Professional Responsibility, Legal Malpractice, State Bar Discipline Defense, Reinstatements, Moral Character Matters, Conflicts, Risk Management, Legal Ethics and Legal Expert Consulting
Jean Cha
Attorney at Law
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), Member of the State Bar Board of Trustees newly formed 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)
Association of Discipline Defense Counsel, 2nd Vice President (2018-Present) – 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), (2018-2019) Member, (2020-Present) Membership Chair
Served on Committee to Evaluate Changes to Standards for Attorney Sanctions with the State Bar of California, (2018-2019)
American Bar Association
Orange County Bar Association
Los Angeles County Bar Association
California Lawyers Association
National Organization of Bar Counsel (2005-2017)
National Association of Women Lawyers
Orange County Women Lawyers Association
California Women Lawyers
Orange County Korean American Bar Association Mentor and Legal Aid Clinic Volunteer
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County Mentor (2009-2011)
Texas Bar Association
Syracuse University School of Law Alumni Association
Ex-Students’ Association of the University of Texas
Christian Legal Society, Member and Mentor Program, Mentor
Christian Legal Aid Los Angeles, Volunteer
California Law Academies Volunteer Coordinator (2012-2017), Volunteer (2017-Present). The California Law Academies benefits high school students and builds a diversity pipeline into the law.
Annual Food from the Bar Campaign State Bar Employee Facilitator benefiting the Los Angeles Regional
Food Bank (2011-2016)
Annual Food from the Bar Campaign benefitting the Second Harvest Food Bank (2017-Present)
Association of Junior Leagues International and Junior League of Orange County Volunteer and Sustaining
Member (2010-Present)
Civility Matters Panelist, CA American Board of Trial Advocates (CAL-ABOTA), December 2020
Legal Malpractice Risk Management Conference Panelist, Private Firm, Tentatively set for March 2021
Ethical Considerations in Intake and Beyond: Engagement and 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 18, 2020
Honest to Greatness: The Value of Honesty and Power of Ethics, Westlake Village Lawyers Affinity Group, January 17, 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 22, 2019
State Bar Court Decisions: A Year in Review, Lessons Learned from the Defense, January 11, 2019
CA State Bar New Rules of Professional Conduct: Deep Dive into the Rules, January 11, 2019
The Amended California Rules of Professional Responsibility and What You Should Know, November 16, 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.
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
(714) 242-8588
jean@chalawethics.com
(657) 235-5001
We focus on Litigation, Legal Ethics Counsel, Legal Malpractice Defense, Professional Responsibility, State Bar Discipline Defense, Moral Character, Reinstatement & Admissions, MCLE Provider, and Expert Witness
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