Mediating Contested Matters: Roles & Duties of Counsel and Mediator

Counsel and their clients face increased challenges to mediated agreements. Admissibility of statements and writings made in the course of mediation and unrepresented parties pose serious problems. Mediators and attorneys need to plan, implement and bring mediation experience to the table, as well as an awareness of their ethical obligations. This program will highlight these and other issues, including the recent Supreme Court mediation confidentiality case of Cassel v. Superior Court. An overview of "General Mediation Advocacy Do's and Don'ts" will be provided.

Speakers:
Jack A. Rameson III, Law Offices of Jack A. Rameson III, Inc.
Caroline C. Vincent, ADR Services
Kenneth S. Wolf, Hoffman Sabban & Watenmaker

Click HERE to register

2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative. On February 8, 2011, the IRS announced a new voluntary disclosure initiative, that will be available only through August 31, 2011, for people with undisclosed income from offshore accounts. For general details, see news release IR-2011-14.

Cases appear in chronological order, with the oldest case appearing first.

Trusts and Estates
In suit for financial abuse of an elderly person, trial court correctly applied collateral source rule by instructing jury that government benefits received by victim based on her long-standing disabilities and financial need could not be considered in awarding damages.
    Conservatorship of McQueen - filed January 14, 2011, First District, Div.
    Four
    Cite as 2011 S.O.S. 332
     Full text

Trusts and Estates
Delivery of a gift of interests in a limited liability company under Washington law takes place no later than the intent to donate. Assuming the Washington law of gifts applies an objective standard to the determination of donative intent, summary judgment was inappropriate where record was subject to contrary inferences as to when an objective manifestation of intent to make the gift documents first occurred. A lack of one independently sufficient event is not necessary so as long as the district court can determine that the accumulation of objective circumstances was or was not sufficiently complete. Defendant's argument that the transfer of LLC interests was a failed gift was not persuasive since it ignored the substantive reality that all concerned treated the intended recipients' accounts as enhanced by the transfer of assets. Government was not entitled to summary judgment based on an application of the step transaction doctrine.
    Linton v. United States - filed January 21, 2011
    Cite as 09-35681
    Full text

Trusts and Estates
Civil Code Sec. 1624(a)(7), cannot be construed as applying to the transfer of shares of stock to a trust; plain meaning of the words of the statute manifests a legislative intent to limit the statute's application to agreements to loan money or extend credit made by persons in the business of loaning money or extending credit. No California authority invalidates a transfer of shares of stock to a trust because a general assignment of personal property did not identify the shares.
    Kucker v. Kucker - filed January 26, 2011, Second District, Div. Six
    Cite as 2011 S.O.S. 526
    Full text

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