This program provides a basic overview of business bankruptcy, from both the troubled business’s perspective and the creditors’ perspective. We will discuss common reasons why businesses file bankruptcy, and the objectives that businesses seek to achieve through bankruptcy. We will also discuss the basic “nuts and bolts” of bankruptcy, including the automatic stay, the treatment of executory contracts and unexpired leases, Chapter 11 plan confirmation requirements, and preference and fraudulent transfer actions.

The term “lawyer well-being” may seem like an oxymoron. For a junior lawyer, the demanding hours, the pressures to bill, and the stressful work environments can be overwhelming and often have detrimental effects. It often seems impossible to manage high-levels of stress and combat burnout while at the same time finding time for self-care. This program will educate attendees on the data related to the prevalence of mental health issues and substance use disorders in the profession, particularly in lawyers under 30 years of age or ten years out of law school, and discuss certain indicators of burnout. In addition, the speaker will present best practices/effective strategies and preventative measures that junior lawyers can implement so that they not only thrive, but flourish in any practice setting.

This course is designed to give the participant an insight into the reasons behind athlete activism and taking stances on political and social stances in the sports world, as well as how to advise sports-clients on the legal and practical implications involved in choosing to take a stance – no matter the type of statement to be made.

Business mergers and acquisitions are complicated transactions for any attorney representing a buyer or seller, but there are special challenges when representing a client who wishes to buy or sell a Web-based business. Unlike their “brick and mortar” counterparts, the assets of a Web-based business are primarily intangible and can easily lose value – or disappear entirely -- when the business changes hands. Making sure that all of the seller’s web domain names (URLs), e-mail and e-commerce accounts, social media pages, and web traffic transfer smoothly to the buyer without interruption requires an in-depth familiarity with Web-based businesses and how they operate. In this fast-paced presentation, hosted by a leading small business attorney, author of “Advising eBusinesses” and nationally syndicated legal columnist who has helped dozens of clients buy and sell Web-based businesses over the past 10 to 15 years, you will learn how to handle the special issues involved in selling and buying such businesses so that your M&A transactions close smoothly, on time, every time.

National attention has addressed the pay gap for women. Beyond that, there is an information gap, a power and understanding gap, and common perceptions of femininity that have resulted in institutional disadvantages for female attorneys, especially litigators. This program exposes nationwide statistics regarding the wage gap between female and male attorneys and pays special focus to recent academic and bar association studies addressing gender differences in the profession. The course also addresses practical ways to overcome this gender gap, including negotiation strategies and skills to foster leadership and opportunities for professional development. The goal of this program is not just to raise awareness of the issue but to also offer its participants the opportunity to solve the problem.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an epidemic that occurs among all races, ethnicities, and income levels – including among noncitizens who lack legal authorization to be present in the United States. In the past three decades, immigration law has increasingly provided for protections and benefits for such IPV victims. In this course, we will address the two main types of immigration visas for which noncitizen IPV victims may apply – VAWA visas and U-visas.

This course will cover the various ways COVID-19 has impacted employment law. We will also discuss changes in employment law that are likely to develop as the world continues to adjust to COVID-19 and the “new normal.” While COVID-19 has affected almost every part of day to day living in the United States and abroad, the workplace will undoubtedly be a different place due to COVID-19. It is important for attorneys assisting clients with issues related to COVID-19 to understand how the employment law landscape has changed due to COVID-19.

Weather is becoming more erratic and insurance policies are becoming more complicated. Policyholders are often confused about coverage and whether the insurance company is correct. Many are turning to attorneys for answers. This course aims to give attorneys an overview of a homeowners policy. We will break down and explain the policy and help you decide whether the insurance company is following its terms.

This course is an introduction to the nonprofit practice area. Specifically, we will review the process for forming a nonprofit and seeking tax exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Attorneys will learn the compliance requirements for nonprofits as well as the unique tax issues nonprofits face. Attorneys will feel empowered to expand their practice area to include nonprofit law. This course will also explore fiduciary duties of nonprofit board members. For attorneys interested in volunteering as a board member for a nonprofit, this course will examine the best practices to protect yourself from potential liability.

Patent Law is a very complex and specialized area of the law. Regardless of whether the attorney is simply searching for existing patents for a client, applying for a patent, or litigating in a patent-infringement case, the attorney will encounter aspects of the law and specific requirements that are not found in any other area of the law. In this introduction to Patent Law, we cover some of the basic aspects of each of those tasks: searching for patents, applying for patents, and engaging in patent litigation. We also address two lesser known patent-related subject matters—Patent Misuse and Joint Inventorship—and analyze two recent federal district court cases that focus on the topics.

Before the Internet, there was no such thing as cybersquatting. But once the Internet came into existence, domain-name disputes soon followed. Although cybersquatting does not fit into the traditional trademark paradigm, in 1999 Congress passed The Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ("ACPA"), 15 U.S.C. 1125(d), and it became part of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq., which is the primary federal trademark statute in the United States. The ACPA established a legal recourse for entities who are the victims of others registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name that is confusingly similar to, or dilutive of, an entity's trademark or a person's name. In this "Introduction to Cybersquatting", attorneys learn the origins and history of cybersquatting, as well as the elements of the cause of action. Participants will also analyze several cases in which courts have addressed cybersquatting at various stages of litigation.

