Recent Developments in Ethics, Plus a Special Online Benefit Concert

Why Attend?

Virginia CLE^®, in collaboration with the Nashville Songwriters Association International and our signature sponsor Sensei Enterprises, Inc., is pleased to continue our “concert plus CLE” series.

The 1-hour online CLE Program is Recent Developments in Ethics, featuring Renu M. Brennan and Elizabeth Shoenfeld of the Virginia State Bar, on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Our ongoing concert series will follow at 4:00 p.m. ET, featuring Steve Bogard, award-winning Nashville songwriter and President of NSAI.

Sponsored by Sensei Enterprises, Inc.

The ONLINE CLE PROGRAM

Recent Developments in Ethics, featuring Renu M. Brennan and Elizabeth Shoenfeld.

Originally presented as a session from the 2020 Recent Developments in the Law Seminar, this program addresses recent developments in professional regulation.

Specific topics include:

• Revocations
• Misconduct Suspensions
• Public Reprimands
• Public Admonitions
  
  

THE ONLINE CONCERT

Steve Bogard has had #1 country songs in each of the last four decades. He has written a current total of TEN #1 country songs, including George Strait's "Carried Away” and “Carrying Your Love with Me," Rascal Flatts' career breaker, "Prayin' for Daylight," and Dustin Lynch’s 2017 #1, “Seein’ Red.” He has had two Grammy nominations for Best Country Song, the #1 “Every Mile a Memory” and top-10 “Long Trip Alone,” both recorded by Dierks Bentley. Total sales of albums containing Bogard songs are well over one hundred fifty million units.

Bogard has received twenty-two ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC awards with hits and cuts by a diverse array of artists that includes Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker, Patty Loveless, Etta James, The Four Tops, Sinead O’Connor, Jack Ingram, Restless Heart, Conway Twitty, Waylon Jennings, Delaney & Bonnie, The Oak Ridge Boys, Lonestar, Steve Wariner, and many more.

Elected President of the Board of Directors of the Nashville Songwriters Association for the first time in 2006, he spearheaded industry initiatives resulting in a mechanical right for songwriters in an interactive stream, lobbied for the passage of the Songwriters Tax Equity Act, creating a boom in writer catalog sales, and guided the purchase of both the current headquarters of NSAI, the Music Mill, and the Legendary Bluebird Café.  He stepped aside in 2013 after an unprecedented 7 years and was reelected in 2017 as the historic Music Modernization Act took shape and was passed in October 2018.  Bogard testified as a songwriter witness at both the 2006 and 2018 Copyright Royalty Board trials, the latter resulting in a record 44% increase in streaming royalties for songwriters.
 
From his move to Nashville in 1983 on the heels of a Marty Robbins BMI award-winner “Touch Me with Magic” to his current cuts as a BMG staff songwriter and President of NSAI, Steve Bogard has made an indelible mark on the Nashville songwriting community.

Steve Bogard is not only a gifted writer, but also a special and talented performer too. YOU CAN LISTEN TO "CARRYING YOUR LOVE WITH ME" HERE.

Cost for the CLE program and the online concert is $65. Cost for the online concert only is $10. And as always, the entire share of VACLE revenue will support Virginia Law Foundation grants made to underfunded law-related not-for-profit organizations throughout the Commonwealth. 

Nashville Songwriters Association International  

Established in 1967, the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) is the world's largest not-for-profit songwriters trade organization and has a membership of more than 5,000 spanning the United States and eight (8) foreign countries. Consisting of a body of creative minds, including songwriters from all genres of music, professional and aspiring, for over 52 years, NSAI has been committed to protecting the rights and future of the profession of songwriting, as well as carrying a commitment to educate, elevate and celebrate the songwriter, acting as a unifying force within the music community and the community at large. To join our dear friends at NSAI as a member, or simply for more information about all they do to make our world more special, please visit nashvillesongwriters.com.

Sensei Enterprises, Inc.

Sensei Enterprises, Inc. is a nationally-known cybersecurity, managed IT services, and digital forensics firm, founded in 1997 by Sharon Nelson and John Simek. Sensei provides information technology to hundreds of businesses in the DC Metro area. Sensei provides digital forensics and managed cybersecurity services nationwide. Sharon D. Nelson is a practicing attorney and the president of Sensei Enterprises, Inc. She is a past president of the Virginia State Bar, the Fairfax Bar Association, and the Fairfax Law Foundation. She is a co-author of 18 books published by the ABA. snelson@senseient.com.  John W. Simek is vice president of Sensei Enterprises, Inc. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, Certified Ethical Hacker and a nationally known expert in the area of digital forensics. He and Sharon provide legal technology, cybersecurity and digital forensics services from their Fairfax, Virginia firm.  jsimek@senseient.com.

Cancellation Policy: Cancellation requests will be honored through midnight of MARCH 22. Full refunds may be requested through MARCH 29 if you experience technical difficulties.

CONCERT AND CLE SCHEDULE (March 24) (Eastern Time)

FACULTY

Renu M. Brennan, Bar Counsel, Virginia State Bar / Richmond

Renu Brennan is the Bar Counsel for the Virginia State Bar.  She served as Deputy Executive Director of the VSB from 2016 to 2018, and as Assistant Bar Counsel for the Bar from 2008 to 2016. Ms. Brennan previously served as Secretary of the Virginia Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program and is a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Client Protection. She was a faculty member for the Virginia State Bar Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Course from 2008 to 2011, and she has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Virginia since 2007. She also served as co-chair of the Judicial Nominations Committee of APABA-VA from 2009 to 2011. Ms. Brennan participated as an instructor in the Virginia Bar Association’s Rule of Law program. Prior to coming to the Bar, she was a partner with the firm of Vandeventer Black, LLP, where she handled professional malpractice and commercial litigation. From 1998 to 2004, Ms. Brennan was with the firm of Wright, Robinson, Osthimer & Tatum in Richmond, Virginia. Ms. Brennan is licensed in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and California, where she practiced in Los Angeles. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a law degree from Boston University School of Law.

Elizabeth Shoenfeld, Virginia State Bar / Richmond

Elizabeth Shoenfeld is a Senior Assistant Bar Counsel for the Virginia State Bar, where she investigates and prosecutes ethical misconduct complaints against attorneys practicing in Virginia.  Prior to joining the Bar in 2015, she had a national litigation practice, focusing on defending automotive manufacturers in product liability actions.  Since joining the Bar, she has spoken throughout the Commonwealth on a number of ethics-related issues.  In her free time, she enjoys running in local races (back when they still happened, now she just runs around her neighborhood) and after her two daughters.