Attorneys of the Month Nonprofit of the Month Brad & Bob Simon Protecting Our EldersArizona Referral & Co-Counsel Relationships ONE OF ARIZONA’S LARGEST CONSUMER LAW FIRMSONE OF ARIZONA’S LARGEST CONSUMER LAW FIRMS Timothy Tonkin Attorney Phillips Law Group, P.C. timt@phillipslaw.com Since 1993. Over 145,000 Clients Served. Phoenix, Tucson and all of Arizona. Generous Referral Fees Paid . (800) 706-3000 3101 N Central Avenue, Suite 1500, Phoenix, AZ 85012 www.phillipslaw.com Steven Jones Attorney Phillips Law Group, P.C. stevenj@phillipslaw.com Jeffrey Phillips Attorney Phillips Law Group, P.C. jeffrey@phillipslaw.com Text Jeffrey with any Arizona Law questions (602) 252-4829 Jonathan Jamieson Attorney Phillips Law Group, P.C. jonathanj@phillipslaw.com Montana Thompson Attorney Phillips Law Group, P.C. montanat@phillipslaw.com We are ready to associate and litigate complex and catastrophic injury cases.You all might have noticed that my Los Angeles issue has always featured only one Attorney of the Month. But when two attorneys happen to be superheroes and twins, how could I choose? This is the third appearance of Bob and Brad Si- mon of the Simon Law Group in these pages, and as these two game changers build their prac- tice and profile, I’m sure it won’t be the last. I hope this time you learn something new about them and love them even more. Are you representing seniors in your practice? Maybe you should, according to Guy Hart at Protecting our Elders, a non- profit that aims to help this vulnerable group. Read why getting involved as an attorney is a win-win for all. I am thrilled to welcome back Norma Williams for her 2020 Real Estate Law update. A contributing editor with the magazine since I launched it in 2015, she has established herself as the au- thority on the subject with her annual columns. Read, learn and enjoy! Happy Reading! Sarah Torres Publisher storres@attorneyatlawmagazine.com (323) 539-3983 Attorney at Law Magazine is published by: Target Market Media Publications Inc. Ken Minniti PRESIDENT & CEO OF Target Market Media Publications, Inc. EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER/ EDITOR IN CHIEF Attorney at law Magazine Howard LaGraffe VICE PRESIDENT Caitlin Keniston EDITOR Sarah Torres LOS ANGELES PUBLISHER Jaqueline Dávila GRAPHIC DESIGN Veronica Jauregui ASSISTANT EDITOR Ellen Cohen Dimple Dang Stephen Danz Norma Williams CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Hugh Williams Photography PHOTOGRAPHY Copyright ©2020, Target Market Media all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited. Advertising rates on request. Bulk third class (standard) mail. Although every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of published materials, Attorney at Law Magazine & Target Market Media cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by authors. Corporate Office: 5828 North 7th Street, Suite 200 Phoenix, AZ 85014 Phone (480) 219-9716 www.tmmpublications.com • info@tmmpublications.com LETTER FROM Publisher CONTRIBUTING Editors Northern Alabama | Atlanta | Chicago | Dallas | Ft. Lauderdale Jacksonville | Los Angeles | Miami | Minnesota North Carolina Triangle | Ohio | Philadelphia | Phoenix | San Antonio Salt Lake City | Middle Tennessee | Washington D.C. DIMPLE DANG LEGAL MARKETING STEPHEN DANZ EMPLOYMENT ELLEN COHEN LEGAL COACH NORMA WILLIAMS REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · LOS ANGELES · VOL. 6 NO. 1 46 2020 Legislative Changes Affecting California Commercial Real Property By Norma Williams 7 Build a Powerful Network for Your Law Firm Using Linkedin By Dimple Dang 8 Guy Hart of Elder Senior Court on Protecting our Elders Nonprofit of the Month 10 Future-Proofing Your Personal and Professional Life for 2020 and Beyond By Ellen Cohen 11 Stephen Danz’s Employment Law Cause of Action Checklist 12 Bob & Brad Simon Attorneys of the Month SPECIAL SECTIONS 18 Talk on the Town 20 Out on the Town TABLE OF Contents 12 AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 5Several significant California laws became effective on Jan. 1, 2020 (unless otherwise indicat- ed). A major initiative became eligible for the November 2020 ballot. Statewide Rent Control The Tenant Protection Act of 2019 establishes rent increase limitations and eviction procedures for certain tenancies. Containing numerous de- tailed provisions and exemptions, major provisions limit annual rent increases on all properties more than 15 years old that are not regulated by more restrictive local rent control measures. Retroactive to March 15, 2019, annual rent increases are lim- ited to the lower of 5% plus the rate of inflation or 10%. Rents may be re- set to market when a unit becomes vacant. Effective January 1, 