Los Angeles Paralegal Association upcoming events

Project Angel Food Kitchen Assistance (Non-MCLE) (April 26, 2026)

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 15:00:00 GMT

PROJECT ANGEL FOOD
KITCHEN ASSISTANCE

Date: Sunday, April 26, 2026
Time: 8AM - 12PM
Location: Project Angel Food
922 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Project Angel Food’s kitchen is 80% volunteer-driven. We serve men, women, and children throughout all of Los Angeles County who are debilitated by serious illnesses and cannot shop or cook for the food they need to survive and heal. They are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, congestive heart failure, COPD, diabetes, end-stage renal disease, HIV/AIDS, stroke-cardiovascular accident and/or other serious diseases. Many are struggling with two or more illnesses.

Kitchen volunteers don’t need to be great cooks, simply take direction from our professionally trained chefs. You’ll join compassionate people in chopping vegetables, stirring sauces, mixing batter, baking cookies, and packaging the meals.

We have a parking lot behind the building, but it may not be able to accommodate every volunteer. We encourage carpooling, rideshare, and public transportation. There is ample street parking in the area, but please watch signs closely. There is absolutely no parking in the 7-11 parking lot.

Please arrive promptly by 8am for your orientation. We will begin orientation when all the participants arrive.
Ask for someone in Volunteer Services when you arrive.
Your shift will end around 12pm.
Please wear closed-toed, rubber-soled, flat shoes when working in the kitchen. No sandals.
Wear comfortable clothes but no cut-offs/midriffs, cap sleeves, or tank tops. No shorts or skirts. Long pants only.
Health Department Regulations prohibit all jewelry on hands, fingers, and arms. Please leave all valuable jewelry at home. Only stud earrings and flat wedding bands are permitted.
You will need to cover your heads so grab a hairnet that we will be providing. Hats can be worn over the hair net.
Please don’t forget to sign in and out for every shift.
Minimum age for volunteers is 14 years old. Anyone 14 or 15 must be always accompanied by an adult. Anyone under 18 must have a liability form signed by a parent or guardian.
Masks are optional in the kitchen.
No drugs, pot, or alcohol before or during volunteer shifts.
Please remember, only scheduled volunteers will be allowed in the building. No walk-ins and no bringing guests without scheduling them.
Stay at home for at least 24 hours after fever/symptoms of fever without fever-reducing medication.
Runny nose or cough, even if you think it is allergies – Cannot Volunteer

From Past to Present: How Immigration Court and ICE History Shapes Today's Practice (MCLE) (May 08, 2026)

Fri, 08 May 2026 17:00:00 GMT

From Past to Present: How Immigration Court and
ICE History Shapes Today's Practice

From the Civil War era to the creation of EOIR in 1983 and major changes after 9/11, U.S. Immigration Courts have evolved under federal oversight. Today, judges face growing backlogs and political scrutiny. This webinar explores due process challenges and offers guidance for practitioners navigating the system in support of clients.

Presented by:
Gunda J. Brost, Esq.

Friday, May 8, 2026
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Online via Zoom

Gunda J. Brost is an immigration attorney (immigration lawyer) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Gunda is originally from Oldenburg, North Germany. She holds a law degree from Hamline University School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota (May 2006). Gunda was admitted to the Iowa bar in 2007. Gunda is a former model and a world languages teacher, with experience teaching English as a Second Language, German, French, and Latin. Gunda’s legal experience includes working part-time as a law clerk and later an associate for immigration attorney Antunez de Mayolo law office (2003-2012), being a student director for the Minneapolis Public Defender’s office (2005), as well as representing clients in mediation proceedings in Hamline’s mediation clinic (2005). Gunda is fluent in English, French and German, and Spanish. Besides her law degree, Gunda holds a B.A. from Wartburg College and a Master’s degree from Middlebury College, Vermont. As a fun fact, Gunda was a former Ms. Nebraska. In her free time, she enjoys reading, foreign movies, dancing, art, music and traveling.

As a college student, Gunda became increasingly involved in international issues as a result of having met and befriended international students from all over the world. But it was not until years later when Gunda was teaching English to speakers of other languages and volunteering at a domestic violence hotline in Omaha, NE, that she considered studying immigration law. At this time, students from all walks of life would ask Gunda for advice, which she did not always feel knowledgeable enough to provide. The experience of standing helplessly by while one of her undocumented students was severely injured at the company where he was working without papers pushed Gunda to take some steps to learn more. The young man ended up permanently losing several of his fingers, yet because of his fear of being deported felt he had no legal recourse against the employer who had failed to provide adequate safety measures. Seeing his fear and suffering first-hand brought the situation of undocumented, often underpaid and at times exploited workers to Gunda’s attention. The next semester, she enrolled in law school. It was always her fascination with immigration law that was at the heart of her motivation to become an attorney. As a law student working with local immigration attorney Miryam Antunez, Gunda was able to assist in representing the victims of the 2006 ICE raid in Marshalltown. One of the highlights of Gunda’s experience as a law student was when she helped write a legal brief for an asylum application that was ultimately granted. Since then, Gunda has found that her interest in and experience with living abroad, international people and their cultures and finally her ability to speak different languages have been tremendously helpful in her ability to serve her clients.

Gunda is an active member of AILA (American Immigration Lawyer's Association) and has held leadership positions at the national, regional and local level in immigration advocacy. She was the 2024-2025 Iowa-Nebraska AILA chapter chair and served on the AILA board of governors. She is a member of the ABA international and immigration law steering committee. She is an active member of the Iowa State Bar Association. Gunda presents regularly on immigration topics at a national level.

