Program Overview
Who Will Benefit from Attending
Attorneys, journalists, government officials, and other professionals who deal with public records requests under the California Public Records Act and Freedom of Information Act
Why You will Benefit from Attending
In this year's live online interactive Public Records Act program, we again explore the most significant current issues facing public records requestors and custodians. To lay a good foundation for the substantive discussion of key issues, we will start with a legislative and case law update followed by tips for litigating PRA cases from the initial request through discovery, negotiations, the trial, and post-trial issues including appeals and attorney fee disputes.
Over six years has passed since the landmark San Jose vs. Superior Court ruling on use of private electronic devices to conduct public business. You will hear an in-depth panel discussion of how those issues have evolved with changes in device technology and government officials, along with the rest of the populate, change how we live and work. It will be an opportunity to hear insights into what will be coming next in terms of issues and what to expect in terms of likely outcomes.
In our national political arena we have numerous examples of the interplay between courts of law and the court of public opinion. This year we will have a featured presentation on how the media uses public records in news stories and situations where government agencies may want to release records to ahead of the story rather than litigating whether they are obligated to release the records. We'll follow that with a discussion of the Section 6255 "Catch All" exemption from disclosure and how to determine when the public interest served by nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in served by disclosure.
We will end with an update on the ethical rules unique to this area of practice. Register soon to join us as we explore the most pressing current PRA issues in a conversational forum. We hope to "see" you there.
~ Karl Olson, Esq. of Cannata O'Toole Fickes & Olson and Christine Wood, Esq. of Best Best & Krieger, Program Co-Chairs
What You Will Learn
- ~ Judicial and Legislative updates
- ~ Tips for litigating PRA cases
- ~ Use of private electronic devices to conduct public business
- ~ Media use of public records in news stories
- ~ Recent cases Involving the Section 6255 "Catch All" exemption
- ~ Legal ethics including potential issues with the emerging use of generative artificial intelligence
What Participants Have Said About Similar Programs
- Excellent conference.
- Very knowledgeable and experienced speakers
- As a first responder to PRA requests, this seminar has been extremely helpful
- The panels were diverse and engaging
- The entire program was beneficial
Thursday, November 9, 2023
9:00 am
Introduction & Overview
Karl Olson, Esq.
, Program Co-Chair
Cannata O'Toole & Olson / San Francisco, CA
Christine Wood, Esq.
, Program Co-Chair
Best Best & Krieger / Los Angeles, CA
9:15 am
Judicial and Legislative Updates
Recent court decisions and pending cases including the use and possible abuse of the "catchall exemption"; recodification of PRA
Annie Loo, Esq.
, Deputy County Counsel
Orange County / Santa Ana, CA
Recent legislative initiatives including new bills that have been passed and proposed plus prospects for a PRA-related ballot measure
Craig P. Alexander, Esq.
Law Offices of Craig P. Alexander / Dana Point, CA
10:30 am
Break
10:45 am
Litigating PRA Cases
From negotiation over responses to requests through discovery issues, settlement discussions, trial prep, briefing, presentation of evidence, and post-trial issues including attorney fee disputes
Karl Olson, Esq.
, Program Co-Chair
Cannata O'Toole Fickes & Olson / San Francisco, CA
Reed W. Gallogly, Esq.
, Deputy County Counsel
County of Monterey / Salinas, CA
12:00 pm
Lunch Break
1:00 pm
Do You Know the Way from San Jose?
Use of private electronic devices to conduct public business: Perspectives on where we are six-plus years after the landmark decision in San Jose vs. Superior Court
Christine Wood, Esq.
, Program Co-Chair, Moderator
Best Best & Krieger / Los Angeles, CA
Amy Ackerman, Esq.
Renne Public Law Group / San Francisco, CA
The Hon. Chris Duncan, Esq.
, Mayor
City of San Clemente / San Clemente, CA
David Loy, Esq.
, Legal Director
First Amendment Coalition / San Diego, CA
Ramona Giwargis
, Co-Founder and CEO
San Jose Spotlight / San Jose, CA
2:15 pm
Managing the Interplay Between PRA Issues in a Court of Law vs. the Court of Public Opinion
How the media uses public records in news stories; what the journalists expect when filing a PRA request
Thomas Peele
, Investigative Reporter
EdSource / Oakland, CA
2:45 pm
Break
3:00 pm
The PRA's Great Balancing Act: Recent Cases Involving the Section 6255 "Catch All" Exemption
Tips for conducting the case-by-case analysis to determine when the public interest served by nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in served by disclosure
Zachary Colbeth, Esq.
Cannata O'Toole, & Olson / Walnut Creek, CA
Darren Ziegler, Esq.
, Deputy Director of PRA Services
Best Best & Krieger / Riverside, CA
4:00 pm
Legal Ethics
Public Records Act and Attorney-Client Privilege; Clawback and Quick-Peek Agreements; duties of public agency lawyers if they discover fraud or other wrongdoing; potential issues with the emerging use of generative artificial intelligence in litigation
Abenicio Cisneros, Esq.