2020, the law also establishes “just cause” evic- tion policies as to certain tenancies of greater than 12 months. Among other things, the eviction provisions require specified relocation assistance for “no fault” evictions. The legislation sun- sets on Jan. 1, 2030. Conforming to Federal Changes re 1031 Exchange The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 limited 1031 exchanges to real property only for all taxpayers. Previously, a 1031 exchange, allowing non-recognition of gain or loss on the exchange of property held for produc- tive use in a trade or business or for investment, could be used for either real property or personal property. Effective as to exchanges completed after Jan. 10, 2019, California has now conformed to federal law with regard to corporations (as defined in the California Corporate Tax Law) by limiting the non- recognition of gain or loss to exchanges of real property only. Other taxpayers are unaffected. NORMA WILLIAMS | Real Estate Norma J. Williams is a commercial real estate attorney whose practice focuses on financing, purchase and sale and leasing transactions for office, industrial, retail, multifamily and other commercial real estate. She is a frequent speaker, has authored major real estate legislation and has held leadership positions in local, state and national real estate bar associations. Ms. Williams received her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Wesleyan University and her law degree from University of California, Berkeley. For more information, email contact@willassoc.com or call (213) 996-8464. 2020 Legislative Changes Affecting California Commercial Real Property Housing Development Projects Major legislation affecting Califor- nia home builders designed to allevi- ate the statewide housing emergency were enacted, and sunset on January 1, 2025. Major provisions include: a. Subjecting housing development projects to ordinances in effect at the time that a preliminary applica- tion is submitted with certain ex- ceptions. b. Requiring local agencies to pro- vide an “exhaustive list” of all items needed to complete an incomplete application. c. Reducing time periods for (dis) approval of items affecting certain projects. d. Limiting application fee increases. e. Prohibiting new rules that would impose moratoriums on develop- ments, impose new design stan- dards and other matters. f. Prohibiting local agencies from approving housing development projects that require demolition of housing unless designated re- placement housing is provided. The bill (SB 330) was part of an 18- bill housing package designed to address the state’s housing crisis. Resignation, Non-Acceptance: Deed of Trust Trustees While Deed of Trust trustees have few duties, circumstances may arise where a trustee does not wish to ac- cept a nomination or wishes to resign. New legislation permits a trustee to decline or resign by following a speci- fied mailing and recording procedure and the retention of records related to any duties performed for five years. Economic Development Subsidies Addressing an issue declared to be of statewide concern, legislation gov- erning local government subsidies to warehouse distribution centers has been expanded. Requirements to identify beneficiaries, term, revenues lost, jobs created and other items continue. Requirements in the new legislation include more detail on the types of jobs created, benefits offered, accountability measures if goals aren’t met and required annual reports and hearings. Non-disclosure agreements are prohibited.. To Watch: Eligibility of Ballot Initiative to Repeal Prop 13 as to Commercial and Industrial Properties Not effective but of note for 2020 is the “eligible” status of the “California Tax on Commercial and Industrial Properties for Education and Local Government Funding Initiative” for the Nov. 2, 2020, ballot. The measure, if enacted, would require commercial and industrial properties, except those zoned as commercial agriculture, to be taxed annually based on their mar- ket value. This would replace the cur- rent Prop 13 valuation which permits annual adjustments equal to the lower of the rate of inflation or 2 % unless there has been a change in owner- ship or new construction. Increased revenue would primarily be allocated to local governments and school dis- tricts. Exemptions would exist, as to real property, for businesses whose holdings in the state are valued at less than $2 million (adjusted for inflation beginning in 2023). Residential prop- erty would continue to be subject to the Prop 13 limits. To become “quali- fied” for the November ballot, this “eligible” initiative would have to have all signatures verified by June 25. Disclaimer: Nothing in this article shall be construed as giving legal ad- vice. Practitioners are advised to con- sult with their individual legal advisers as to the legal effect of any item de- scribed in this article. ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · LOS ANGELES · VOL. 6 NO. 1 6a connection to the other personal page, which will allow you to send a customized message. Beware: LinkedIn does have re- strictions on the amount of LinkedIn requests you can send within a short time period. If you really want LinkedIn to work for your law firm, it is important to also engage with your audience on LinkedIn. You can boost your engage- ment by: • Commenting on other people’s content or articles that they’ve been posted on LinkedIn. • Joining specific industry-related groups, posting your own content in articles there, and providing valuable advice and feedback to other members of the group. Furthermore, you can search for LinkedIn hashtags that will allow you to find articles and content that are relevant to your industry. If you find an article that you like, you can com- ment on it, like it or share it with your network. Start or Join a Group There are many legal industry groups on LinkedIn. You can choose to join local groups in your area or even join nationwide groups for the benefit of forming relationships with other attorneys nationwide that may lead to referrals or future partner- ships. Make sure you spend some time every week to work on your LinkedIn marketing and con- nections, and you will start seeing the benefits of building a powerful network. DIMPLE DANG | Legal Marketing Dimple Dang is a legal marketing specialist and consultant with more than 15 years of experience in the legal industry. Her expertise in marketing includes website design, email marketing, SEO, blogging, PPC, social media marketing, podcast production and video production. She speaks professionally at many professional groups and organizations all over the United States. To connect with Dimple, email her directly at dimple@digitalmediadiva. com or send her a message on LinkedIn. Build a Powerful Network for Your Law Firm Using Linkedin You have probably heard the popular saying “Your network equals your net worth.” This is quite accurate. To grow your business network, whether you are a solo practitioner or a large law firm, LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social media plat- forms. The key to building a powerful net- work on LinkedIn is to be strategic and selective about who you add into your network. You may not be aware of this, but LinkedIn allows you to up- date your settings in order to control who can connect with you directly on LinkedIn. You can update your settings on LinkedIn by going to the communi- cation tab and then click on Settings. You will then see an option for con- nection requests and you will have three options to pick from: • Everyone on LinkedIn (which is LinkedIn’s recommended sugges- tion). • Only people who know your email address or appear in your “import- ed contacts” list. • Only people who appear in your “imported contacts” list. Another interesting feature that LinkedIn has is that it allows you to grow your followers instead of your connections if you choose to do so. This option allows you to grow your number of followers without adding additional connections. You can make this change by going to your profile to the privacy setting and then scrolling down to where it says Blocking and Hiding, and select the make follow primary option and enable that button to Yes. Identify Specific People If you are part of a Chamber of Commerce or any other local net- working groups, you may want to search for people in your groups on LinkedIn and connect with them. You can do this by typing their name in the search box and requesting to con- nect with them. It is best to send ev- eryone a personalized message when requesting a connection. Not every- one is going to remember where they met you, so it is nice to send a per- sonal note. The Find Nearby Option Another great feature that you may not be aware of is the “find nearby op- tion.” If you are at a legal conference workshop or networking event, you can also turn on the LinkedIn Find Nearby option on your mobile device and it will enable you to see which LinkedIn users are within 100 feet of you. In order for this feature to work you must enable Bluetooth on your phone first. The one downside of this feature is that it does not allow you to send a personalized message. Therefore, I recommend taking a screenshot and sending a personalized invitation when you have access to your desktop. The Suggested Connections Option As you add new people to your net- work, LinkedIn will also suggest oth- er members that