Author: Greg Herring

First Annual No-charge AAML Trial Basics Seminar

The Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers will present the first annual Trial Basics Seminar in April , 2015.  The TBS is aimed at less experienced family law lawyers.  It has two parts: (1) The main seminar in Costa Mesa at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel on April 10, 2015 and (2) Follow-up “break-out” sessions in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties on April 18, 2015.  The idea is for all the attendees of the main seminar to then attend one of the break-out sessions on April 18.

California family law guru, Garrett Dailey, will moderate the main session.  Presenters will include The Hon. Sheila Sonenshine (Ret.), Jim Hennenhoefer, Saul Gelbart, Chris Melcher, Tom Simpson, Jim Schaefer, CPA and myself.  I am also the event’s Dean.  MCLE will be provided and the event will be free of charge.

The break-out sessions will allow those who attend the main seminar to gain hands-on experience.  The Los Angeles break-out session, chaired by Chris Melcher, will be at Loyola Law School.  The Orange County break-out session, chaired by Saul Gelbart, will be at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.  The San Diego break-out session, chaired by Sharon Blanchet, will be at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. 

Attendance is limited at 100, and the applications cut-off is March 20, 2015.  Please email info@theherringlawgroup  to apply.  The final list of attendees will be selected largely based on geography towards accomplishing equal attendance at each of the break-out sessions.  This is a great opportunity to gain trial skills and to also rub elbows with experienced AAML presenters.

 

Judge William Q. Liebmann

At the AAML Southern California Chapter’s Institute of Trial Advocacy in San Diego last month, I was honored to introduce the Honorable William Q. Liebmann as one of our Chapter’s Distinguished Judicial Officers of 2015.  He is only the second judicial officer from the “805” area to have received this honor.  (I was pleased to have also presented the award to the Honorable John R. Smiley, of the Ventura Superior Court, in 2006).

Judge Liebmann is the Supervising Family Law Judge of the Ventura Superior Court.  He is a product of Wisconsin, and thus proudly displays his “Packers” coffee mug in his Courthouse Chambers.  His undergraduate studies were accomplished at Georgetown and also the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay.  He achieved his JD from USC in 1975.

Early in his career, Judge Liebmann became involved in local government, eventually becoming elected to the Camarillo City Council.

He simultaneously maintained a private law practice that focused on civil litigation and family law.  He was known as an excellent and results-oriented lawyer with a great demeanor.

In 2003 he was retained as a Court Commissioner.  Coincidentally, he was then appointed Superior Court Judge within mere weeks.  Clearly, he was made for the job.  From a practitioner’s perspective, it was and remains a blessing to have an experienced and expert family law professional overseeing our cases.

Judge Liebmann is known for being patient, calm and efficient.  He promptly opens his courtroom doors at 8:30, and then marches through the morning calendar.  He is nonetheless known for allowing litigants to have their say — to “have their day in court.”  Known as a “lawyer’s judge,” he gives us room to make our arguments and do our jobs.

Counsel appearing before Judge Liebmann need to be prepared, ready to think and willing to stand and deliver.  We can expect to be riddled with tough follow-up questions, almost like in Appellate Court proceedings.  He reads his files and will be ready to probe the weak spots in our presentations.

Family law litigants and lawyers are lucky to have Judge Liebmann in Ventura.  We thank him for his dedication and service.

Herring Law Group Launches!

Herring Law Group arises from my 24 years of civil litigation and family law trial experience, and also from the energy, creativity and support of so many.  I appreciate that some can here be mentioned. Trial legend, Terry Bacchus, originally recruited me as a new attorney to Lord, Bissell & Brook’s Los Angeles office, where he provided me hands-on sophisticated trial work from day one. Mitch Popham, now a national presence in his own right, mentored me there.   I also met Darrell Miller, now a high-profile entertainment force, at LB&B and we remain great friends.  Over the years it has been a pleasure to represent many of his celebrity and other clients, and his endless energy continues to amaze.   When our family moved to Ventura County in 1993, Mike Case and Lou Carpiac drew me to Ferguson Case Orr Paterson, where they each taught me in their own distinctive ways. Mike’s trial skills and ethics set the standard in Ventura County and beyond.  Lou was a smart guerrilla fighter.   In the early 2000’s, I was fortunate to start working with great family law attorneys from around the State.  I joined luminaries like Nancy Perkovitch, David Fink, Harold Cohn, Dianne Wasznicky and Ron Rosenfeld as part of the State Bar Family Law Section’s Executive Committee.  Ron, along with Ron Anteau, Suzanne Harris and Peter Walzer, then encouraged me to apply to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.   As an AAML Fellow, I’ve been able to develop my passion for family law into a lifetime professional calling.  This now translates, in the form of top client service and full commitment to the greater family law community, to HLG.  I thank you all, and so many others.  Special thanks to my wife, Penny, Erin Schaden and Lisa Castro for helping to imagine and execute this new firm. Finally, we sincerely thank all our patient clients.  We are now one month old and our initial transition is complete.   Greg Herring.