October 2020 – Present
Orange, CA
ETHICS COUNSEL – Ethics, Admissions, Legal Malpractice & Professional Responsibility.
Pansky Markle Attorneys at Law
SENIOR COUNSEL – Legal Malpractice and Professional Liability Team.
Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP
PRO BONO ATTORNEY – Civil Litigation and State Bar Matters
Law Office of Jean Cha
DEPUTY TRIAL COUNSEL – Prosecution in all Office of Chief Trial Counsel Aspects
The State Bar of California
August 2004 – June 2017
Los Angeles, CA
EXPERTISE
Ethicist: Ethics Expert Consulting, Legal Malpractice Defense, State Bar Discipline Defense, Admissions and Moral Character Applications, Petitions for Reinstatement, Professional Responsibility Advisor, Continuing Legal Education Curator
Senior Counsel: Focus on Legal Malpractice matters and assigned to the professional liability and professional license defense team in civil litigation, Office of Administrative Hearings, and State Bar Court.
Expert Witness: Analyze and Assess Exposure for Professional Liability considerations, Rules of Professional Conduct and State Bar Act violations, ethics compliance, and risk management for individuals and law firms.
Contract Attorney: Areas of practice include Intellectual Property such as licensing, commercialization, trademark defense, cybersecurity, Employment Law such as FLSA compliance and employment contracts, Business Litigation such as fiduciary duty, Contract Law, and Corporate Law.
Discipline Defense Counsel: Counsel for State Bar lawyer members facing allegations of Business and Professions Code or State Bar Act violations through all stages of discipline defense, intake, investigation, trial, appeal, reinstatement, criminal conviction referrals, moral character and admissions, law practice management, legal ethics advice, consulting, counseling, continuing education, professional liability and legal malpractice defense and prosecution, attorney fee and partnership disputes, business litigation, disqualifications, marketing, advertising and solicitation, and conflicts advice. Counsel to Applicants for Admission and Reinstatement.
State Bar Investigations: Served as Acting Senior Trial Counsel, Team Lead, and Legal Advisor to the Office of Intake and Investigations. Maintained statistics, status reports and supervision of subordinate team members while managing a caseload of over 275 investigative matters and processed over 2600 intake matters annually. Liaised between management and executives. Contributed to and revised Policy Handbooks. Encouraged mentorship relations, provided volunteer opportunities, and organized inter-departmental trainings and CLE. Managed collaborative round tables, worked with executive team members to enhance transparency and designed a professional development program to improve departmental efficiency. Heavy focus on statutory compliance and attorney regulation.
State Bar Disciplinary Prosecution: Litigated at Trial and Review Level regarding California Rules of Professional Conduct and State Bar Act violations with expertise in ethics as it pertains to numerous practice areas in relation to admissions, disciplinary prosecution, moral character, reinstatement and disbarment matters before the State Bar Court Hearing Department and Review Department of the State Bar Court in appellate matters. Greatest focus on pushing the boundaries of developing case law and educating membership regarding best practices and responding to stakeholder and court concerns.
The State Bar of California, (2020-Present), Volunteer of the State Bar Board of Trustees Working Group on Closing the Justice Gap (CTJG Working Group)
The State Bar Court of the State Bar of California, Panel Member Attorney as Court-Appointed Counsel in pro bono State Bar matters (2018-Present)
The State Bar of California Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program Mediator (2022-Present)
Association of Discipline Defense Counsel, President (2022), 1st Vice President (2021); 2nd Vice President (2018-2020) – The Association of Discipline Defense Counsel is the bar association for lawyers who represent lawyers and others in disciplinary, admissions, and regulatory proceedings before the State Bar of California and California Supreme Court.
ADDC, (2020) Liaison for the State Bar Court Bench Bar Committee Pro Bono Clinic Initiative to provide pro bono services to attorneys in need.
ADDC, (2018-Present) Membership Chair and Co-Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee
Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL), Membership Chair (2020-Present); Member (2018-Present).
American Bar Association (ABA), Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belong, Committee, Member (2022-Present)
American Bar Association (ABA), LP Ethics & Professionalism Committee, Member (2021-Present)
American Bar Association (ABA), Pro Bono & Public Service Committee, Member (2021-Present)
Served on Committee to Evaluate Changes to Standards for Attorney Sanctions with the State Bar of California, (2018-2019)
National Organization of Bar Counsel, Member (2005-2017)
Christian Legal Society, Member and Mentor Program, Mentor
Christian Legal Aid Los Angeles, Pro Bono Clinic Volunteer
California Law Academies Volunteer Coordinator (2012-2017), Volunteer (2017-Present). The California Law Academies benefit high school students and builds a diversity pipeline into the law.