The music industry can be difficult to navigate for an up-and-coming artist, since there is no tried and true formula for success. Recording artists will often leverage others, such as attorneys, managers, production companies, and distribution companies to successfully launch their careers. Thus, to set a recording artist up for success, attorneys must be familiar with the legal and practical complexities associated with management, production, and distribution deals.

In this seminar, forensic expert Mark Silver provides the immigration lawyer with a detailed analysis of criteria considered by clinical experts when undertaking a psychosocial evaluation in extreme hardship cases for waivers and cancellation of removal cases. Here, Mr. Silver integrates important legal considerations with the psychosocial criteria offering new and different insights to better advocate for the clients and their family members. He also reviews the different challenges that have an impact on extreme hardship considerations. Additionally, he addresses how to best present these issues to help your client.

Service dogs, assistance animals, emotional support animals, guide dogs, therapy animals, and ordinary pets—what’s the difference? Rules pertaining to assistance animals are complex, often puzzling, and ever shifting. In this introduction to the law of assistance animals, we unleash three foundational disability laws: the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Fair Housing Act, and explore the making of an assistance animal under each of these acts.

It has now been over 18 months since the legal profession was turned upside down with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Every area of the law was hit hard. However, the law is not static and despite a pandemic, we adapt and move forward albeit slowly. Indeed, one of the areas which has been brought to the forefront (even on a national level) is landlord-tenant law. Regardless of what side of the coin you are on (landlord or tenant, commercial or residential), major issues have arisen. Thus, the question is despite a pandemic and the somewhat new way of doing things how do we, as practitioners, navigate these uncharted waters? In this course, we will examine the various issues which have presented themselves along with some suggestions for how to deal with them. Of particular interest are many of the moratoriums which have been put in place to purportedly stave off an avalanche of evictions. Presented by Kenneth W. Biedzynski, Esq., this course will canvas and discuss all of the above topics and more.

e-Discovery has exploded onto the scene of commercial litigation. From its rudimentary beginnings around the start of the 21st Century, it has now become a major component of such litigation. Some have even dubbed it “The Tail that Wags the Dog in Complex Commercial Litigation.” In this Introduction to e-Discovery, attorneys learn e-Discovery from both the vendor’s and the litigator’s perspective. Participants will analyze several cases in which courts have admonished, sanctioned, or ruled harshly against attorneys who have been nonchalant about preserving, collecting, reviewing, or producing e-Discovery.

The entrepreneurial cannabis industry requires legal assistance like any other growing, innovative business sector. However, the cannabis industry does not necessarily resemble other evolving start-up business areas. Unlike most other industries, cannabis continues to be a federally designated illegal controlled substance, while various states have legalized cannabis and planted a patchwork garden of cannabis statutes, regulations, and ethics advisory opinions. What’s a lawyer to do? Legal ethics questions abound! What type of legal assistance may a lawyer provide to a client involved in the cannabis industry? May a lawyer accept product or an interest in a cannabis business in lieu of fees? Will a lawyer who participates in a medical marijuana program or indulges in recreational cannabis face ethical repercussions? This course will explore the historical context of the cannabis debate, the legal ethics implications for lawyers seeking to represent cannabis clients, and the current state of the legal profession’s response to legal ethics questions posed by lawyers traipsing through the patchwork garden of state regulations.

This program will address the importance of lawyer well-being as it relates to our ability to practice law with competence. Information will be provided on what well-being is and why the legal profession has such high rates of substance use and mental health concerns as compared to the general population. Specific steps we can take to ameliorate substance use and mental health issues will be provided. Finally, several trauma-informed body-based tools will be taught that are effective in calming anxiety, overwhelm and stress.

This program will cover mandatory child and elder abuse reporting laws applicable to Oregon attorneys, and will address the concerns, requirements, and themes regarding what lawyers are expected and obligated to do in their practice about issues arising with the reporting of suspected elder and child abuse. In this course we will closely examine the philosophy behind reporting malfeasance in general, the significant distinctions between lawyers and other professionals in what is expected and what is allowed as to reporting, the burdens and benefits of confidentiality and communication privileges, the effect of statutory immunities for reporting, the relevant Oregon reporting statutes and their legislative history, and case law in Oregon and in other states interpreting statutory commands. We will also discuss the details and particular circumstances in which reporting is required, how the mechanics of making a report work for and against the lawyer and the client, and where exceptions and omissions in the law exist. Our discussion aims to assist attorneys in understanding how mandatory reporting translates into real life practice.

Legal writing is perhaps the most important tool of the legal profession. Nonetheless, attorneys regularly violate ethical duties in their writing, and those violations go undetected. Systemic unethical legal writing impacts the entire legal profession, as well as those we serve and the community in which we practice. In this presentation, we examine seven common ethical issues in legal research, writing, and advocacy in the context of litigation. We examine the ethical duties of competence, diligence, and candor as embodied in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. And how do tacos factor in? Well, you’ll just have to see—it just might guac your world!