Presentations and Appointments

Presentations

Gena M. Stinnett presented on "Complying with Brown Act Requirements," and "Responding to Public Records Requests" at the City Clerks Association of California Northern Division "Nuts & Bolts" Workshop on March 2, 2012. Ms. Stinnett's presentations covered the importance of transperancy in local government decision-making and discussed basic open government procedures that City Clerks must know to perform their role in city government.

Gena M. Stinnett and Robert (Bob) C. Ceccon presented “Preparation and Control of Disasters from Beginning to End,” at the Orange County City Attorney’s Association in Fountain Valley on July 21, 2011. The presentation focused on the city attorney’s key role in preparing for and responding to disasters. Although we usually think of “preparation, response and clean-up” as roles for police, fire and public works, the City Attorney must be ready to advise at each of those stages. Gena covered the basics of emergency services law including liability protection, government continuity during a disaster, and advance actions cities should take to be eligible for state and federal funds. Bob described his handling of the trial and appeal arising out of the 2005 La Conchita landslide disaster that resulted in 10 deaths and dozens of claims. Bob’s presentation focused on how a governmental entity can create a record that will allow it to prevail on a design immunity defense.

Trisha Ortiz presented "Legislative Fixes for Congressional Action,” at the PACE Solutions: Bringing AB 811 Home Conference on March 3, 2011.

Diana K. Chuang presented “PACE Residential: FHFA and the Lawsuits,” at the PACE Solutions: Bringing AB 811 Home Conference on March 3, 2011.

Paula G. Baeza and Kirsten R. Bowman presented "Practical Applications in Eminent Domain" at the November 18, 2010 lunch meeting of the Orange County City Attorneys Association.

Diana K. Chuang presented AB 811 Contractual Assessments,” to the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission: Public Financing for Solar Energy on October 9, 2009.

Greg Stepanicich presented "City Attorney Ethics - the Client, Confidentiality and Misconduct" at the Bay Area City Attorneys Luncheon in Palo Alto in October 2010. Greg also presented "Joint Powers Agreements - Observations, Lessons and Tips" at the Annual International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Conference in October 2010.

Gena Stinnett presented “Legal Aspects of Public Records Requests” at the International Code Council/Los Angeles Basin Chapter Training Matrix in Norwalk on September 28, 2010.  The presentation addressed which records qualify as “public records,” explored the various exemptions that permit a public entity to withhold public records from disclosure, discussed time constraints and other procedural requirements imposed by the Public Records Act in responding to records requests, and delved into record request issues frequently encountered by building officials and planners.

Norman Dupont spoke at a panel discussion of the annual Proposition 65 Conference on September 20, 2010 in San Francisco, California.  The panel, entitled: “Federal Preemption—Food for Thought” discussed federal preemption as a defense to Proposition 65 cases to a group of lawyers and consultants in the field of Proposition 65 litigation.  View the PowerPoint presentation on Federal Preemption.

Gena M. Stinnett and Robert (Bob) C. Ceccon participated in a panel discussion titled: “Disasters - Beginning to End,” at the City Attorneys Association of Los Angeles Annual Spring Conference in Santa Barbara on March 13, 2010. The presentation focused on the city attorney’s role in preparing for and responding to disasters. Gena’s topics included the basics of emergency services law; how to comply with state law when drafting local emergency services ordinances; steps a city attorney can take to protect a city from liability; how to ensure government continuity during a disaster and advance actions cities should take to be eligible for state and federal funds. Bob described his handling of the trial and appeal arising out of the 2005 La Conchita landslide disaster that resulted in 10 deaths and dozens of claims. Bob’s presentation focused on how a governmental entity can create a record that will allow it to prevail on a design immunity defense.

Gena M. Stinnett presented “All Things Electronic - Advising Public Officials on Email Best Practices and Electronic Records” at the Orange County City Attorneys Association meeting in Fountain Valley, California on January 21, 2010. The presentation focused on the reasons behind increased concern that public officials may be compelled to disclose emails sent or received by them in conducting the public’s business. Issues relating to the Public Records Act, as well as litigation discovery and electronic records retention, were covered in the presentation. Gena also discussed “best email practices” designed to address some of the disclosure concerns, as well as issues raised by the Brown Act and due process considerations.

