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California Desert Trial Academy College Of Law
26 October
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Legal Malpractice Traps, Part One

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice, Training
Legal Malpractice Traps, Part One

We all make mistakes. Even attorneys. Even the best attorneys. Fortunately, most mistakes do not rise to the level of legal malpractice. But there are other problematic attorney practices and habits that often lead to malpractice grievances and claims. The following are some common malpractice traps that most attorneys may avoid if they take the simple, requisite consideration. Poor communication with clients This is the biggest complaint that disgruntled clients typically state when deposed as a plaintiff in a legal malpractice claim. Attorneys must frequently communicate with and provide regular updates to clients personally and not through staff or junior associates. Attorneys...

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23 October
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Principles Of Professional Conduct – Relationships with Clients

Posted by cdtalaw
in California law, CDTA, Law Practice, Training
Principles Of Professional Conduct – Relationships with Clients

While lawmakers and courts have ruled that sex with a client during the course of a professional relationship is unethical, many lawyers have continued the practice resulting in state bars frequently taking disciplinary measures against lawyers who engage in sexual relations with clients. Many attorneys believe that what happens between two consenting adults is no business of the State Bar or anyone else. Prior to the 2018 changes to the California Rules of Professional Conduct, lawyers in California were banned from engaging in a sexual relationship with a client only if it was an exchange for representation or if it involved...

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22 October
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Writing Your Office Manual As A Sole Practitioner

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice
Writing Your Office Manual As A Sole Practitioner

For sole practitioners, preparing and maintaining a manual of office policies and procedures is an essential part of any law practice. While it may not be the most compelling literary exercise, the alternative is unthinkable. Anything but a well-drafted manual makes a law firm susceptible to all types of legal claims while providing little guidance to employees regarding their important work-related responsibilities. Taking all the requisite time to formulate and draft an effective office policies and procedures manual avoids countless future misunderstandings, disagreements, and failures. Law firms that have a clear, comprehensive manual will create and facilitate the reliability of employees...

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21 October
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Utilizing Support Personnel: The Interpreter

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice
Utilizing Support Personnel: The Interpreter

Legal support workers assist lawyers in the many tasks that sustain the functioning of a law firm. There are also many “support” workers such as court reporters and interpreters that are typically independent contractors who assist lawyers as well. While court reporters are exclusively found in courtrooms and deposition rooms, interpreters are common in legal, medical, and immigration settings. However, interpreters who work in a legal context are set apart because of strict ethical and professional standards. Legal interpretation is divided into two main categories, judicial (court interpreting) and quasi-judicial (interpreting in other legal settings). Judiciary interpreters work in courtrooms and...

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20 October
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Lawyers As Caregivers: Ensuring Client Satisfaction

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice
Lawyers As Caregivers: Ensuring Client Satisfaction

Lawyers are hired to perform services for clients. Whether these services involve drafting a will, negotiating a contract, or providing representation in a criminal defense or personal injury matter, attorneys must do more than perform the task at hand, they must satisfy clients. Most clients perceive hiring an attorney as an act that has serious ramifications, thus requiring attorneys to possess skills that nurture clients over the course of, and often after, an attorney’s representation. Most people do not look forward to an office visit with an attorney. It is perceived as an experience that requires considerable valuable resources such as...

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19 October
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The CDTA: Pushing Forward In 2020

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Distance learning, Distance learning law school, Online Law School, Uncategorized
The CDTA: Pushing Forward In 2020

The Fall of 2020 is here and the semester’s abrupt transition to distance learning is in full swing. Faculty and students are taking full advantage of the California Desert Trial Academy College of Law’s (CDTA) online learning platform, now in its ninth year of operation. Everyone at the CDTA has united to overcome the universal challenges that arise as a result of a forced emphasis on the virtual classroom. As a result, the CDTA is pushing successfully forward in 2020 as we approach our tenth anniversary. There are many students with limited access to online learning tools because the educational institution they...