you may know. You have two ways to connect with these connections you can hit the Connect button, but the downside is that you will not be able to send a personal- ized message. The other option is you can click on their profile and request AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 7AALM: What are some of the issues facing seniors today? GH: There is an epidemic of scamming, es- pecially, vulnerable seniors, as elder financial abuse keeps escalating across the country. Our aging population are more vulnerable as they are more trusting and susceptible to trick- ery, as well as less likely to fight or report the scams. The authorities and courts are not up to date with latest scams and are less likely to investigate or prosecute financial abuse cases. AALM: Why are elders/seniors being tar- geted? GH: Paying their monthly mortgage for 40 or 50 years has created significant equity in their homes and large savings accounts that have accumulated over the years. Predators, scammers and unscrupulous professionals realize that tricking elders and seniors is very easy. AALM: What is causing this alarming epi- demic trend? GH: New technology makes it too easy for predators to conduct a home-theft scam—i.e., taking over the elder’s deed of trust—which ultimately leads to an increase in homeless- ness—and identity theft. It’s also easier now for people to pull off the fake-arbitration, “grandchild needs money,” the lawyer’s-inflat- ed-fees and the time-share scams. These are committed by unscrupulous counsel by pro- fessionals and caretakers who are more eager to help themselves than the elder. AALM: What are the stats on the aging pop- ulation? GH: Our population is aging as Baby Boom- ers approach the winter of their lives. There are more than 50 million Americans over age 65, and of that, more than 5.8 million have Dementia, Alzheimer’s and other mental and physical health challenges. Diabetes afflicts more than 12 million, heart disease 6 million and cancer 5 million. More than 8 million are veterans, and 1 million of these now face or have faced homelessness. There are an esti- mated 100,000 Holocaust survivors. With age, we become more vulnerable. Our faculties and defence mechanisms slow down, providing predators and scammers the op- portunity to exploit, take advantage of and defraud us. It is estimated, by AARP Public Policy Institute that one in five is a victim of elder financial abuse, accounting for an es- timated 10 million annual victims. Many of these cases end up lost in the shuffle because the elder runs out of money, energy or both to continue navigating through the convoluted legal system bringing further financial despair and suffering to the elder, while the scammer gets a way and continues scamming more el- ders. AALM: What is the mission of Protecting our Elders? GH: Our mission is to end elder financial abuse and the suffering that it causes the el- ders and their families by shining a spotlight on their causes and creating awareness. We are educating and training the public, seniors, elders, law enforcement, the district attorneys, the state bar and the judiciary for better un- derstanding and better enforcement of the law. We’re bringing all the agencies together in a united manner to transform the way we treat our elders and protect them from this danger- ous trend. Over-65 seniors are a protected class under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (the Elder Abuse Act). Taking advantage of, stealing from and defrauding an elder is a crime, and it’s time for that to be known and enforced at all levels. AALM: How does Protecting our Elders take action for seniors? GH: Our 100% focus is the simple assign- ment of one court room in every courthouse across the nation as a dedicated department that handles all elder/senior-related cases and issues, rather than mixing elders’ cases with Family, Civil or Probate departments. The goal is to provide a collaborative, dedicated department with a judge and staff specially trained to recognize and deal with all the latest Guy Hart of Elder Senior Court on Protecting our Elders NONPR OFIT OF THE MONTH Our mission is to end elder financial abuse and the suffering that it causes the elders and their families by shining a spotlight on their causes and creating awareness.” “ ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · LOS ANGELES · VOL. 6 NO. 1 8scams. It would be similar to Juvenile court, which provides its judges with the specialized training and understanding of the protected class rights. AALM: Who are the group’s volunteers, and what do they do? GH: We are a young organization that started to get active less than 18 months ago and are currently growing. Our volunteers are