by Pearl G. Mann
Every year the Orange County Bar Association (OCBA) bestows the prestigious Harmon G. Scoville Award on a member whose legal career exemplifies the highest standards of the legal profession and who has significantly contributed to the OCBA and championed our constitutional system of justice.
Claudette Donatella Kunzman, this year’s honoree, has dedicated her life to public service and giving back to the community, especially to the OCBA, to our own legal community, and to our larger community. A conscientious and extremely competent attorney, she is firmly committed to the legal profession and to providing justice for all.
After earning her undergraduate degree from California State University, Long Beach in political science and public administration, and an Urban Planning certificate from the University of California, Irvine, she worked for roughly twenty years as an urban planner or a traffic engineer in the public and private sectors before deciding to transition to law. After graduation from Western State College of Law, she was admitted to the California State Bar in 1989. She has concentrated her solo legal practice on probate matters, including guardianships, conservatorships, elder law, and estate planning.
Justice Scoville, who served with distinction for a number of years in the Probate/Mental Health Division of the Orange County Superior Court (Probate Court), where Claudette files all of her cases and performs the majority of her volunteer work, would undoubtedly have approved of her recognition this year.
Claudette exemplifies the highest standards of the legal profession and is highly respected by her colleagues in our legal community, as well as by the hundreds who have been helped either by her directly or by the scores of other lawyers whom she has trained or mentored.
When asked for a comment about Claudette’s accomplishments, the Honorable Jamoa Moberly, a judicial officer who sits in the Probate Court, responded as follows:
Claudette is an enthusiastic and articulate educator who is invaluable in the services she has provided to the court, bar, and community in her roles with the guardianship clinic and the educational programs. No doubt she can be credited with the great pro bono support from the bar regarding guardianships. She is well respected by the court for her professionalism, competence, and compassion.
In her twenty-seven years of practice, Claudette’s contributions to the OCBA have been varied and significant. Although she has been involved in numerous OCBA activities, only a few will be mentioned or discussed here. This year, she actively participates in the Elder Law Section, the Trusts & Estates Section, and the Masters Division, as well as the Administration of Justice and Pro Bono Committees, and recently she was appointed to join the Executive Committee of the newly established Conservatorship, Guardianship, & Protective Proceedings Section.
Claudette is most passionate about the Pro Bono Committee on which she has served continuously for over twenty-five years since she joined the OCBA as a new lawyer and became active on its Guardianship Subcommittee. Approximately seventeen years ago, the Orange County Probate Court notified the Pro Bono Committee of the need for a clinic to provide legal assistance to grandparents and others who were floundering in the court system in their efforts to secure guardianships for minor children because they could not afford to hire attorneys to help them.
Claudette along with Donna Bashaw, a past Scoville Award recipient, worked closely on behalf of the Guardianship Subcommittee, with representatives from the Superior Court and the Orange County Public Law Center (PLC) to establish the Probate Court Guardianship Clinic to serve anyone who needed assistance. They helped recruit volunteer attorneys to work with PLC personnel in staffing the Clinic and signed up themselves. Initially, the Guardianship Clinic met for a half-day once a month at the courthouse, but it gradually expanded to meet every week due to ever increasing demand. For years, Claudette volunteered every time the Clinic was open, and she has helped to train volunteer attorneys in the continuing education seminars offered by the OCBA and PLC since their inception.
Private practitioners who handle guardianship cases have noticed a decrease in guardianship clients as a result of the effectiveness of the clinics.
As Chair of the OCBA Elder Law Section in 2009, Claudette presided at monthly board meetings, monthly educational luncheons, a continuing education seminar, and the occasional informal discussion breakfasts. She appointed subcommittee chairs and oversaw their work getting outside speakers for various programs. She also directed attorney volunteers in their community outreach to senior centers and facilities, selecting the winner of the annual Court Award and suggesting appropriate donations of elder law research material to the Orange County Public Law Library.
In addition, Claudette served two terms on the OCBA Board of Directors and has been a member for many years on the following committees: Administration of Justice, Bridging the Gap, Lawyer Referral & Information Service, and Education. Whether on the Board or on each of these committees, her work over a long period of time has assisted attorneys in keeping up with current changes in the law, learning new practice skills or updating practice skills, and enhancing their knowledge of ethical and professional responsibility issues.
Claudette also has actively championed our constitutional system of justice and promoted justice for all. The fact that she was instrumental in the formation of the weekly Orange County Probate Court Guardianship Clinic and her extensive pro bono service assisting self-represented litigants there has already been described, but she does even more.
As a temporary judge for the Orange County Superior Court Probate Division, she volunteers to serve at least once a month on Fridays to assist in resolving contested cases set for Mandatory Settlement Conference. This writer, as a recipient of her services in the past, has observed firsthand her ability to negotiate a settlement in a firm but fair manner while being sensitive to the needs of distressed or impaired litigants.
Claudette also accepts court appointments of cases from the Probate Court in conservatorship and elder abuse matters, which frequently involve indigent litigants. Periodically she volunteers at the Probate Court’s monthly Limited Conservatorship Clinic for self-represented individuals that is conducted by attorney volunteers in a similar manner as the Guardianship Clinic.
For the Public Law Center, not only does she generously volunteer to take cases to assist indigent clients, but she also conducts training seminars for other volunteer attorneys. Finally, Claudette is a contributing author to the CEB Guardianship Practice book in order to help other practitioners hone their skills.
Claudette truly has been a champion of our constitutional system of justice by assisting numerous people who sought justice in our court system.
When asked, “Why do you do all that you do?” Claudette was silent for a moment. Then she responded, “Because it feels good giving back and contributing to society.” Shortly thereafter, she continued, “Because I can, and I am still able to do worthwhile things.”
Proudly hanging in her office above her desk is an antique wooden sign that boldly states, “Your Lawyer Is Your Friend.” In her law practice, she has been a friend to many in need, especially to those who cannot help themselves. A lawyer with a record of achievement like Claudette makes us realize that law truly is a noble profession.
On a personal note, Claudette has a well-rounded life and has raised two bright, wonderful children who are very proud of her. She maintains her great sense of humor and proudly admits to being an avid and faithful Ducks and Angels fan.
A tireless and compassionate crusader for children, the elderly, the disabled, and the indigent, Claudette is highly respected by her legal peers and is an exemplary recipient of the Harmon G. Scoville Award.
Pearl Gondrella Mann, an elder law attorney with a solo practice in Fullerton, has admired Claudette for many years. She can be reached at pearlgmann@aol.com.