National impact: at 10, CalCPA Litigation Sections lead the nation.

• Author: Bleecker, Susan P.

As CalCPA's Litigation Sections celebrates its 10th anniversary, its services to the profession, roster of experts and national influence continues to grow.

"Interest in the committee was always strong, but it really exploded about 10 years ago. We were too popular for our own good and couldn't welcome every interested CalCPA member," says Everett P. Harry III, CPA, the 1993-95 chair of the Litigation Services State Committee and owner of San Francisco-based Harry + Torchiana.

"When we started, the committee was really a resource-sharing opportunity among a small group of practitioners. I never imagined it would become the national force that it is today."

As the original state committee became standing-room only with a growing waiting list, CalCPA explored forming common interest member sections, now called sections, to bring together groups of practitioners with a common focus. The state committee saw this as an opportunity to open the doors and involve more members--and fill a growing need for services, communication and networking opportunities.

The group formally changed its name to the Litigation Sections in 1996, becoming a separate dues paying section of CalCPA and CalCPA's first and only statewide member section. A steering committee was formed, along with five practice area sections: Alternative Dispute Resolution, Business Valuation, Economic Damages, Family Law and Fraud. The ADR Section has since been folded into the other sections.

"The Litigation Sections are a great service to the profession and a great value to CalCPA members," says Michael G. Ueltzen, CPA, former chair of the Litigation Services State Committee and a partner of Sacramento-based Ueltzen and Company LLP. "The sections have developed an innovative approach to providing technical services to the courts and practitioners, and have positioned themselves as one of the nation's leaders in this area."

Litigation Sections membership has grown from the initial 40 to more than 400. Members who join the Litigation Sections are automatically enrolled in a section of their choice. For a small fee, members can join any or all of the remaining sections.

THE EARLY DAYS: GROWING THE DIVERSIFIED RANKS

Benefiting from a sound foundation and guided by a strong and successful steering committee that regularly rotates leadership, the Litigation Sections has been able to continually increase the quality and sophistication of its offerings as well as its impact on the profession.

"In the past, only the [members serving on the] Litigation Services State Committee had the opportunity to engage dialogue that focused on where the practice area was headed," says founding member Don Gursey, CPA, partner at Los Angeles-based Gursey Schneider & Co. LLP. "The advent of the sections afforded all interested members this opportunity, and to say it was well-received would be an understatement."

The individual sections held their first meetings in February 1997, offering a daylong session with three hours of CPE. As meetings continued, the sections quickly realized that it was not necessarily the prospect of attaining CPE that compelled members to attend, but the opportunity to network and discuss compelling issues facing the practice areas.

The discussions provided a blueprint for the sections'...