Gena M. Stinnett presented “E-mailing: Best Practices for Elected Officials” at the California Contract Cities Association’s 29th Annual Fall Conference in Carlsbad, California on September 26, 2009. The presentation focused on the reasons behind increased concern that elected officials may be compelled to disclose emails sent or received relating to the public’s business. Issues relating to the Public Records Act, as well as litigation discovery, were covered in the presentation. Gena also discussed “best email practices” designed to address some of the disclosure concerns, as well as issues raised by the Brown Act and due process.

Trisha Ortiz participated in a panel discussion at the Palm Desert Assembly Bill (AB) 811 Conference. This one day, intensive conference compared and contrasted emerging program models for providing municipal financing for renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements to private property. Local governments, financial institutions, and public/private sector representatives from throughout California joined together on June 12, 2009 to hear about the opportunities and key considerations associated with AB 811 Financing. Trisha worked with the City of Palm Desert to draft AB 811, which became law as an urgency measure in July 2008.

Kevin G. Ennis presented a paper entitled “Significant California Land Use Legislation in Calendar Year 2008” to the Planning Directors Association of Orange County at their meeting in Costa Mesa on February 9, 2009. Kevin also conducted a seminar for UCLA Extension’s Public Policy Program for Planning Commissioner training on conflicts of interest and ethics laws in Los Angeles on February 9, 2009. He also served as a co-instructor of an Advanced Seminar on the Subdivision Map Act in Los Angeles on June 12, 2009.

Gena M. Stinnett co-presented "Best Practices for Use of Email" with Carl Baker, Jr., Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Desert Hot Springs and Steven B. Quintanilla, City Attorney for the City of Rancho Mirage, at the League of California Cities Mayor and Council Member Executive Forum in San Diego, California on May 28, 2009. The presentation examined the risks attendant to an increase in use of email by public officials and offered "best practices" for minimizing those risks. The presentation also included a discussion of Brown Act, Public Records Act, litigation discovery, and due process issues as they relate to use of email.

Sayre Weaver served on a panel of faculty speakers at the American Bar Association (ABA) presentation entitled “Gun Regulation and Litigation after Heller,” sponsored by the ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyer’s Division and the ABA Committee on Gun Violence, on May 19, 2009.

Roy A. Clarke presented “Performance Appraisals: Using Them Effectively and Legally in Your Agency” at the annual training seminar of the Southern California Public Management Association - Human Resources on April 16, 2009. Roy also presented management training to Fire Department Command Officers on the “Supervisor’s Guide to the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act.” He conducted training on Fair Labor Standards Act compliance for local agency supervisors. He also continues to make presentations on “Sexual Harassment Prevention Training for Supervisors” to meet the biennial training requirements of AB 1825.

Gena M. Stinnett presented "Electronic Records" at the Orange County City Clerks meeting on April 13, 2009. The presentation focused on retention policies for electronic records along with best practices designed to help cities prepare for production of electronically stored information during litigation.

David Snow and Norman Dupont spoke at the American Planning Association - California Chapter Conference on September 21, 2008 in Hollywood, California. Their program 'The Perfect Storm: Global Warming, Legislation, Court Cases and CEQA all Hit Planners, ' educated planners on recent global warming legislation and litigation that their agencies may be required to consider in the preparation of CEQA documents. David and Norm were joined on the panel by Sally Mangani from the Office of the California Attorney General, and Jonathan Evans from the Center for Biological Diversity. The presentation materials are available here.

Roy A. Clarke was the featured speaker on "Internal Workplace Investigations in California" presented by the California Employer Advisor. Roy was also a presenter for the California Employment Advisor's seminar, "Sexual Harassment: How the New Regulations Implementing AB 1825 Affect Your Mandatory Training Obligations; Be Sure You're Still in Compliance."

Melissa Crosthwaite, Trisha Ortiz, Gena M. Stinnett and Sayre Weaver presented a seminar for the Southern California City Clerks Association meeting in Upland, California. The seminar addressed current issues facing City Clerks, and the City Clerks Association officers selected those topics that they found to be most relevant to the matters their members confront on a daily basis. Topics included, "Brown Act Basics and Meeting Management," "Formation of Community Facilities Districts," "Public Records Act Update," and "Discovery Challenges: Electronically Stored Information and New Federal Rules." A copy of the papers are available by request to sguebely@rwglaw.com.

