Letter from the Editor

• Publication year: 2019
• Author: By Somita Basu

Letter From the Editor

By Somita Basu

Somita Basu, Esq., is a founding principal and managing partner of the Santa Clara, Beverly Hills, and Las Vegas offices of Norton Basu LLP. Ms. Basu is currently the incoming Editor-In-Chief of The Practitioner, a quarterly publication distributed by the the California Lawyers' Association's Solo and Small Firm Section, where she is also serves on the Executive Committee. Ms. Basu is based out of the Santa Clara office and lives in the South Bay with her family.

My name is Somita Basu and I'm the new Editor-in-Chief of The Practitioner for 2019. I'm not just the new Editor-In-Chief, but I'm also a new member of the Solo and Small Firm Section Executive Committee. It's been a whirlwind initiation, but I feel optimistic about our Section's ability to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of how our members practice.

It is my goal to expand the reach of The Practitioner and bring in new authors to help further diversify the range of content and the platform that the Section offers. I hope to be able to organize the articles for each issue around broad themes.

Our first issue of 2019 is focused on issues related to ethics, certainly a hot button topic in recent times. This past year witnessed the convergence of a host of ethics issues both as they relate to the law and in society in. The State Bar of California has been conducting studies on issues that directly affect Solo and Small Firm practitioners in the area of ethics and ethics related topics.

Our first article by Jim Ham discusses the issues surrounding requiring mandatory malpractice for all licensed attorneys. This issue is still under review and Jim articulates some of the concerns that could arise should this requirement be put in place. The Solo and Small Firm Section wrote to the State Bar arguing against mandatory malpractice insurance and we have included our letter to the State Bar, as we continue to advocate for the best interests of our members.

Meanwhile, California implemented an updated Rules of Professional Conduct that went into effect in...