Volume 56, Number 5 • September/October 2026
Contents
03 06
Notes from Team CAOC
Special thank yous and what to expect from this edition
FORUM (ISSN:0889-7751) is published digitally 6 times a year. Entire contents ©2026 Consumer Attorneys Of California. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission of CAOC is prohibited. Statements and opinions in editorials and articles are not necessarily those of CAOC. Publication of advertising does not imply endorsement of products or services. Advertisers and their agencies are solely responsible and assume full liability for all contents of their advertisements. All letters and materials sent to FORUM will be considered CAOC property. Any editorial or article copy accepted is subject to such revision as is deemed proper in the discretion of the editor. Acceptance of editorial or article copy includes the author’s rights to such copy. Publisher reserves the right to publish, in whole or part, all letters received. Email forum@caoc.org with questions or to inquire about article submissions, advertising space. Consumer Attorneys Of California 770 L Street, Suite 1200 Sacramento, CA 95814-3396
Upcoming Events, Programs
A quick look at in-person or virtual opportunities
08 “The Work You Did Not See”
President’s Message by Douglas Saeltzer
09 “Legislative Update”
By CAOC Legislative Director, Nancy Peverini 12 “The Case for Human Beings in the AI Era: The Employment Lawyer Perspective” Co-authored by Alexis Gamliel and Carlen Don 16 “How Legal Technology Can Strengthen a Lawyer’s Judgment Without Replacing It” Authored by F. Edie Mermelstein 24 “The Settings Nobody Changed: Protecting Your Firm and Data from CyberAttacks” Authored by Mark Mina 28 “When AI Writes the Police Report: What Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Need to Know” Authored by Denisse Gastélum 34 “Tips for Introducing, Challenging Evidence from Archived Internet Sources such as the Wayback Machine” Authored by Jason A. Ibey 38 “My Client’s Other Lawyer Is ChatGPT: What Attorneys Need to Know When Clients Turn to AI” Authored by Jade M. Brewster 45 “The Remote Deposition Coaching Problem, and the Case for a Formal Rule” Authored by Scott E. Boyer 54 “The Legal Tech Shift Plaintiff Firms Can't Afford to Miss: Agentic AI in Complex Litigation” Authored by John Blake 58 “When Harm Is Invisible: Litigating AI and EdTech Claims in California Classrooms” Authored by Micha Star Liberty 66 “Five Hours for a Sheet of Pleading Paper: What I Learned When I Stopped Waiting for the Legal
77 Advocates Club Listing Spotlighting our contributors 84 Business Friends listing Spotlighting our top partners 85 “(Legislator) Summer Dreamin’ 87 “Creating a Seat at the Table” DEI Report by Shalini Quattlebaum 88 “Coffee Break Report” 90 “Women’s Caucus Report” By Ji-In Houck 93 “A Busy Fall” 95 President’s Club listing
By Grassroots Manager, Natalie Robertson
Legal Staff Support Group report by Assal Badrkhani, Cesar Garcia
New Lawyers Division report by Matt Sahak
Tech Industry to Save Me” Authored by Benjamin Schenk
Spotlighting the firms and people supporting the organization
72 76
2026 Award Finalists Consumer Attorney, Street Fighter of the Year nominees
97 Membership Report 98 Affiliate Listing
A current look at our numbers, top recruiters
“How Dramatically Would Things Have Changed? PAC Board Chair Message by Roger Dreyer
Directory of all our vendor partners
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