Norman A. Dupont participated in a panel discussion titled "Climate Change, Global Warming and Land Use Issues," for the Orange County Building Industry Association.

T. Peter Pierce participated in a panel discussion titled, "The Seven Deadly Sins in a Case Headed for Appeal," at the California State Bar's Annual Meeting. Peter joined the Honorable Paul Turner, Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second
Appellate District, Division Five, and fellow Appellate Specialist Laurie Hepler.

Greg Stepanicich co-presented "Disabled Access Construction Requirements for Public and Private Buildings" with Chris Raker, Mayor of Mill Valley, at the League of California Cities Mayor and Council Member Executive Forum in Monterey, California. Greg also presented "The Role of the City Attorney" to the Duties of Elected Officials Subcommittee of the San Diego Charter Review Committee. In addition, Greg presented "The Role of Local Government in Addressing Climate Change" at the Paul and Diane Garrett Public Policy Series - University of California, Riverside.

Larry S. Wiener served as an instructor at the "Introduction and Updates to the Subdivision Map Act," UCLA Extension Public Policy Program on November 5, 2007. Larry also presented "How To ffectively Read an Environmental Impact Report" for the Planning Commissoner Training Program sponsored by Caltrans and UCLA. A copy of the paper is available by request to lwiener@rwglaw.com.

Mitchell E. Abbott, Janet E. Coleson, Roxanne M. Diaz, G. Inder Khalsa, Steven L. Dorsey, Craig A. Steele and Greg Stepanicich conducted seminars throughout California on "AB 1234 Ethics raining and Update on Local Government Law" A copy of the materials is available by request to sguebely@rwglaw.com.

Mitchell E. Abbott, Steven L. Dorsey, Kevin G. Ennis, G. Inder Khalsa, Craig Steele and Gena M. Stinnett presented "Local Government Fundamentals and Ethics Training" for the UCLA-Extension Public Policy Program. A copy of the materials is available by request to sguebely@rwglaw.com.

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Appointments

Norman A. Dupont was appointed as a member of the planning committee for the ABA Environmental & Energy Resources Section’s Fall meeting for 2011.

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Sayre Weaverwas appointed to the Board of Directors of Women Against Gun Violence in November 2010.

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Jim Karpiak was appointed the General Counsel of the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District on February 1, 2010.

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Greg Stepanicich was appointed to the Board of Directors of the California City Management Foundation. In January 2010, Greg also became General Counsel for the California Statewide Communities Development Authority.

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Congratulations to Patrick "Kit" Bobko on his re-election to the Hermosa Beach City Council.

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Patrick “Kit” Bobko was sworn-in for a term as Mayor of the City of Hermosa Beach on January 27, 2009. Kit has served on the Hermosa Beach City Council since June 2006.

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Jim Karpiak became General Counsel of the Marin Emergency Radio Authority, replacing Greg Stepanicich.

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Greg Stepanicich was appointed General Counsel for the Marin Energy Authority in February 2009.

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Peter M. Thorson was appointed to the California League of Cities’ Municipal Law Handbook Committee for the 2009 to 2011 term. He will serve as the editor for the Land Use section of the Municipal Law Handbook.

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Greg Stepanicich was appointed as General Counsel for the Marinwood Community Services District in Marin County. Greg was also elected Chair of the Legal Advocacy Committee of the City Attorneys Department of the League of California Cities.

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Congratulations to Greg Stepanicich on his appointment as Chair of the Legal Advocacy Committee of the City Attorneys Department of the League of California Cities.

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Congratulations to Sayre Weaver on her appointment to the American Bar Association's Special Committee on Gun Violence, on her election as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and her Courageous Leadership Award by the Women Against Gun Violence.

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Congratulations to Mitchell E. Abbott on his election to the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Conservancy.

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Congratulations to Lisa Bond on her election as Secretary of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Environmental Law Section.

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Congratulations to Patrick "Kit" Bobko on his election to the Hermosa Beach City Council.

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