by Alan J. Crivaro
Service to the bench, bar, and community is an ideal that all lawyers espouse. In an age of social media and lawyer advertising, one could almost be persuaded that all in our profession practice this ideal. Yet upon sound reflection, few of us in good conscience can claim such a hallmark for our career. By anyone’s accounting, Suzanne Viau Chamberlain, this year’s prestigious Harmon G. Scoville Award recipient, is a lawyer who not only believes in that ideal but lives it.
Established in 1990, this award recognizes a member of the Orange County legal community whose career exemplifies the highest standards of the legal profession, and who has significantly contributed to the Orange County Bar Association and championed our constitutional system of justice. Despite all of his accomplishments, Justice Scoville was widely known for his modesty and self-effacing nature. He was the last person to sing his own praises. The same can be said of this year’s recipient. So let this brief summary of her accomplishments render praise where it is due. As OCBA President Thomas H. Bienert, Jr. has observed, Suzanne “is emblematic of the values that we annually recognize with the Scoville Award, and I can think of no more deserving recipient of such an honor.”
Suzanne’s interest in the law was first piqued during a trip to Washington, D.C. as a junior in high school. While walking the halls of the Capitol, she realized that, “this was a place where things could be made to happen, and law was at the heart of it.” She fondly recalls deciding then, “this was something of which I wanted to be a part.” As an undergraduate at the University of California, Irvine, Suzanne majored in Social Ecology. Her interest in helping people through a career in law continued to grow, as did her concerns over land use and its impact on the environment. She later received her law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Throughout her college years and partially through law school she worked as a ride operator at Disneyland. Her work experience at the Magic Kingdom taught her much about working with people.
Suzanne began her legal practice in Santa Ana as an associate with an Orange County firm. Thereafter, the then Suzanne Viau met her future husband and law partner John P. Chamberlain. In 1985, the couple not only incorporated their law practice, forming Chamberlain and Viau, but were also married—a professional and personal union that thrives to this day. Suzanne focused her civil practice on business and commercial litigation and transactional work.
Suzanne was drawn to the field of alternative dispute resolution fueled by her keen desire to assist people by helping them resolve their conflicts. She received her Mediator’s Certificate from the University of California, Irvine. She continued her advanced coursework by attending the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law, as well as other institutions and organizations. She is on the mediation panels of the United States District Court for the Central District, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, and the Riverside and Orange County Superior Courts. She frequently lectures and has written articles on issues relating to dispute resolution and mediation. She served on the Board of Directors for the California Dispute Resolution Council. Suzanne has also testified before the California Law Revision Commission on the need for mediation confidentiality.
For more than twenty-five years, Suzanne has been a leader in the Orange County Bar Association. Her contributions to the OCBA are significant and many. Although her activities are too numerous to mention all of them here, the highlights are impressive. Since 1993, she has been a member of the OCBA Mandatory Fee Dispute Arbitration Panel as either an arbitrator or a mediator. Suzanne currently is the chair of the Real Estate Section. In 1991, she was one of the founders and subsequently the chair of the Solo Practitioner/Small Firm Section (formerly known as the Law Practice Management Section). She served as the co-chair of the Education Committee for two terms and was the editor for Continuing Legal Education for the Orange County Lawyer magazine for six years. She has been a workshop judge for our College of Trial Advocacy and is a member of the Legislative Resolutions Committee.
About a decade ago, her training and experience as a neutral led her to the conclusion that the OCBA needed a forum for the exchange of ideas, the examination of trends in the field, and the professional development of its members who were interested in alternative dispute resolution. With her typical resolve and organizational ability, Suzanne was instrumental in the founding of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section in 2004. She served as its chair and continues to be a guiding force in its growth.
Suzanne completed her second three-year term on the OCBA Board of Directors in 2013. Among her activities as a board director, she was appointed to a three-person task force charged with the review of the bylaws for each of OCBA’s twenty-five sections. Not only was the review completed but the task force also produced a model set of bylaws for adoption by the sections.
For the past six years, Suzanne has been the co-chair of the Administration of Justice Committee (AOJ), one of OCBA’s few blue ribbon committees whose members are appointed by the bar president. AOJ serves as a resource for legal analysis and opinion for our OCBA Board on a variety of important issues which not only affect the adjectival practice of law but at times the substantive law itself. The committee reviews and comments on legislation, rules, jury instructions, and other matters proposed by Judicial Council, the Orange County Superior Court, and the State Bar of California. With Suzanne at the helm, each member is assigned with developing analysis for the numerous proposals posted for public comment according to their legal specialty. At the meeting of the full committee, the member’s analysis is discussed and the committee makes suggested recommendations for submission to our OCBA board. Suzanne personally reviews each proposal and the committee’s analysis independently to ensure that AOJ offers to our board the best possible opinions, as these positions most frequently become the positions of the OCBA.
These proposals can be of consequence not only to attorneys and the court but to the public as a whole. As Daryl J. Miller describes his co-chair’s multifaceted analysis, “Suzanne regularly concerns herself with the impact, changes in, or additions to law and rules on the common person who, for illustrative purposes, she will refer to as ‘Joe Cabbage.’” Although this work is very detailed, complex, and time consuming, not all is sheer drudgery. Former committee member, the Honorable Nathan Scott, now of the Orange County Superior Court, recalls, “Suzanne is a joy. She brings upbeat energy to everything she does. Co-chairing the OCBA Administration of Justice committee, Suzanne kept spirits high despite our daunting task of reviewing proposed court rules and form jury instructions.” Research attorneys who are assigned to the various subcommittees of Judicial Council have commented that the opinions and recommendations offered by the OCBA are consistently of high quality and are accorded much deference. Proposed modifications suggested by our bar are often the final position adopted by the Council. A disapproval of a proposal is taken very seriously. This is indeed high praise for AOJ’s output, and is the result of Suzanne’s diligence.
Further, as AOJ co-chair, Suzanne faithfully participates in the activities of the Bench-Bar Coalition. The Coalition is a vital resource for our statewide court system in its battle to secure adequate trial court funding. On behalf of our bar, she regularly takes part in BBC conference calls and visits local legislators in an effort to educate and enlighten them about the needs of our court system.
When Suzanne finds time away from her professional activities, she enjoys hiking in coastal and rustic areas with her husband John. As a third-generation native Californian, Suzanne is particularly interested in early California history. She loves museums of all kinds, especially art, science, and natural history. First introduced to her by John, the couple shares a passion for astronomy.
Unquestioningly, her continuing voluntarism and leadership demonstrates that Suzanne is a worthy Scoville recipient. Her dedication, diligence, and selfless giving of her time and energies both inspire and set a high bar to which all lawyers may aspire. Suzanne humbly reflects upon this accolade, “It is an honor to receive this award. Everyone likes to have their efforts acknowledged. I am no different, and am very grateful to have my work recognized in this way. For me, however, the real honor is, and has always been and will remain, in serving.”
Justice Scoville was a tireless advocate for the improvement of our administration of justice and the law affecting our fellow citizens’ access to our courts. Suzanne has followed in his footsteps and has positively affected each of us, our practices, our clients, and their access to justice through her service.
Alan J. Crivaro is a retired Orange County Senior Deputy Public Defender who is now in private practice in Newport Beach. He can be reached at acrivarolaw@hotmail.com.