Association of Junior Leagues International and Junior League of Orange County Volunteer and Sustaining
Member (2010-Present)
Risk Management for the State Bar practitioner, Association of Discipline Defense Counsel (ADDC), LA, slated for December 2023
MCLE Presenter: Private Event, Private Law Firm, slated for October 2023
Civility Matters, Desert Bar Association, ABOTA, slated for September 2023
Lawyers Behaving Badly, American Bar Association, July 2023
Thoughts on Batson and Harada: Implicit Bias and Jury Selection, California ABOTA, July 2023
Implicit Bias: Cultural Humility, Agism, and Power, Association of Discipline Defense Counsel (ADDC), Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, July 2023
CTAPP: What If The Answer Is “No”? Strategies For Addressing Client Trust Accounting Issues In The New Age of CTAPP, Virtual Solo and Small Firm Summit, California Lawyers Association, June 2023
MCLE Presenter: Is Civility An Ethical Obligation, Labor & Employment Annual Retreat, Los Angeles County Bar Association, April 2023
Oh No! I’ve been sued: Malpractice, PR, and Ethics: Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA), April 2023
MCLE Presenter: CTAPP: New and Revised Rules, San Bernardino County Bar Association, April 2023
MCLE Presenter: From Ethical Violations to Criminal Convictions: United States v. Avenatti, Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL), January 2023
Respondent’s Round Table: Time to Share War Stories and Brainstorm Defense Strategies, Association of Discipline Defense Counsel (ADDC), December 2022
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Tools to Implement in 2023, Association of Discipline Defense Counsel (ADDC), December 2022
Ethics Tune-Up: The (Un-)Common Sources of Ethical Mistakes in Today’s Immigration Practice – and how to avoid them, Los Angeles County Bar Association, November 2022
Outside Counsel Guidelines, New York State Bar Association, November 2022
Unauthorized Practice of Law, Los Angeles Paralegal Association, October 2022
Legal Technology Practice and Competence, Alameda County Bar Association, March 2022
Managing Conflicts of Interest in an Immigration Law Practice, Los Angeles County Bar Association, January 20, 2022
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Implementation of Tools in 2022, Association of Discipline Defense Counsel, Annual Meeting, December 2021
The Future of Law Firms and Beyond, Chicago, Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers Annual Meeting, October 2021
Ethical Considerations in Joint Representation, L&E Symposium, Alameda County Bar Association, August 2021
Practicing Law: The State Bar Perspective, Trinity Law School, July 2021
The Ethics of Virtual Depositions & Trials, Private Firm, May 2021
Crisis Fatigue & Fiduciary Duties, Private Firm, April 2021
Legal Malpractice Risk Management Conference Panelist, Private Firm, March 2021
Legal Ethics in Estate Planning in Light of New Changes, Affinity Group, February 2021
State Bar Review Department Decisions: A Year in Review, Association of Discipline Defense Counsel, January 2021
Civility Matters Panelist, CA American Board of Trial Advocates (CAL-ABOTA), December 2020
Ethical Considerations in Intake and Beyond: Engagement & Conflicts of Interest, Private Firm, November 2020
Thriving in Volatile Times and Growing Your Practice, Orange County Bar Association, November 2020
Getting the Business: Retooling with New Practice Areas, Competency and Mentoring, California Lawyers Association, November 2020
Ethics Dos and Don’ts for Lawyer Marketing & Advertising in 2020, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, October 2020
General Principles in Ethics, Orange County Bar Association, October 2020
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Toolkit, Private Firm, July 2020
Billing Compliance: Billing Techniques for Carrier Matters, Private Firm, May 2020
Honest to Greatness: The Value of Honesty and Power of Ethics, Westlake Village Lawyers Affinity Group, January 2020
Ethics of Billing: Tips and Tricks, Guest Speaker, The Los Angeles Paralegal Association, October 2019
Supervision and the Unauthorized Practice of Law, Private Firm, June 2019
Caution: Hard Hat Area, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Concerns, Fitness to Practice Law, Private Firm, January 2019
State Bar Court Decisions: A Year in Review, Lessons Learned from the Defense, January 2019
CA State Bar New Rules of Professional Conduct: Deep Dive into the Rules, January 2019
The Amended California Rules of Professional Responsibility and What You Should Know, November 2018
Professional Responsibility and the State Bar Act, Guest Speaker Loyola Law School, 2012-2016
Various Confidential MCLE Trainings for Internal Use at the State Bar of California, 2009-2014
State Bar Public Outreach Speaker and Mentor Training Program, 2008-2016
NITA Certifications: 2011 NITA: The Articulate Advocate, 2008 NITA: Trial Techniques for the Discipline Bar, 2007 NITA: Discovery Workshop, 2007 NITA: Advanced Legal Writing & Editing, 2006 NITA: Building Trial Skills.
Los Angeles District Attorney Training Seminars: Covering various litigation, prosecutorial and law enforcement topics.
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW, Syracuse, NY
Certificate: Law, Technology & Management
Technology Commercialization Law Program
Focus on Intellectual Property
President NWLSA & Moot Court Advisor
Treasurer & Moot Court Coach APALSA
J.D., 2002
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, Austin, TX
Certificate: Business Foundations Program
Government/Political Science Double Major
1100 W. Town & Country Rd, Suite 1250, Orange, CA 92868
Our focus includes Litigation, Legal Ethics Consulting, Legal Malpractice Defense, Professional Responsibility, Law Practice Management, State Bar Discipline, Moral Character, Reinstatement & Admissions, MCLE Development, and Expert Witness Services
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