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15 October
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Time Management And Online Learning – Multitasking Should Be Avoided

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Distance learning, Distance learning law school, Online Law School, Studying
Time Management And Online Learning – Multitasking Should Be Avoided

Many people believe that to be effective in their jobs, which includes managing time and using it efficiently, they must multitask. Since their time is so precious, students tend to cherish the ability to accomplish as much work as possible at any given time. With the new adventure of online learning currently unfolding, it is certainly a temptation for students at home to multitask to take full advantage of the situation. However, some believe that a key to online learning and managing time is the opposite approach and that multitasking should be avoided. The ability to multitask is considered a skill...

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14 October
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Time Management And Online Learning – The Virtual Work Space

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Distance learning, Distance learning law school, Online Law School, Studying
Time Management And Online Learning - The Virtual Work Space

Students forced to learn from home must make the most of their situation. A great place to start is the selection, organization, and maintenance of the location to be a student’s virtual workspace or office. While a virtual workspace permits students a great deal of freedom and flexibility in how and when they learn, a virtual workspace may be less efficient without the correct tools, resources, and protocols in place to achieve maximum success. A valuable, if not necessary, skill for students, especially online students, is effective time management. The better that time is managed, the more time that is available...

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13 October
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Avoiding Malpractice: Office Staff Must Comply With The Ethical Rules

Posted by cdtalaw
in California law, CDTA, Law Practice
Avoiding Malpractice: Office Staff Must Comply With The Ethical Rules

In the last two decades, there has been a growing increase in legal malpractice cases directly attributed to errors made by support staff. Of course, poor relationships with clients are a contributing factor to legal malpractice actions. Support staff may also affect these interactions and must always be careful to observe the ethical rules. Even if a malpractice claim fails, the litigation of the malpractice matter itself causes an attorney and his or her staff to expend a substantial number of billable hours. Malpractice claims typically create stress, anxiety, distraction, and an uncomfortable work environment. An attorney’s support staff member is susceptible...

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12 October
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Avoiding Malpractice: Mistake Vs. Negligence

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice
Avoiding Malpractice Mistake Vs. Negligence

To some laypersons and even lawyers, acts made mistakenly and acts made negligently may seem similar. However, they are two entirely different things. Distinguishing negligence and mistake is important for purposes of determining professional malpractice. And, of course, no one is perfect, which is why every lawyer wants to minimize mistakes and ultimately avoid any allegation of malpractice. In performing any job, any person may make a mistake. And lawyers are no exception. When lawyers do make mistakes, they may have consequences, both severe and insignificant. Claims for legal malpractice typically rest on the facts of each case. There are some...

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California Desert Trial Academy College of Law
45-290 Fargo Street
Indio, CA 92201
(760) 342-0900

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Statement of Nondiscrimination

Consistent with sound educational policy, CDTA College of Law does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, ancestry, religious creed, national origin, disability, medical condition, age, marital status, political affiliation, gender identity, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

California State Bar Standard and Required Disclosure

The method of instruction at this law school for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program is principally in physical classroom facilities.

Students enrolled in the J.D. degree program at this law school who successfully complete the first year of law study must pass the First-Year Law Students Examination required by Business and Professions Code 6060(h) and Rule VIII of the Rules Regulating Admission to Practice Law in California as part of the requirements to qualify to take the California Bar Examination.

A student who passes the First-Year Law Students Examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it will receive credit for all legal studies completed to the time the examination is passed. A student who does not pass the examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it must be promptly disqualified from the law school’s J.D. degree program. If the dismissed student subsequently passes the examination, the student is eligible for re-enrollment in this law school’s J.D. degree program, but will receive credit for only one year of legal study.

Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or to satisfy the requirements for admission to practice in jurisdictions other than California. A student intending to seek admission to practice law in a jurisdiction other than California should contact the admitting authority in that jurisdiction for information regarding the legal education requirements in that jurisdiction for admission to the practice of law.

Copyright CDTA California Desert Trial Academy College of Law. All rights reserved. The Desert’s first and only Law School. Proudly serving all of Southern California; accepting applications from Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.

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