Editor’s Introduction: The New

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

The New

ROBERT ROSBOROUGH Welcome to another year-end issue of the Marin Lawyer, at the end of another pandemic year. I look forward to being able to report on in-person gatherings instead of solely Zoom ones (but don’t forget the summer BBQ at the Way Station!) Any such reporting I do is likely to be in a president’s message since I am MCBA’s incoming president and its outgoing Marin Lawyer editor. Yes, after five years as editor (how did that happen?), I am leaving behind my editor hat for the presidency. I’m expecting a lot more leisure time. In all seriousness, I will remain involved with publication during my presidency to some extent, to help new editors learn the many steps of the editing and publishing process and to encourage interesting content. The interesting content is up to you and I encourage readers to write for the Marin Lawyer. I also encourage readers to speak with me about the Marin Lawyer. I feel that it is one of the things that helps keep us connected, especially in these remote Zooming times. We will always have a need for announcements and invitations and conducting other business of MCBA. Do we still need more than that? With all of the information we are bombarded with these days, is the Marin Lawyer something you still want? Please let me know the next time you see me

or better yet, reach out to me specifically about the Marin Lawyer. While I hardly determined all of the content these past five years, I did my best to encourage content that was relevant to as many of our members as possible, sometimes in a substantive area of the law and sometimes about law practice (Cybersecurity, anyone? Insurance? Cybersecurity insurance?) Or about important legal issues of the day, sometimes more relevant to our lives than our practices. I welcome whatever thoughts you have about all of this, even when I’m just the president and not the editor! Please take a moment to answer a short survey about the Marin Lawyer—it should take you literally one minute. Speaking of being the editor, this issue is about the new. New law in particular, with

Jenny Schwartz and Menaka Fernando

bringing us a handy overview of new California employment and labor legislation. They include some legislation that did not make it into law, including proposed legislation that did not pass, which can be handy for seeing what won’t change but where there still may be enough initiative to pass something similar. Joel Gumbiner provides us an overview of new California laws more broadly, from gender-neutral store toy sections to to-go cocktails. Joel also recaps the latest Marin County Superior Court update, including upcoming judicial assignments (spoiler alert: not all that much is changing) and the all-important status of the march to e-filing and case management. If you missed last month’s MCLE conference, I recap all of the interesting things you could have learned (and gotten specialty credit for!) Perhaps the most interesting new thing in this issue is Mark Rice’s conversation with a client and another person at his firm about their journey together to get a new legal name and gender for their client. It’s a handy primer for those who might end up needing to know how but also an insightful look into the process and a person behind it. That’s all she wrote, folks. I look forward to being in touch next month via the president’s message and to seeing many of you at MCBA’s next in-person event: our installation gala on January 27th at the new Jonas Center at the College of Marin’s Indian Val-

ley Campus. The venue has plenty of room indoors but also connects to a lovely courtyard, weather permitting. Food and drink will be served cocktail-style, with plenty of space to wander as well as small tables to sit for a bit. The programming is minimal (a swearing in, of course) and you’ll have a chance to circulate and catch up with many colleagues. I look forward to seeing you there! View this article at Marinbar.org

Rob Rosborough is Of Counsel to Monty White LLP. He mediates disputes where an ongoing relationship is at stake, particularly adult-family conflict such as disagreement over caring for an aging parent, and HOA disputes. He also maintains an estate planning and HOA practice. Rob teaches at USF’s Fromm Institute (conflict resolution and history of science) and helps lawyers cope with the practice of law by teaching them meditation skills as a certified iRest® meditation teacher. EMAIL | WEBSITE