victims, victims’ family members, lawyers, judges, millennials and other concerned citi- zens who have seen or experienced first hand the devastation of elder financial abuse and its aftermath of pain and suffering. We’re people who are therefore inspired and motivated to take a stand against this trend. AALM: How did the idea for Elder Senior Court evolve? GH: After my father passed away in 2013, my mother—who was at that time 73—was a victim of fraud. Now, six years later, she is 79, we have been through the entire legal system and the multiple court rooms, and I person- ally spent many hours and days seeing hun- dreds of elders confused as they were shuffled in and out of multiple departments and court rooms. We have seen, heard of and received many complaints and reviewed many cases that were mishandled by the courts and law- yers who did not have specialized training. So about a year ago, as I was facing these daily challenges, in meditation I asked for clarity and guidance on what would be most effective and most productive to help the thousands and millions of elders and seniors at risk. The answer came loud and clear: ESC—Elder Se- nior Court. AALM: What is the current situation for el- ders facing the court system? GH: It’s very dismal. If they receive more than $1,300 per month in Social Security, they will not qualify for free legal aid. Most civil lawyers require a $5,000 or $10,000 re- tainer just to review a case. There is no Self Help Desk for seniors and the court clerks are instructed to say, “I am not a lawyer,” and that they cannot help them. When the elder or his family go to the police to file a theft/crime re- port, the police deflect it to the Civil system and remedies, even though it is Criminal in nature. They tell them to go find a civil lawyer, as they do not view financial crimes as a crim- inal act. The predators realize the courts’ and law enforcement’s lack-lustre understanding and are, therefore, not afraid to do more of the same. Having a dedicated court room with the same judge and staff will create an aware- ness that will tighten the scammers’ ability to manoeuvre to numerous courtrooms and go undetected. AALM: What actions have you taken so far to establish Elder Senior Courts in Los An- geles and around the country? GH: We have pro- duced a five-minute public service an- nouncement, a short film that will be com- ing out soon. We have a petition that is about to launch. And we have had numerous discussions with judges, law- yers, politicians, elders, elders’ families and the public. AALM: What can attorneys do to get in- volved? GH: We are looking for compassionate at- torneys who understand or are interested in understanding the ins and outs of elder finan- cial abuse to join our network and to help vic- tims regain what has been stolen from them. Also, there are many incentives for lawyers to win financially. The law provides for full re- covery of all legal fees, treble damages, puni- tive damages as well contingency, pro bono, low bono and more. It is our goal to create a strong task force that will support the elder/ senior community, while at the same pro- viding attorneys the opportunity to fight for what’s right and to make a good living, which equals fulfilment. AALM: How are you getting the word out? GH: Word of mouth, social media, the PSA, and professional publications and media. AALM: How can attorneys expand their practices/book of business/clientele by getting involved in the protection of elders? GH: We have an Attorney Contact page and a package for qualified attorneys who are interested in our mission and want to get in- volved and help. AALM: Why else should attorneys care about the welfare of seniors in the court sys- tem and in general? GH: It’s the right thing to do. It’s actually way overdue—we should have had an Elder Senior Court for years now. Elders should be honoured, respected and revered. They have invested 65-plus years in our society and de- serve a quiet and peaceful retirement, and to not be preyed upon in their golden years. Hopefully, we will all reach the senior/elder age. We will want to know that we are pro- tected by honest professionals, lawyers and a dedicated courtroom that ensure our legal rights are truly protected and carried through. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT GUYHART@PROTECTINGOURELDERS.COM (213)220-8669 PROTECTINGOURELDERS.COM ELDERSENIORCOURT.COM “Our 100% focus is the simple assignment of one court room in every courthouse across the nation as a dedicated department that handles all elder/ senior- related cases and issues, rather than mixing elders’ cases with Family, Civil or Probate departments.” AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 9Next >