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.
The first Native American lawyer in California was John Rollin Ridge (Cherokee tribe) who moved here in the 1840s. The first Native American judge was Fred W. Gabourie (Seneca tribe) who was elevated to the Bench in 1965. The first female Native American lawyer in California was Abby Abinanti in 1974 (Yurok tribe), who later became a judge in the 1990s. Closer to home for us, this year is the first time in the SDCBA’s history that we have had a Native American lawyer as a Board Member. Keep an eye out for an article highlighting attorney and SDCBA Director Angela Medrano in the next issue of San Diego Lawyer.
This rest of this short week is all about Wednesday! Tomorrow will be action-packed and brings a little bit of everything to our members:
Kick off the day by voting for the 2022 Board of Director candidates. Voting will be open from October 13 to November 12, but why wait?
And since you’re voting … we’re in the last two weeks of voting for NLD and Section Executive Committees. Make sure you log on and vote!
At the noon hour, you can choose to attend our free Mindful Mediation Series to learn and practice a breath-based mediation technique with Amy Lepine, or connect with our local judges and legal practitioners across the county at our “Breakouts with the Bench: Civil Law” event.
In the evening, we will host the State Bar of California’s Town Hall on its new paraprofessional initiative. If you have not heard about this, I strongly encourage you to attend to learn more. Briefly, the program would create a paraprofessional licensure/certification program, allowing non-lawyers to practice law in a limited capacity, for the stated purpose of increasing access to legal services in California. Current areas of law which would be impacted per the State Bar website include family law, landlord-tenant, and consumer debt, “among others.” After the Town Hall this week, the SDCBA will be collecting member comments to submit to the State Bar.
Short weeks can be tough. May your mindset stay positive and your workday be productive!
Yours,
Renée N.G. Stackhouse
2021 SDCBA President
Reading now: You Don’t Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and Systemic Gendered Racism by Tsedale M. Melaku
Listening to: Closing Time by Semisonic
What are you reading or listening to? Tag us #sdlaw #sdcba