New state lawyers group marks a year of legislative influence

When state Sen. Robert Hertzberg introduced a bill in the 2015-2016 legislative session to tax business services, including legal work, a groundswell of opposition developed among some professions.

But while CPAs flocked to the Capitol building wearing "No on SB 8" buttons, attorneys were not similarly represented in the successful effort to stall the proposed law's progress.

That changed in the last legislative session. The new California Lawyers Association sent a letter to Hertzberg outlining its opposition to the most recent iteration of his bill, SB 993, which again failed to become law.

The active advocacy against SB 993 was just one example of the association's work to represent the interests of its 100,000 statewide members before the Legislature during the group's first year of existence.

The association is planning to expand those efforts in 2019, aided by the move of its headquarters from San Francisco to Sacramento.

"We are looking to increase our stature as a resource to the Legislature," association President Heather L. Rosing said.

The association was created to house the 16 specialty law sections of the State Bar and the California Young Lawyers Association, all of which were split off from the bar as a result of its legislatively mandated de-unification.

While the State Bar is limited in the type of legislative advocacy it can do as a regulatory agency, Rosing said those constraints do not extend to the lawyers association. That allows the organization to weigh in on a much wider array of issues.

"We are writing on a broader canvas so to speak," said Saul Bercovitch, the association's director of government affairs.

Taking organization-wide positions is one way the organization is making use of its ability to advocate for the legal profession.

The group wrote in its letter to Hertzberg that his bill to tax certain services would negatively impact access to justice and disadvantage California businesses, among other issues.

Meanwhile, the association supported legislation designed to bring international arbitrations to California. That bill, SB 766, was signed into law.

The group also raised concerns about AB 3204, a bill that would have required attorneys to complete 25 hours of pro bono legal services a year or alternatively pay $500 to support such work. The bill, which the lawyers association did not outright oppose, failed to become law.

Rosing said the lawyers group has sought to be measured in its approach and is drafting a policy it will review when deciding whether to take a stand on particular issues.

A second way the organization hopes to make its presence felt in Sacramento is by partnering with other groups to support legislative priorities that align with its own.

Ona Alston Dosunmu, the organization's incoming executive director, said one forthcoming example of that tactic will be the group's plans to support portions of the Judicial Council's legislative agenda. Such efforts could include backing bills to assist self-represented litigants and expand access to justice.

"I think one of the things that CLA can definitely bring to the table is adding the power of our voice to the efforts of others in the areas that we care about," said Dosunmu, who starts Jan. 2.

San Diego County Superior Court Judge Kenneth K. So, chair of the Judicial Council's Policy Coordination and Liaison Committee, said the council looked forward to working with the lawyers association.

"The Judicial Council welcomes any assistance and support from our justice partners related to our legislative priorities," So said in a statement.

The association is also supporting California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye's "Power of Democracy" civic learning initiative and may advocate for legislative changes that would further its work.

The lawyers association has been in contact with other professional groups considering combining forces to oppose another expected attempt by Hertzberg to tax business services.

In addition, the lawyers group has connected with the Bench-Bar Coalition and plans to take a page from that group's book by hosting its own legislative day in March. The event will allow association leaders and members to highlight their group's priorities in meetings with lawmakers and their staffs.

Dosunmu, who most recently was vice president and general counsel of The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., has already met with some key players in the Legislature.

She and other California Lawyers Association leaders say the organization has been warmly received in the state Capitol.

"My sense is that CLA is living up to what people had hoped it would become when the bar split," Dosunmu said.

One meeting she had was with state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, a Santa Barbara Democrat who has chaired her chamber's Judiciary Committee. Jackson said she was very impressed with Dosunmu and the association as a whole, which she credited with providing the legal profession a voice it had been lacking for many years.

"They will be able to advocate on issues that are important to the practice of law and work together collaboratively with some of the other statewide and local legal organizations," Jackson said. "I think that is definitely a plus."

Assemblyman Mark Stone, who has chaired his chamber's Judiciary Committee, agreed. "I think they are going to play a very critical role in advocacy and in helping us craft legislation," said Stone, D-Monterey Bay.

Stone said he particularly appreciated that the specialty law sections have continued to provide technical assistance to the Legislature.

The trusts and estates section and the family law section are especially active in that regard, said Bercovitch, the group's government affairs director.

The group also has an outside lobbyist, Mark Weideman, working on its behalf. Weideman previously lobbied for the sections when they were with the State Bar. His firm, the Weideman Group, was paid $56,000 by the association through the first three quarters of 2018, according to public records.

Association leaders expect all of the group's legislative advocacy efforts to benefit from the move to Sacramento.

The organization already has some temporary space there, and Rosing said she expects it to be moved into permanent headquarters at 400 Capitol Mall by mid-January. More than 30 employees are to work at the office after a spate of hiring is complete.

"It is hard to be a presence in Sacramento if you are not in Sacramento," Rosing said. "We were very purposeful in not only moving to Sacramento, but purposeful in moving to a location right near the Capitol."