The U.S. Supreme Court, some quip, exists to reverse the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Not even the land’s highest court would grant cert to reverse this item: Court staff from the circuit have received national recognition for their work in developing an electronic voucher-processing system that is improving how the federal judiciary manages spending for indigent defense.
The eVoucher System was selected for a Director’s Award for Excellence in Court Operations by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Vaidehi Prabhakaran, who works for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego, was one of a group honored.
Legal representation of indigent defendants facing criminal charges in federal courts is required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution and the Criminal Justice Act, of course. But before eVoucher, courts relied on a “hard copy” system that was slow, susceptible to mathematical and other errors, and labor intensive. More importantly, it delayed attorney payment and reimbursement.
By automating much of the process, the eVoucher System simplifies the submission of vouchers by attorneys and service providers and the review of vouchers by judges and court staff.
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Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch released a first-of-its-kind mobile application designed to raise interest and awareness about San Diego’s indigenous museums, exhibits, businesses, lands and public sites of interest. The mobile app was developed in partnership with the Maataam Naka Shin and Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association (SCTCA).
The free app, called Indigenous San Diego, will premiere next week at the 72nd National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Convention and Marketplace in San Diego.
“We are extremely proud to be part of this exciting initiative in which we leverage technology to increase public awareness and understanding of historic and current actions of local tribal communities, and in doing so, further knowledge about this vital part of the San Diego culture and economy,” said Ted Griswold, who leads the Native American law group at Procopio.
The mobile app can be downloaded on Procopio’s website at http://www.procopio.com/news/announcing-the-indigenous-san-diego-mobile-app.
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OK, Janice Brown is not looking for all the credit for Gov. Jerry Brown vetoing Assembly Bill 465, but she deserves credit for rallying attorneys to call the governor and legislators to oppose the bill. The credit properly belongs to this column, which publicized Janice Brown’s effort. I think we can all agree on that. Here’s what the governor said, which is pretty much what Janice Brown said. “Assembly Bill 465 would outlaw the use of mandatory arbitration agreements as a condition of employment, making California the only state in the country to have this particular prohibition,” Gov. Brown said in his veto message.
“I have reviewed in depth the arguments from both sides about the fairness and utility of mandatory arbitration agreements. While most evidence shows that arbitration is quicker and more cost-effective than litigation, there is significant debate about whether arbitration is less fair to employees,” the governor said. “While I am concerned about ensuring fairness in employment disputes, I am not prepared to take the far-reaching step proposed by this bill for a number of reasons.”
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Michael Umansky, a partner with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, has been selected as a winner of the inaugural San Diego Advisor of the Year award. As a winner, Umansky is being acknowledged as a local middle-market merger and acquisition professional who has significantly contributed to the successful sale, expansion or recapitalization of his clients’ companies. Winners were announced recently at an awards program held at the La
Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology. Additionally, Sheppard Mullin partner Bob Copeland was named a San Diego Advisor of the Year award finalist.
Umansky is a partner in the corporate practice group in the firm’s Del Mar Heights and Century City offices and is the leader of the firm’s emerging growth/venture capital team. Copeland, a great guy, is a partner in the corporate practice group in the firm’s Del Mar Heights office and is the co-chair of the firm’s family owned and closely-held businesses team.
The Advisor of the Year program is the result of a partnership between the San Diego offices of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Sheppard Mullin, Objective Capital Partners, in cooperation with the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego and the Association for Corporate Growth.
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The polls are getting ready to close at the San Diego County Bar Association’s 2016 board of directors election. To vote online, log in to the SDCBA website and click on the vote button above, or visit www.sdcba.org/ballot. You can vote for four directors in the at-large positions and one regional (South Bay) position. Polls close Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. At-large candidates are Stephanie Chow, Matthew Deen, Srinivas Hanumadass, Robert Knaier, James Koerber, Anna Romanskaya, Gary Rudolph, and Johanna Schiavoni.
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Beni Surpin has joined Foley & Lardner LLP as a partner in the firm’s technology transactions & outsourcing practice in the San Diego office. Surpin counsels international and domestic companies on business and legal issues surrounding technology, intellectual property and commercial transactions.
Prior to joining Foley, Surpin was a partner at Paul Hastings LLP.
Randy Frisch is vice chancellor of business administration at National University and a former publisher of the San Diego Business Journal. He is licensed to practice law in California, Nevada and Idaho.
