Program Details
2026-11-06 12:00:00
Over 1,000+ webinars
Course Overview
2026-11-06 12:00:00
2h CLE Credits
Intermediate
2
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ESTThis session examines how implicit bias operates in legal decision-making across criminal and civil contexts, from police discretion and jury deliberation to attorney conduct standards. Attorneys will learn how courts and bar regulators are treating bias as a legally cognizable issue—distinct from intentional discrimination—and what evidence-based protocols have been adopted to mitigate it. Attendees will leave with a grounded understanding of the current statutory, evidentiary, and regulatory landscape, including where science supports intervention and where critical gaps remain.
Beth W. Mora 1:10 pm - 2:10 pm ESTThis session maps the three active reform models — Washington/New Jersey/Connecticut’s objective observer standard, Arizona’s abolition of peremptory challenges, and California’s hybrid framework under CCP § 231.7 — and examines how each reshapes civil jury selection in practice. Attorneys will learn how California’s SB 645 (signed October 11, 2025) exempts most civil cases from the § 231.7 procedures while preserving that stricter standard for FEHA, Unruh, and specified federal civil rights cases. Attendees leave with a framework for identifying which standard governs their case, adjusting voir dire strategy accordingly, and documenting strike decisions to survive judicial scrutiny under any of the three models.
Rich MatthewsBeth W. Mora has spent much of the last five years on the question this program takes up: how bias operates inside the legal system and what the profession does about it. She served as Co-Chair of the California Employment Lawyers Association’s Elimination of Bias in the Judiciary effort and sat on the Bias Committee of the Contra Costa County Superior Court. Her recent presentations include “Bias Incivility: What is it & Why Does it Matter?” for the Beverly Hills Bar Association (March 27, 2025), “Civility, Bias & the Legal Profession – Oh My!” (July 18, 2024) and “Ethics & Bias: A Primer” (January 19, 2024) for the California Lawyers Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section, and “Bias in the Judiciary, What Complaint Options Exist?” for Continuing Education of the Bar (August 20, 2022). She is the owner and founder of Mora Employment Law, where she represents employees.
Rich Matthews is a trial consultant and California attorney whose work centers on jury selection: juror questionnaires, voir dire questions, and the exercise of cause and peremptory challenges. He serves on the California Bar Litigation Section’s committee for comment on proposed revisions to California’s standard jury instructions. Based in San Francisco, he works nationwide through Juryology, his trial consulting practice.
Beth W. Mora has spent much of the last five years on the question this program takes up: how bias operates inside the legal system and what the profession does about it. She served as Co-Chair of the California Employment Lawyers Association’s Elimination of Bias in the Judiciary effort and sat on the Bias Committee of the Contra Costa County Superior Court. Her recent presentations include “Bias Incivility: What is it & Why Does it Matter?” for the Beverly Hills Bar Association (March 27, 2025), “Civility, Bias & the Legal Profession – Oh My!” (July 18, 2024) and “Ethics & Bias: A Primer” (January 19, 2024) for the California Lawyers Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section, and “Bias in the Judiciary, What Complaint Options Exist?” for Continuing Education of the Bar (August 20, 2022). She is the owner and founder of Mora Employment Law, where she represents employees.
Rich Matthews is a trial consultant and California attorney whose work centers on jury selection: juror questionnaires, voir dire questions, and the exercise of cause and peremptory challenges. He serves on the California Bar Litigation Section’s committee for comment on proposed revisions to California’s standard jury instructions. Based in San Francisco, he works nationwide through Juryology, his trial consulting practice.
Requirements
The Alabama State Bar MCLE Commission requires attorneys to complete 12 credits, including 1 ethics, by December 31 of each year. All credits must be reported by February 15 of the following year. A maximum of 12 credits, including 1 ethics credit, may be carried over for 1 year only.
Formats
