CONFERENCE RECAP 2021 BAY AREA MCLE CONFERENCE ROBERT ROSBOROUGH
Last month marked the second Bay Area MCLE Conference MCBA has put on via Zoom and its 14th MCLE Fair/Conference. The reviews are in and attendees gave high marks to 15 programs over the three-day
fair. We were particularly excited about our four keynote speakers. In the opening keynote, fan-favorite Professor Rory Little gave us insight into the current Supreme Court term, being called a “blockbuster” in the media. Day two’s keynote saw me in conversation with groundbreaking retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, who has a new memoir out about her nearly 20 years on the bench. In Her Honor, Judge Cordell manages to discuss
attorney, not just criminal lawyers, could have taken away a lot of insight into courtroom strategy. And Professor and former
the good and the bad in our justice system while making her book a page-turner with
host of KQED’s Forum Michael Krasny closed out the conference as MCBA Presi-
compelling stories, some uplifting, some heartbreaking, from all areas of the law. I
dent-Elect Ahtossa Fullerton “interviewed the interviewer.” Professor Krasny shared
highly recommend it.
stories from a long and distinguished career that has included interviewing three Su-
The conference’s final day saw Deputy Public Defender (and MCBA board member) Karthik Raju interview famed criminal defense attorney Thomas Mesereau (think the Michael Jackson trial). Mesereau not only had plenty of fascinating stories to tell, he had plenty of good advice for trial attorneys. He often used unexpected, even high risk, (and successful) defense strategies, and he revealed his thinking behind them, as well as their effects in the courtroom and the jury room. Any trial
preme Court justices and countless politicians, authors, actors and celebrities from all
walks of life. In so doing, he made many trenchant observations about society today and how it has changed over his career. Many thanks to each of our keynote speakers. Of course, many additional speakers and moderators covered a broad range of interesting and useful topics, some of them
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