the ever-changing landscape of felony sentencing. From dealing with enhancements to preserving the best record for appeal, this lecture will provide you with the necessary tools to best represent your clients at felony sentencing. This is Part 2 of a two-part webinar series on recent changes in felony sentencing.
1.0 hour of MCLE credit in Competence is offered for this training.
On-Demand Courses
New Racial Justice Act Online On-Demand Course
OSPD is excited to open a new on-demand course on the Racial Justice Act. You will learn all the basics,
refresh your knowledge, and stay up to date on RJA developments! These videos and written materials have
been collected from around the state and are meant to help practitioners regardless of their experience in
litigating the RJA.
Participants are able to receive MCLE Self Study and Specialty Credit for their hours working on the course (up to 10-hours).
SVP Course
This course is intended for anyone in Indigent defense looking to learn more about Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) petitions and defending against these civil commitments. Those taking this course from start to finish can expect to spend approximately 9 hours to complete. However, registrants should also feel free to take this course at their own pace. Completion of this course earns 8.25 hours of general MCLE credits.