Law Offices of Abenicio Cisneros / Oakland, CA
5:00 pm
Evaluations and Adjourn
Faculty Bios
Karl Olson,
Program Co-Chair, is a named partner at Cannata O'Toole Fickes & Olson. He specializes in Public Records Act litigation and in defending news media clients and individuals against defamation and SLAPP suits (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation).
Christine Wood,
Program Co-Chair, is Director of PRA Services and E-Discovery Counsel at Best Best & Krieger. She is known for being able to distill complex and voluminous data with efficiency and ease, most notably in response to requests for public records.
Amy Ackerman
is a partner at Renne Public Law Group and serves as the head of the firm's government practice group. She joined the firm after serving for 16 years as a Senior Deputy City Attorney with the City and County of San Francisco. She currently serves as Town Counsel for the Town of Corte Madera, City Attorney for the City of Belvedere, and General Counsel for the San Francisco Downtown Community Benefits District.
Craig P. Alexander,
Law Offices of Craig P. Alexander, represents clients in litigation and non-litigation matters regarding the California Public Records Act. He is the former General Counsel for the California Policy Center and performed PRA work to help create the transparentcalifornia.com web site regarding government employee pay information. His clients include the Center for American Liberty, the California Policy Center, and the National Republican Committee.
Abenicio Cisneros,
Law Offices of Abenicio Cisneros, focuses on California Public Records Act cases. He helps journalists, activists, attorneys, and other concerned members of the public obtain records from government officials and entities.
Zachary Colbeth
is a partner Cannata O'Toole, & Olson. He focuses on business and civil litigation, appellate law, employment law, media and public transparency law, probate and estate law, and on counseling individuals and businesses on a wide array of litigation and transactional matters.
The Hon. Chris Duncan
is the Mayor of the City of San Clemente. He served as a senior attorney and prosecutor at U.S. Customs and Border Protection for 16 years. He is now in private practice.
Reed W. Gallogly serves as Deputy County Counsel for the County of Monterey, advising and counseling county staff, officials, and a variety of its agencies and districts. He formerly served as Deputy County Counsel for the County of San Benito.
Romona Giwargis
is Co-Founder and CEO of the San Jose Spotlight. She has covered politics and government for a decade, working in San Jose, Merced, Salinas, Eureka and most recently as the state government reporter for Nevada's largest newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A San Jose native, she is passionate about investigative and watchdog journalism.
Annie Loo
is Deputy County Counsel for the County of Orange and advises the County on Public Records Act issues. Her primary assignment is to advise the Orange County Sheriff's Department and Orange County Probation. She previously was a reporter for the Orange County Register.
David Loy,
Legal Director for the First Amendment Coalition, has fought for public disclosure and governmental transparency for over 20 years. He joins FAC from the ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties, where he served as legal director for nearly 16 years, overseeing a diverse docket of civil rights cases.
Thomas Peele
is an Investigative Reporter for EdSource. He won a Pulitzer Prize for stories on the tragic Ghost Ship fire in Oakland and has won more that 70 other journalism awards including the (Ralph) McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage, and the Tom Renner Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors for reporting on organized crime. He is the author of Killing the Messenger, a book about the 2007 assassination of Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey.
Darren Ziegler
is Deputy Director of PRA Services & E-Discovery Counsel with Best Best & Krieger. He has dedicated his legal career to working in the public sector, most recently as deputy county counsel for the Riverside County Office of County Counsel. There, he was general counsel to both the Department of Animal Services and Office of Economic Development. He also has served as the deputy city attorney for the Moreno Valley Office of the City Attorney.
Continuing Education Credits
Live credits: Law Seminars International is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. This program qualifies for 6.50 (1 Ethics included) California MCLE credits It also qualifies for 6.25 AICP land use planner credits. Upon request, we will help you apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits.
I appreciate LSI's seamless segue from registration, an informative seminar, to end result.
Remote Access to the Live Program
The day before the program, we will email you a link to the materials and one to log into the broadcast. Fill out the Zoom "Registration" form by entering your name and email address. That will log you in.
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Tuition
Regular tuition for this program is $795 with a group rate of $715 each for two or more registrants from the same firm. For government employees, we offer a special rate of $595. For public interest NGO's, students, and people in their job for less than a year, our rate is $397.50. All rates include admission to all program sessions and course materials.
Make checks payable to Law Seminars International. As a value-added bonus, you will receive access to audio and video recordings of the program at no extra charge.
Financial aid is available to those who qualify. Contact our office for more information.
Replays
Audio and video replay files, with course materials, are available for download or on a flash drive at the same price as live attendance. Files are available for downloading five business days after the program or from the date we receive payment. Flashdrive orders are sent via First Class mail within seven business days after the program or from the date we receive payment. The course materials alone are available for $75.
Cancellation & Substitution
You may substitute another person at any time. We will refund tuition, less a $50 cancellation fee, if we receive your cancellation by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 3, 2023. After that time, we will credit your tuition toward attendance at another program or the purchase of an audio or video replay.
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