OFFICERS

President           Ian Duncan

Vice-President    Carol Ludlow

Secretary          Nancy Newlln

Treasurer          Michelle Wehrli

DIRECTORS

Jeri Blatt                      Conference Chair

Debra Hollis                  Professional Standards Chair

Vanessa Watson            Education Chair

Maureen McCready         Membership Chair

Terri O'Conner               Legislation Chair

Patricia Powell               Newsletter Chair

Elizabeth Fleischer          Publications Review Chair

Susan Volpe                  Public Relations Chair

Julie La Blanc                Fund Raising Chair

2014 MEETINGS OF CALDA'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Meetings of CALDA's Board of Directors are tentatively scheduled for the dates below.  Exact locations will be announced.

2014 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

CALDA's 2014 Annual General Meeting will be October 3 & 4, 2014 in the Bay Area at CALDA's Annual Conference. 

In an extended Orange County-to-Los Angeles commute on Nov. 6, CALDA members Michele Wehrli and Susan Volpe attended a fundraising benefit at the law offices of Mike Salle with hopes of meeting and getting acquainted with Roger Dickinson, ABA 888 advocate and candidate for California state senator.

They were able to gain his undivided attention for about 30 minutes.  After introducing themselves and exchanging pleasantries, they captured Mr. Dickinson's interest and turned their attention to the issues and decision related to ABA 888.

Susan asked whether Mr. Dickinson thought it would be brought up for discussion in the legislature again in the coming year.  His response:  There were no immediate plans to resurface the bill, saying "There would be no point since Governor Brown's call was to veto, a decision that surprised the advocates who had seen the bill fly through the process so easily."

Mr. Dickinson discussed the reason for the bill and the harm it was meant to prevent.  "It is the harm that unregistered notorio immigration and foreclosure 'experts' could cause to an unknowing consumer that was the target of the bill, and not members of CALDA or of LDAs."

Susan discussed her understanding of an LDA professional's function in legal services then explained that an LDA is an essential bridge for pro-per consumer form-driven procedure to court access.   She added that most courts and judges love LDAs because we help clear dockets more efficiently than a pro-per would ordinarily be able to accomplish on their own.

Michelle told Mr. Dickinson that ABA 888 could potentially hurt LDAs.  She described her own experience of being reported to the state bar by an attorney who also threatened her with police intervention so as to further his own agenda in the case against Michelle's client.  ABA 888 would give an attorney additional financial incentive to cause harm - even if LDAs were not the intended target.

Michelle also graciously expressed CALDA's gratitude to the change in language of the bill which redirected funds derived to victims rather than the state bar.

When Mr. Dickinson asked Susan how long she had been active in CALDA, she explained that she had chosen a new career after years of teaching high school to special needs students.   "So you are not opposed to standards"? he asked, and received a resounding "not at all" answer from both Susan and Michelle.

Bottom line:   Roger Dickinson appeared to be a humble and well-meaning individual who could be a good friend to CALDA and who is expected to win his election.  We must stay within his radar and be a constant reminder of the positive role of consumer legal access and how laws like ABA 888 need to be carefully driven to not hurt those who are essentially here to help the lawmakers' constituents.