7 Hour Special Credit Bundle

A journalist pieces together the mysteries surrounding her ex-husband’s descent into drug addiction while trying to rebuild a life for her family, taking readers on an intimate journey into the world of white-collar drug abuse.

“A rare combination of journalistic rigor, personal courage, and writerly grace.”—Bill Clegg, author of Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man.

Something was wrong with Peter. Eilene Zimmerman noticed that her ex-husband looked thin, seemed distracted, and was frequently absent from activities with their children. She thought he looked sick and needed to see a doctor, and indeed, he told her he had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. Yet in many ways, Peter seemed to have it all: a beautiful house by the beach, expensive cars, and other luxuries that came with an affluent life. Eilene assumed his odd behavior was due to stress and overwork—he was a senior partner at a prominent law firm and had been working more than sixty hours a week for the last twenty years.

Although they were divorced, Eilene and Peter had been partners and friends for decades, so when she and her children were unable to reach Peter for several days, Eilene went to his house to see if he was OK.

So begins Smacked, a brilliant and moving memoir of Eilene’s shocking discovery, one that sets her on a journey to find out how a man she knew for nearly thirty years became a drug addict, hiding it so well that neither she nor anyone else in his life suspected what was happening. Eilene discovers that Peter led a secret life, one that started with pills and ended with opioids, cocaine, and methamphetamine. He was also addicted to work; the last call Peter ever made was to dial in to a conference call.

Eilene is determined to learn all she can about Peter’s hidden life, and also about drug addiction among ambitious, high-achieving professionals like him. Through extensive research and interviews, she presents a picture of drug dependence today in that moneyed, upwardly mobile world. She also embarks on a journey to re-create her life in the wake of loss, both of the person—and the relationship—that profoundly defined the woman she had become.

There are important steps to take when you decide to end a client relationship, with important ethical responsibilities including the duty of confidentially. This program will explore the basis for permissive and mandatory withdrawal from representation, along with the procedural requirements for withdrawal. Our expert panel will also cover requirements for turning over the client file and for refunding legal fees at the conclusion of the representation and attorney discipline in connection with improper withdrawal.

Most people have some type of bias which often surfaces in the workplace. Such bias can take many forms but the result is almost always the same: parts of the workforce are unfairly excluded from experiences and opportunities for which they are qualified. Join our experienced panel presenters who will be discussing how to recognize and address:

Discrimination faced by those with family responsibilities;
Gender discrimination as it relates to equal pay; and
Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

Handouts for this program can be downloaded by clicking on the "Other Resources" tab in the video player.

Transgender rights are currently at the center of a global discussion of human rights. Ben Aguilar, Kim Aherns, and Denise Visconti, former Co-Presidents of the Tom Homann LGBT Law Association, will discuss transgender rights laws with the greatest impact on the workplace and the community and effective communication strategies for inclusivity.

Join us for the third program in the 4-part Legal Ethics Series for a discussion on the Client Trust Account Protection Program (CTAPP). The new CTAPP is creating additional burdens on lawyers who maintain client trust accounts in California. This program explains the new CTAPP requirements, requirements of California Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15, State Bar Rule 2.5, and other important issues regarding trust accounting. It also provides a refresher on basic ethical rules regarding client trust accounts and an explanation of the weighty consequences of client trust account misconduct.

Join us for the second program in the 4-part Legal Ethics Series for a discussion on the ethical dilemma when a witness lies at deposition. Key take-aways include:

• What are a lawyer’s ethics obligations when an expert witness lies at a deposition, and the client forbids the lawyer from disclosing the lie? 
• How does a lawyer resolve the seeming conflict between Rules of Professional Conduct, rule 3.3(a)(3) and rule 1.6 and Business and Professional Docs section 6068, subdivision (e) (Confidentiality)?

Handouts for this program can be downloaded by clicking on the "Other Resources" tab in the video player.

This program will cover a brief overview of what the cloud really is and an in-depth discussion about how to use the cloud ethically. The cloud is a very safe place to work, most of the time even safer than anything any solo or small firm could do on their own. Learn to ask the right questions when you are looking for a cloud provider in order to ensure you are complying with ethics requirements.

Topics to be covered:

- Cloud computing basics
- The benefits of cloud computing
- Ethical considerations concerning the cloud
- Best practices for moving to the cloud