Extrajudicial Killings: Understanding and Responding Through Law (MCLE) (May 19, 2026)

Tue, 19 May 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Extrajudicial Killings:
Understanding and Responding Through Law

Extrajudicial killings are a crime that is often under-discussed among practitioners and scholars, even though it has become a crime that is being repeatedly perpetrated in various contexts around the world. This session will discuss the contours of extrajudicial killing within the US legal system and how attorneys can find avenues to assist with litigating cases. The session will also explore the ongoing situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran and how extrajudicial killing can mutate and take new forms through different processes. Extrajudicial killings constitute an arbitrary deprivation of life and can be carried out by a multitude of actors targeting political opponents, activists, or marginalized groups.

Attendees will learn:

Existing US law statutes and international treaties currently shaping the practice of criminal law involving extrajudicial killing
Status of extrajudicial killing and its discrete elements under international law
The substantive and procedural component of extrajudicial killings
Current practices that seek to prevent its use

Presented by:
Professor William J. Aceves

Tuesday, May 19, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Online via Zoom

Professor Aceves graduated from the University of Southern California with a JD and MA in international relations. After practicing law for two years, Aceves returned to academia to earn an MA in government at Harvard University and an LLM in international law at the UCLA School of Law. He also served as the Ford Foundation Fellow in International Law at the UCLA School of Law. In 1998, he joined the faculty at California Western, and was promoted to professor of law in 2001. He served as the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs from 2007-2014.

Aceves frequently works with Amnesty International, the Center for Justice & Accountability, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the American Civil Liberties Union on projects involving the domestic application of international law. He has also represented several human rights and civil liberties organizations as amicus curiae counsel in cases before the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Aceves is the author of The Anatomy of Torture and coauthor of The Law of Consular Access. He co-edited Lessons and Legacies of the War on Terror. He is also the principal author of the influential Amnesty International USA Safe Haven report. He has published numerous articles on human rights and international law. Aceves served as co-chair for the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, and the 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025 International Law Weekend Conferences of the American Branch of the International Law Association.

Aceves is a member of the American Law Institute. He has served on the National Boards of Amnesty International USA and the International Law Students Association. He currently serves as the AIUSA Ombudsperson. He also serves on the Boards of the Center for Justice & Accountability and the American Civil Liberties Union. Aceves is a Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association. Aceves has appeared before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Migrants, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Aceves is admitted to the State Bar of California, the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Southern District of California, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the First Circuit, Second Circuit, Fifth Circuit, Ninth Circuit, D.C. Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Curtains Up on Copyright: Navigating Legal Issues Arising in Live Stage Productions On and Off Broadway (MCLE) (May 27, 2026)

Wed, 27 May 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Curtains Up on Copyright: Navigating Legal Issues Arising in Live Stage Productions
On and Off Broadway

Join Doug Nevin, Partner and Head of Theater and Live Events at Klaris Law in New York, and one of Broadway's top lawyers, as we explore some of the unique legal issues that arise in live theatre and Broadway productions.Between scripts, musical scores, stage direction, choreography, costumes, set design, and more, stage plays and musicals present a host of copyright issues that Broadway producers and their attorneys must navigate. Among other things, attendees will learn how the various rights of theatrical stakeholders intersect and interact, the key types of agreements and important terms to consider, and what legal risks to watch out for.

This session will also touch on how producers assemble and manage the many creative rights that make up a theatrical production, including the challenges of coordinating multiple contributors and protected works within a single live performance. Participants will gain practical insight into how theatrical projects are structured from a legal perspective and how attorneys help productions move from concept to stage while minimizing risk.

Presented by:
Doug Nevins
Partner I Klaris

Wednesday, May 27, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Online via Zoom

Doug Nevin is a partner and the head of theater/live events at Klaris. He is a leading practitioner and thought leader in theater and live arts, known for his passionate advocacy of his clients and projects and for the creative prowess and deep industry knowledge he brings to his clients’ work.

His clients list includes many of today’s most prominent producers and producing organizations, internationally renowned creative artists, as well as some of the industry’s most-valued service providers. His production counsel credits include EVERY BRILLIANT THING, SCHMIGADOON, OEDIPUS, PRINCE F*GGOT, THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, BURNOUT PARADISE, YOU GOT OLDER, KENREX, THE UNKNOWN, TRU, GYPSY, STEREOPHONIC, ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, ROMEO + JULIET, ALL IN, ALL OUT, PURPOSE, THE LAST FIVE YEARS, JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN, SWEPT AWAY, APPROPRIATE, PATRIOTS, AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, LEMPICKA, GUTENBERG!, KIMBERLY AKIMBO, PARADE, Alex Edelman’s JUST FOR US, THE SIGN IN SYDNEY BRUSTEIN’S WINDOW, GREY HOUSE, TOPDOG/UNDERDOG, LIFE OF PI, THE PIANO LESSON, POTUS, IS THIS A ROOM/DANA H., PASS OVER, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, SLAVE PLAY, WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME, HOLD ON TO ME
DARLING, TEETH, DANNY & THE DEEP BLUE SEA, ONE WOMAN SHOW, and the pie shop SWEENEY TODD. His client list also includes award-winning composers, lyricists, playwrights, performers, authors, directors, choreographers, designers, casting directors, music staff, and some of the world’s preeminent cultural institutions.

Doug was honored as a Distinguished Leader at the 2025 New York Legal Awards presented by the New York Law Journal and was recently recognized in Variety’s Legal Impact Report. He is a five-time New York Super Lawyer and an eight-time New York Super Lawyer Rising Star. Doug is a two-time Tony Award nominee, a Lucille Lortel Award winner, and the co-founder of Pride Plays.