In the OCBA’s annual popular election, two outstanding and contributing members of the Orange County legal community are nominated for Secretary of the OCBA to serve the term beginning January 1, 2018. Yearly, the Secretary elevates to Treasurer, President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past-President. The person you elect will influence the development and direction of the OCBA for years to come.

If you are an active, attorney member of the OCBA, please vote. The online election will open for voting on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, and close at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at www.ocbar.org/vote.

In alphabetical order, allow me to introduce your two candidates for OCBA Secretary: Larisa M. Dinsmoor and Daniel S. Robinson.

Larisa M. Dinsmoor

Larisa M. Dinsmoor has six years of OCBA Board of Directors experience and an in-depth knowledge of how the OCBA functions. She has held leadership roles in the Homeless Task Force, Diversity Task Force, Editorial Advisory Committee, and International Law Section. She is also a member of several affiliate bars. Larisa seeks to continue to serve our OCBA community as Secretary.

Larisa’s first role in the OCBA was volunteering with the Community Outreach Committee, including organizing mock trials at the Orangewood Children’s Home. Wanting to make a difference in young people’s lives, she became a Legal Survival Skills trainer at local high schools. She has been a mentor through the OCBA Mentoring program and is serving on the Mentoring Committee. Last October, Larisa helped spearhead OCBA’s Stand Up for Homeless event in Santa Ana, providing legal services to over 100 people.

Larisa has been an Orange County Public Defender for over eleven years. She tries complex felony cases and is an attorney in Orange County’s Homeless Outreach Court. Larisa taught Criminal Procedure at Whittier Law School, and wrote articles for Orange County Lawyer.

In her free time, Larisa volunteers with international organizations to enhance the rule of law in developing countries. She has trained lawyers and judges in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. Larisa’s greatest asset is bringing people together, especially those of different backgrounds.

As OCBA Secretary, Larisa’s number one priority will be you. She wants to ensure that the OCBA supports all of its members and meets their needs. She will prioritize court funding and diversity in membership by facilitating more events that connect members of different ages, ethnicities, practices, associations, affiliates, and sections. Every OCBA member matters, and Larisa wants to make sure that every member feels that way. For more about Larisa, please see www.larisa4ocba.com.

Daniel S. Robinson

Daniel S. Robinson is a member of the OCBA Board of Directors and a partner at the civil litigation firm, Robinson Calcagnie, Inc. Dan is the 2017 President of the Orange County Bar Foundation (OCBF), the 2017/2018 Co-Chair of the Public Law Center (PLC) dinner committee, and an elected board member of the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). He has served on OCBA’s Charitable Fund Board, Judiciary Committee, Civility Task Force, mentoring program, and 1L Kickstart Program. For two years, Dan served as co-chair of OCBA’s Annual Kenneth Lae Golf Committee. Dan served as co-chair of OCBF’s OC Marathon Committee and as a member of OCBF’s Higher Education Mentoring Committee. He is also a member of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, the Celtic Bar Association, and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.

Dan grew up in Irvine and Laguna Niguel. He attended Williams College and Loyola Law School. He is admitted to practice in California, New York, and Pennsylvania. Prior to Robinson Calcagnie, Inc., he was an associate at O’Melveny & Myers, LLP and an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office under the Hon. Robert M. Morgenthau. In 2015, Dan was selected as one of the Daily Journal’s “Top 25 Plaintiff Lawyers in California.” He and his wife Catherine are the proud parents of Abigail (5) and Luke (3).

As OCBA Secretary, Dan will work to improve the OCBA’s ability to serve its members by providing better support for affiliate bars, broader website resources, and cost-effective events and educational programs. Dan will strengthen OCBA’s tradition of civility and professionalism within the Bar. He believes his diverse background—practicing in both civil and criminal law, and representing plaintiffs and defendants—will help him serve the diverse interests of OCBA members.

For more information about Dan, visit www.DanRobinson4OCBA.com.