Message from the Chair of the New Lawyer Division

Hi Everyone,

I hope to see you this Saturday at NLD’s morning hike meet-up at Torrey Pines. It’ll be a great opportunity to network while enjoying San Diego’s awesome weather and coastline. Please RSVP here. 

I also encourage you to attend the SDCBA’s upcoming events, including a judicial reception on March 30 honoring San Diego’s newest judges. Also look for the NLD table at the SDCBA’s in-person reception for law students and recently sworn-in attorneys on April 6 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Bar Center.

While in law school, I was often reluctant to attend these types of networking events because I felt intimidated and anxious. That still happens to me now as an attorney. Introducing yourself to tons of new people — even in a welcoming and supportive legal community — is not easy. If there are any law students or new attorneys with similar hesitation, I encourage you to register for the welcome reception and stop by NLD’s table first. I’ll post the table location on LinkedIn once we get there. I and the other NLD executive committee members are excited to meet you!

Also be sure to read articles by fellow new lawyers in this month’s For the Record edition. Laurel Harris shares her unique experience as a young attorney at a mother-daughter law firm, Katrina Wraight explains newly enacted environmental law measures affecting Californians, and Veneeta Jaswal recaps insights on language barriers to justice from a recent panel event held by the South Asian Bar Association of San Diego. Robert Theiring, a fourth-year attorney and Navy veteran with impressive ADR accomplishments, is featured in this month’s NLD Member Spotlight column written by Stephanie Germani.

This month is also National Women’s History Month, which celebrates the accomplishments of remarkable women. One of these women, Judge Tamila Ipema, is featured in this month’s Tips from the Bench column written by Linda Nelte.

Themed “To Advance the Status of Women in Law and Society,” the San Diego History Center has an entire new exhibition celebrating the 50-year anniversary of Lawyers Club of San Diego, a local organization dedicated to women’s advocacy. This exhibition shows how far San Diego’s legal community has truly come in terms of broadening gender inclusivity since 1972, when only 24 of the county’s 1,800 lawyers were women.

As the exhibition website describes, “There were no women serving as judges and the professional landscape for women attorneys was overtly hostile and sexist. Angered by the sexist status-quo, six San Diego female lawyers combined their energy, drive and savvy into an organization with a gender-neutral name that would challenge barriers and elevate women to a new and equal status as lawyers and as people. Lawyers Club was born in 1972.” The San Diego History Center, located in Balboa Park, is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Please reach out to me if you have any questions, suggestions, concerns, or want to chat over coffee sometime.

Best regards,

Jake Zindulka