Category: President’s Message

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but before we leave November, there are two more days of the 30-Day Gratitude Challenge and I’m determined to end strong. Today’s challenge is to call or text someone and share a reason I’m grateful for them (the tough part will be narrowing down whom to send that message to), and tomorrow’s challenge (spoiler alert) is to start a gratitude journal. I’ve been meaning to do that, so this was just the prompt that I needed. If you keep one, I’d love to hear if you fill it out in the morning or in the evening, and why. Read More

This week many of us are, or will be, focused on the meal-planning for Thursday’s food fest. The tryptophan and carb comas are coming, and creative left-over makeovers will make up the rest of the weekend. So, I was a little surprised to read that today’s action item in the 30-Day Gratitude Challenge, the Monday before Thanksgiving, is to cook a meal for someone who is stressed or tired. More cooking?? Read More

Today’s Gratitude Challenge is to write about a memory I cherish. One of the best byproducts of this action item from the 30-Day Challenge was that I sat still for about half an hour combing through wonderful memories, trying to pick just one. Maybe it’s because I am teaching this semester at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and I’ve had the joy of being around law students again, or maybe it’s because bar results were released this past weekend, but I settled on the day I received my bar results. I vividly remember sitting in front of my laptop hitting refresh over and over again as the deadline approached. I felt sick with fear. And when, suddenly, my result popped up – “The above-named person appears on the pass list,” (or something to that effect) – my whole body went numb. It was like one of those scenes in a movie where everything goes silent. There’s no breath. There’s no heartbeat. Then slowly, the sound came back, muted at first, then becoming clearer and louder until it was crashing all around me with an almost physical impact. I was going to be a lawyer!

With that memory fresh, I want to share my sincere congratulations to those new lawyers who became our colleagues this weekend. We are so proud to welcome you to the profession. ¡Felicidades!

I also want to take a minute to share love and commiseration with those who didn’t pass. This is not the end. I have many dear friends, successful lawyers, who took the bar multiple times before passing. It is challenging. And you are up for that challenge. Keep going.

Whether your bar results experience was recent or long past, whether you received your results by mail or by the internet, and whether it was the first or the fifth time you took the bar, we all worked incredibly hard to earn the ability and honor, as lawyers, to help others navigate the legal system.

What we may not have understood when we first entered the profession is that the work does not stop. We continue that work as we educate ourselves on disparities in the criminal justice system and what we can do to foster and effectuate change. I hope you’ll join us this week for our final 2021 Dialogue on Diversity: The Intersectionality Between Race, Poverty and the Criminal Justice System, featuring panelists Hon. Roderick Shelton, Michael Garcia, and Roxana Sandoval, and moderated by Past SDCBA President Jerrilyn Malana.

The SDCBA also celebrates the announcement of our Section and New Lawyer Division election results, including NLD Chair Jake Zindulka who will serve a one-year term on the Board of Directors. You can find the 2022 leadership here. Thank you for your willingness to serve as volunteer leaders.

Additionally, five lawyers were elected to your 2022 SDCBA Board of Directors. Running for the Board is not easy, and I want to thank everyone who put time and effort into standing up and stepping up to undertake the work. We are pleased and proud to welcome:

At-Large Directors: Read More

Today’s action from the 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge that I’m doing is to write down something you are thankful for that has nothing to do with worldly possessions. This is an easy one for me as we come off a busy week of bar association dinners; I am grateful for this San Diego legal community. I teared up during the Tom Homan LGBT Law Association’s Gala Dinner while Judge Rubin and Justice Jenkins chatted by the firelight, and I wasn’t alone. I learned so much during the Native American Lawyers Virtual Gala from artist and activist Gerald Clarke Jr. (Cahuilla Band of Indians). I was inspired by the strength of the South Asian Bar Association’s leadership, which was matched by the fearless keynote by Judge Bernadette D’Souza. I cheered to see how many students the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Foundation awarded scholarships to, and how many elected officials honored the work of both the Foundation and Association. At each of these events, I was reminded of how important the work we do is and how fortunate we are to do it together. Read More

And just like that, it’s November. This month I plan to start each week with something that sparks gratitude within me. In the past, I have engaged in various gratitude challenges and, while they can sometimes feel like work, they have always been worth the effort for me. I found this 30 Day Gratitude Challenge this year, and I’m starting today by sending a positive note to someone – handwritten and snail-mailed, no less! If you join the challenge, I hope you’ll let me know how it’s going throughout the month! Read More

As my husband, Phil, and I spend this week boxing up our downtown office, I reflect on how much the practice of law has evolved over the past almost year and a half. Before March of last year, Zoom was an application used by few, virtual offices were looked at as a step down from large offices with picture windows and dark furniture, and working from home wasn’t fathomable. Until there was no alternative. Read More

Last year, the SDCBA changed our observed holiday calendar to reflect yesterday’s day off as Indigenous Peoples’ Day (previously recognized as Columbus Day). Last Friday, President Biden issued a proclamation to observe October 11 as a way to honor Native Americans, their resilience, and their contributions to American society throughout history, even as they faced assimilation, discrimination, and genocide spanning generations. Read More

Growing up, I loved Greek mythology. I still do. One of my favorite tales is the story of Persephone, daughter of Demeter. Demeter is the goddess of fertility and bountiful harvests. As the story goes, Persephone was playing in the meadows while her mother harvested her bounty when the earth split open next to her and Hades, god of the underworld, burst forth. He brought Persephone down to his domain, where she became queen of the underworld. Demeter searched everywhere for her daughter until she found her and demanded her return. But, while Persephone was in the underworld, she ate six pomegranate seeds. It was decreed that Persephone could return to her mother for six months each year and would return to her husband for the rest, thereby creating our seasonal wheel of the year. While Persephone is with her mother, flowers and trees bloom and thrive (spring and summer). While she is with her husband, and her mother misses her, the plants display Demeter’s displeasure (fall and winter). Read More

The SDCBA has twenty-six practice area-related Sections, from Alternative Dispute Resolution to Workers Compensation Law. Each of these Sections is free to join with your membership and you can join as many as you would like. I joined all the Sections several years ago and I’ve enjoyed the feeling of connection with our community and seeing what topics pop up in the various practice areas. Section members can vote in the upcoming Section Elections which will run September 30 through October 21. Make sure to join and cast your vote! (See “Of Note” below for more details.) My sincere thanks to the 2021 Section leadership who have continued to be creative in providing ways to connect and educate our members. They have been tireless in their efforts and dedication. Read More

In healthy times, our police, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, licensed healthcare workers, and corrections/probations officers assume risks to protect our San Diego community in ways that often go unrecognized. With the pandemic, and by the very nature of their work, these s/heroes have faced increased risks of coronavirus exposure and infection and dangerous emotionally volatile situations. Read More