Staying True to Your Roots 2024 -- Register Now to get Early Bird Rates!

The San Francisco National Lawyers Guild’s 10th annual Staying True to Your Roots program is approaching and we'd love to have you in attendance! The day of CLE's will be held remotely on Friday, January 26, 2024.

Sign up now to take advantage of our early bird rates and save 20 percent!

Early Bird Rates:

NLG and co-sponsoring organization members: $200/day or $50/hour

Non-members: $325/day or $60/hour

We have these great panels lined up:

9:00 - 9:55 am | Mindfulness and Meditation Training
1 hour of competence credit·Michele Lomax. Whether you are new to meditation or a seasoned practitioner, this session will provide a brief background into mindfulness and meditation, and offer tools and exercises to help you face the challenges inherent in a stressful and adversarial law practice with more ease. 

10:00 - 11:55 am | Police Misconduct Litigation
2 hours of general credit. This panel will cover the following: 

1. Introduction. The importance and benefits of police misconduct litigation. (15 mins) John Burris 

2. What kinds of state action can be addressed under federal law (42 USC 1983) and analogous state law? (15 mins) EmilyRose Johns 

3. Choosing cases - issues and plaintiffs. (15 minutes) Jim Chanin and Walter Riley 

4. Qualified immunity, summary judgment, and other hurdles. (30 minutes) Christian Contreras 

5.  Discovery strategies and pitfalls. (15 minutes) Adante Pointer 

6. Settlement considerations (20 minutes) Judge Laurel Beeler, questioned by Dan Siegel 

7. Civilian oversight of police departments. (15 minutes) Barbara Attard and Kathy Lee. 

Moderated by Martin Fassler.

12:00 - 12:30 pm | Lunch

12:30 - 1:25 pm | Navigating Addiction Issues for Progressive Lawyers
1 hour of competence credit.  David Mann will share how addiction affected his journey from Stanford Law graduate to Deputy Public Defender to the present, and  help attendees recognize signs of addiction. David will also address how practitioners can best assist clients struggling with substance abuse issues with compassion and boundaries.

Moderated by Tanya Tambling

1:30 - 2:55 pm | Many Paths, One Class Struggle: Labor Lawyer Perspectives    
1 hour of general credit - An inspiring panel of lawyers engaged in diverse areas of the labor movement will discuss their work. They will recount how they support unions through organizing campaigns at Amazon and Trader Joe’s, for political power, and by enforcing contracts and benefit plans. Hear about NLG’s work to support organizing through its new project, the Independent Organizing Network (ION).

Confirmed panelists: Julia Lum, Abel Rodriguez, Fran C. Schreiberg, Retu Singla, Joshua Wilner

Moderated by Sonya Z. Mehta

3:00- 3:30 pm | Critical Race Theory: A powerful tool under attack.
.5 hour of elimination of bias credit. Professor Mariama Gray will review the history of CRT, the current political attacks on CRT and Racial Justice in the context of BLM and progressive movements, and discuss how CRT ideas can be used in litigation and advocacy.

Moderated by Michael Flynn

3:35 - 4:30 pm | It Takes a Village: Leveraging Family and Community Relationships to Ensure Ethical and Effective Representation
1 hour of ethics credit. Panelists will discuss now they navigate ethical issues that emerge while leveraging family/community assistance in support of a client’s litigation. Examples include representing plaintiffs with cognitive or physical disabilities who need their families to assist with attorney-client communication, or representing plaintiffs whose advanced age may require their family to help with transmission of documents or relaying of facts.

Confirmed speakers: Rebecca Williford, Disability Rights Advocates, President & CEO; Claudia Center, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, Legal Director; Monica Castillo, Legal Assistance to the Elderly, Supervising Attorney

Moderated by Drea Núñez

5:00 pm | NLG Happy Hour at Cafe Van Kleef 1621 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland

REGISTER HERE (you can also RSVP directly to: camilo@nlgsf.org)