NEVADA CITY, Calif. November 2, 2017 – The November Noon Time Legal Seminar, presented by the Nevada County Law Library, will be on “Small Claims and Mediation,” on Tuesday, November 28 from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm, at the Nevada County Superior Court in Nevada City. The seminar is open to attorneys, who will receive one hour of MCLE credit, and to the general public. The cost is $30 and $15 respectively. Cash or check preferred at the door.

To enroll, please pre-register by emailing law.library@nccourt.net or by calling 530-265-7161. Space is limited. This seminar will be jointly presented by local attorneys Lee Auerbach, Helen Cavanaugh, and Erin Noel.

The three main areas presented will be:

  1. There is a dispute. What do you do now?
  2. Is filing a small claims suit appropriate? How does one get started? What about mediation?
  3. How to settle the dispute before trial. If not, how to prepare for trial – the dos and don’ts.

Lee Auerbach serves as a Judge Pro Tem in the Small Claims Division of the Nevada County Superior Court.  He previously served as a Judge Pro Tem in the Los Angeles Superior Court.  He clerked under the Honorable Manuel L. Real, then Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.  Following his clerkship, Lee practiced complex civil litigation at Sidley Austin LLP for over 20 years. Lee is a graduate of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, a member of Order of the Coif, and the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society.

Helen Cavanaugh is the Family Law Facilitator and Director of the Self-Help Centers for Nevada and Sierra Counties. Prior to the Nevada County Superior Court, Helen was the managing attorney for a federal program working with the legal needs of children in foster care and special needs adoptions. She has sat on many local non-profit boards and is an active member of the Nevada County Bar Association. Helen was a civil litigator, but her primary focus in private practice was working with the unique and varied legal needs of families caring for a disabled family member.

Erin Noel serves as the managing attorney and executive director of Community Legal, an accessible legal support service in Nevada City. She has practiced law in land use, environmental, and property, and has worked to affect local, state, and federal policies. She obtained her J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and is a certified mediator.