News

From the Court: Save the Date for a Celebration of New Beginnings: April 28, 2023

Save the Date for a Celebration of New Beginnings: April 28, 2023 After 17 years on the Santa Cruz County Superior Court bench, Judge Paul Burdick is hanging up his robe. He’ll be passing his gavel to newly-appointed Judge Katherine Hansen. Please join us for Judge Hansen’s Investiture on April 28, 2023, at 4:30 pm at the Santa Cruz County Superior Court, 701 Ocean Street, Department 5, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Immediately following the Investiture, we will celebrate...
Read more...

MCLE Speaker Spotlight: Alison Buchanan

03/14/2023 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. "Ethical Issues with Virtual Remote Work" presented by Alison Buchanan via Zoom. Alison Buchanan is a shareholder with Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel, Inc., in San Jose, California, where she serves as the firm’s General Counsel and chairs the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group. Alison focuses her practice on business litigation, professional liability, and legal ethics. She has tried business litigation, legal malpractice defense, and employment discrimination cases to verdict. Alison is...
Read more...

Bench Bar Meeting: February 1, 2023

Rick Gazipura, SCCBA Director at Large and Bench Bar Liaison, submits his report from the Bench Bar meeting. 2/1/2023 Bench Bar Meeting Notes: Assignments starting March 13, 2022 Judge Guy will be moving to felonies in Dept 3 Judge Vinluan will be moving to Juvenile Court Judge Cogliati in Dept 6 Judge Siegel in Dept 7 Judge Burdick will be in Dept. 10 And Judges Connolly, Sheinbaum, and Vinluan will be in Watsonville Appointments/Retirements Congratulations to Commissioner Hansen, who has just been appointed as a...
Read more...

President’s Message: Aaron Mohamed, January 2023

By Aaron Mohamed Dear Fellow Bar Members: Welcome to the practice of law in Santa Cruz County, in 2023. I am happy to be serving as this year's President of the Bar Association.  This brief message is meant to provide an update as to what the Bar Association will be doing in the coming year. First, if you haven't yet renewed your membership please do so at your earliest.  Simply click below to be directed to our website renewal portal. Our...
Read more...

MCLE Speaker Spotlight: Dana Scruggs

02/28/2023 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. "Calculating Damages in Plaintiff's Personal Injury" presented by Dana Scruggs at El Palomar Restaurant, 1336 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz. This will be our first in-person MCLE luncheon in approximately three years! Dana Scruggs is recognized by associates and opposing attorneys, as well as by the judges who know him best, both for his effective representation and for his high ethical standards.  He is nationally recognized by Martindale-Hubbell as Preeminent among his attorney...
Read more...

Scenes from the Holiday Open House, December 2, 2022

On Friday, December 2nd we held our first open house in our new location on Locust street in downtown Santa Cruz. Members were able to relax and enjoy wine tastings from Inversion Winery paired with delicious charcuterie from The Cheese Shop and very special cookies (donated by Gina Borasi-Occhipinti). Neighbors of the bar office opened up their shops for holiday shopping. It was truly a festive evening with the music and bustle of downtown Santa...
Read more...

President’s Message: Mark Johannessen, December 2022

By Mark Johannessen These last few years have been challenging for the bar association. I started my Presidency entering the second year of the pandemic. Under the leadership of past President Eric Nelson, we made the necessary organizational cuts to allow the association to survive financially, during the time other bar associations in the state closed their doors. This included eliminating a physical office and moving to a virtual office in the home of our former...
Read more...

Bench Bar Meeting: December 7, 2022

Rick Gazipura, SCCBA Director at Large and Bench Bar Liaison, submits his report from the Bench Bar meeting. 12/7/2022, BENCH BAR MEETING Judge Volkmann Thanks to Alex Calvo for his many years of work at the court. Civil jury trials have been happening for the last several months. There is not a backlog; cases are set for trial every week from now until November 2023. Prior to Covid there was a resolution rate of 92%. That rate is now 89%,...
Read more...

MCLE Speaker Spotlight: Leah Wilson

Ms. Wilson was appointed to the position of Executive Director for the State Bar of California in 2017 and reappointed in 2021. In that capacity, she manages a $206 million budget and 550 staff who are responsible for the regulation, licensing, and discipline of California attorneys, as well as for promoting access to legal services and diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. Before joining the State Bar Ms. Wilson served as the Court Executive Officer...
Read more...