The Beverly Hills Bar Association (BHBA), in association with the Beverly Hills Bar Foundation and the Law Guild of Beverly Hills, hosted the 58th Annual Supreme Court Luncheon honoring the justices of the California Supreme Court on June 5, at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Justices in attendance included Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who made extended remarks about the state of California courts during the luncheon, and Associate Justices Marvin R. Baxter, Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, Ming W. Chin, Carol A. Corrigan and Goodwin Liu. (Associate Justice Joyce L. Kennard was unable to attend.)
This was Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye’s second appearance at the BHBA’s annual luncheon since being sworn in as Chief Justice in 2011. Joseph L. Dunn, Executive Director/CEO of the State Bar of California, is the featured guest speaker.
“We are pleased to honor California’s Supreme Court Justices for their incredible dedication and outstanding service to the State,†said BHBA president Lawrence H. Jacobson. “The Beverly Hills Bar Association’s annual Supreme Court Luncheon, a tradition that began in 1954, also provides Southern California lawyers and jurists an opportunity to get together outside of the court room.â€
Proceeds from the event benefit the Beverly Hills Bar Foundation scholarship program, which provides scholarships to economically disadvantaged, academically qualified law students. This year, scholarships were presented to nine local law school students: Ana Cisneros Alvarez and Alex E. Flores of Loyola Law School; Raisa Garvin and Raija Churchill of Pepperdine University School of Law; John Skyler Owens and Paul Miailovich from Southwestern University School of Law; Jullian Harris-Calvin and Ana Graciela Najera Mendoza of UCLA School of Law; and Rebecca J. Lee from USC Gould School of Law. In addition, Lauren Frinkman from the UCLA School of Law won the BHBA’s 3rd Annual “Rule of Law Essay Writing Competition.â€
Scholarship Donors were Bird Marella Boxer Wolpert Nessim Drooks & Lincenberg, APC; Girardi | Keese; Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP; and Law Offices of Lisa L. Maki. Champions of Justice Donors include FOX Entertainment Group; Horvitz & Levy LLP; Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP; Shernoff Bidart Echeverria Bentley LLP; Valensi Rose, PLC; and Walzer & Melcher LLP. Supreme Court Luncheon Affinity Partner/Member Benefit Provider/Sponsors are LexisNexis; Matloff Life and Health Insurance; and West Coast Archives.
The Beverly Hills Bar Association, founded in 1931, is the sixth largest bar association in California, with 5,000 members. Its mission is to serve its members, to lead the legal profession and to advocate for justice in the community. Its wide range of community outreach programs, many of which are supported by the Beverly Hills Bar Foundation grants, include Wills For Heroes, a free program to provide wills to Fire Fighters, Policemen and First Responders; Roxbury Park Legal Clinic, a monthly program providing free legal information to the community; free programs for Victims of Domestic Violence; the ABA Tolerance through Education Program that teaches third graders about tolerance and equality; Samoshel, prepare meals for the Samoshel Shelter once a month; “And Justice For All,†a series of programs covering a variety of topical legal issues; Tax Court Pro Se Assistance, in which BHBA members volunteer to assist tax payers – at no cost – who are representing themselves before the Tax Court; the Lawyer Referral and Information Service, which matches individuals with specific legal matters with qualified attorneys with appropriate specialties; and the Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program, which resolves fee disputes between clients and attorneys.
For information: www.bhba.org.
