Los Angeles Paralegal Association upcoming events

No More Chances: Personal Devices, Resistant Custodians, and the Cost of Ignoring an ESI Discovery Order (MCLE) (November 17, 2026)

Tue, 17 Nov 2026 20:00:00 GMT

No More Chances: Personal Devices, Resistant Custodians,
and the Cost of Ignoring an ESI Discovery Order

Adam J Schwartz, Esq. entered Breaking Code Silence v. McNamara as a consultant on document review and ESI issues. His initial assignment was to help develop and advocate the defendants' position in a court-ordered joint ESI plan.

The assignment became a two-year engagement spanning discovery, attempted resolution, and summary judgment. The plaintiff ultimately dismissed the case with prejudice before the anticipated ruling on the defendants’ motion. After dismissal, the court found that the plaintiff violated the stipulated ESI order by failing to preserve, search, and produce ESI from required organizational and personal sources. The court awarded the defendants $34,986.50 in fees.

Using that dispute as a roadmap, this program shows paralegals how to identify personal data sources, interview custodians, track collection, document refusals, escalate problems, and build a defensible discovery record.

Attendees leave with tools they can use the next morning

A custodian checklist covering company and personal devices, accounts, applications, cloud storage, and backups.
A source matrix showing preservation, access, collection, processing, review, and production status.
A collection log documenting instructions, responses, refusals, follow-up, and escalation.
A quality-control checklist for file counts, date ranges, metadata, threading, attachments, and collection gaps.
A warning framework for identifying when an ordinary delay is becoming a court-order problem.

Presented by:
Adam J Schwartz, Esq.
Founder and CEO of DocumentReview.Law

Tuesday, November 17, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Online via Zoom

All Attendees - FREE!

Adam J. Schwartz graduated with honors from The George Washington University Law School and is licensed to practice law in California and the District of Columbia. Adam also holds an MA in Security Policy Studies from The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs and a BS in Speech (Radio/TV/Film) from Northwestern University's School of Speech. Full biography

Practical Medical Record Review for Litigation Paralegals (MCLE) (November 19, 2026)

Thu, 19 Nov 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Practical Medical Record Review for
Litigation Paralegals

Your Records Arrived. Are They Complete?

A 1,400-page medical record arrives and appears complete. The attorney wants the chronology started. But buried in the file are references to a specialist consultation that was never produced, imaging without the underlying report, and a follow-up encounter that appears nowhere else.

Using a litigation case, participants will decide at several points whether they would proceed, flag the issue, or request more records. Dr. Gupta will show how referrals, orders, medication changes, imaging references, and later notes can reveal records that should exist but are missing.

The session also addresses a distinction that can materially affect a case: is the documentation missing, or was the care itself missing? Participants will then see the same case with AI software and compare what they identified manually with what the platform surfaces and links back to the underlying source record.

Participants will learn to:

• recognize clues that a medical-record production may be incomplete;

• distinguish missing documentation from a possible gap in care; and

• formulate a more targeted follow-up records request.

Presented by:
Saurabh Gupta, MD, FACC

Thursday, November 19, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Online via Zoom

LAPA Members - $10.00
Non-members - $25.00

Saurabh Gupta, MD, FACC, is Professor of Medicine at Washington State University and an interventional cardiologist. He previously served as Chief of Cardiology at St. Charles Health System and Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at Oregon Health & Science University. His leadership includes service on the Board of Governors of the American College of Cardiology, as chair of the Investigative Committee of the Oregon Medical Board, and on steering committees for the National Cardiovascular Data Registry to advance cardiovascular quality nationally and internationally. An experienced medical expert in complex medicolegal matters, he brings clinical, quality, medical regulatory, and litigation perspectives to medical record analysis.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gupta-md/

Defective by Design: A Products Liability Primer (MCLE) (November 24, 2026)

Wed, 25 Nov 2026 02:30:00 GMT

Defective by Design:
A Products Liability Primer

Products liability cases touch almost everything we buy and use, from household items to medical devices. In this session, Kristy Arevalo, partner and practice group leader at McCune Law Group, walks through how these cases work from the Plaintiff’s side. She’ll cover the three types of product defects, the legal theories behind the claim, what plaintiffs have to prove, and the defenses that come up most often. She'll also explain how a single product case can grow into a mass tort, including how multidistrict litigation (MDLs) and Bellwether trials work. Expect real case examples, a few interactive moments, and time for your questions.

Presented by:
Kristy M. Arevalo, Esq.
McCune Law Group

Tuesday, November 24, 2026
6:30 - 7:30 PM
Online via Zoom

LAPA Members - $10.00
Non-members - $25.00

Through her work at McCune Law Group, Kristy M. Arevalo has established herself as one of the Inland Empire’s top plaintiff’s attorneys in the legal fields of Medical Product Failure, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, and Product Liability. full biography

The Spare Act (MCLE) (December 03, 2026)

Thu, 03 Dec 2026 20:00:00 GMT

The Spare Act

Preparing Your Firm for California's SPARE Act: What Los Angeles Paralegals Need to Know Before January 1, 2027

Beginning January 1, 2027, AB 747 (the SPARE Act) replaces the "reasonable diligence" standard with strict, evidence-based service of process rules. Proofs of service that don't comply could be challenged, and the burden of proving valid service shifts to the plaintiff. This 45-minute session, led by Jeff Karotkin, a 30+ year process serving and court filing veteran who worked with legislators on the bill's language, explains what changes and what your team must do about it.

You will learn:

The new 3-3-3 diligence rule and when it applies
GPS-stamped photo requirements and their exceptions
Server registration changes and what must appear on a valid proof of service
How the burden of proof shifts and AB 2042 affects default judgments and unlawful detainer cases
A four-step readiness plan for your intake process, templates, vendor oversight, and staff training

Presented by:
Jeff H. Karotkin
Steno

Thursday, December 3, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Online via Zoom

LAPA Members - $10.00
Non-members - $25.00

Jeff H. Karotkin - Senior Director of Litigation Support at Steno

· Over 30+ years of experience in the process serving and court filing industry

· Worked directly with legislators and stakeholders on the language of AB 747 as it moved through the California Assembly and Senate

· Pioneered eFiling at One Legal, LLC and built the first digital Service of Process platform

· Former President of CALSPro and NAPPS; author of Bloomberg Law's industry analysis of the SPARE Act

Holiday Benefit Mixer (December 04, 2026)

Sat, 05 Dec 2026 02:00:00 GMT

Slip into your coziest holiday sweater and meet us at
Shoo Shoo Baby for our annual Holiday Benefit Mixer!

Each ticket includes two drink tickets for specialty cocktails,
plus entry to a LAPA raffle!

Friday, December 4, 2026
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Shoo Shoo Baby
717 W 7th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017

SB 574 and the Paralegal: What California's New AI Law Means for Your Work Starting January 1(MCLE) (December 10, 2026)

Thu, 10 Dec 2026 20:00:00 GMT

SB 574 and the Paralegal:
What California's New AI Law Means for
Your Work Starting January 1

Starting January 1, 2027, California's Senate Bill 574 takes effect, creating strict statutory rules for legal professionals who use generative artificial intelligence.

While primary responsibility stays with the attorney, paralegals will feel an immediate shift in daily workflows, research habits, drafting procedures, and data security.

Presented by:
Gerry Wolfe, JE, MSCS

Thursday, December 10, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Online via Zoom

LAPA Members - $10.00
Non-members - $25.00