It’s been a banner year for the Orange County Bar Association’s charitable giving and fundraising arm, the OCBA Charitable Fund, which awarded a record-breaking $170,000 in 2016 grants to law-related organizations and programs to further its mission of enhancing the system of justice and promoting equal justice for all—a 20.9 percent increase year-over-year. Moreover, the 32nd Annual OCBA Charitable Fund Judge Kenneth Lae Charity Golf Scramble was another sold-out success, and we expect another charitable hole in one as the event swings back on the scene on Friday, March 31, 2017. Plan to make the most of your Cesar Chavez Day court holiday and mark your calendars now!
In the meantime, your next opportunity to join friends and colleagues from the Orange County Bench and Bar in support of a great cause is just around the corner as the OCBA Charitable Fund hosts its Annual Benefit, Raise Your Glass—a wine tasting and charity awards event on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach. Sponsorship packages and event registration are available at www.ocbar.org, but don’t delay—space is limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Salud to Service
While attendees at this ever-popular event enjoy fabulous food, a festive atmosphere, live entertainment, and an enviable selection of delicious wines to sample, they do so while raising much-needed funds to support the OCBA Charitable Fund in its mission to enhance the system of justice and promote equal justice for all. As such, we see this as an opportune time to reflect on all of the exceptional work being done to give back to the broader community served by our local practitioners. To that end, the OCBA Charitable Fund has once again selected a trio of impressive and altruistic honorees who will be recognized at this year’s event:
Law Firm Honoree:
Minyard Morris LLP
Community Partner Honoree:
Veterans Legal Institute
Corporate Partner Honoree:
Palace Entertainment
About the Honorees
Since 2012, Law Firm Honoree Minyard Morris LLP has given in excess of $1 million to a variety of deserving non-profits. However, its commitment to serving the community in meaningful ways extends well beyond its monetary contributions. Recognizing that lawyers are uniquely qualified to provide assistance in certain areas of need, the firm and its employees donate their time to support the efforts of such non-profits as the Orange County Bar Foundation, Public Law Center, Legal Aid Society of Orange County, Human Options, Laura’s House, Kids First, FACES (Family Assessment Counseling & Education Services), Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center, OneOC, Anti-Defamation League, and Constitutional Rights Foundation, Orange County, among others.
Firm Partner Mark E. Minyard received the Legal Aid Society of Orange County’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and is being honored by Los Angeles County’s family law non-profit, Levitt Quinn, as the Lawyer of the Year for 2016. Matthew Buttacavoli received the Wiley M. Manuel Certificate for Pro Bono Legal Services in 2014. Moreover, Minyard received the Orange County Bar Foundation’s prestigious Samuel W. Barnes Award and Jonathan Skorheim was presented with the Distinguished Fellows Award by the Society of Fellows of the Orange County Bar Foundation in 2014. The firm was the 2007 Orange County Public Law Center’s Law Firm of the Year and the recipient of California State Bar’s Pro Bono Service Law Firm of the Year Award in the small firm category. As Minyard explains, “Practicing law is significantly more satisfying if you work with a group that attempts, each year, to make a difference in the community.” With such a proven and storied track record of dedication to addressing the needs of underserved populations, Minyard Morris clearly champions the values espoused by the OCBA Charitable Fund’s mission. Please visit www.minyardmorris.com for additional information.
Founded in 2014 by two attorneys with military experience, Antoinette Balta and Dwight Stirling, Community Partner Honoree Veterans Legal Institute (VLI) provides pro bono legal assistance to at-risk, low-income, homeless, and disabled veterans and current service members and veterans to eliminate barriers to employment, housing, education, and health care while fostering self-sufficiency. In addition, VLI advocates on behalf of its clients through policy advocacy and community education in an effort to increase awareness, resource availability, and overall protections for our veterans and current members of the U.S. military. Beginning in 2014, VLI partnered with the OCBA to present the “Want to Help a Vet?” seminar series, designed to educate Orange County lawyers on the existing law as it affects service members as well as emerging trends and prepare them to take on pro bono cases from military clients in order to deepen the connection between the civilian bar and the nation’s men and women in uniform. Stirling, VLI’s Chief Executive Officer, chairs the OCBA’s Veterans & Military Committee, nicknamed VetCom. “The OCBA’s formation of VetCom reflects the Bar’s deep support for those who have worn the uniform,” Stirling said. “VLI is proud to partner with the OCBA in finding ways to provide quality legal assistance to those who keep us safe as a nation.”
Additionally, VLI houses a think tank dedicated to closing the knowledge gap between the civilian and military populations by producing scholarship to shed light on veterans-related issues and prevent misinformed policy procedural decisions. In addition to directly addressing VLI’s core values of outreach, compassion, quality, leadership, and empowerment, such programs also reinforce the OCBA Charitable Fund’s mission of improving access to justice throughout our community. To learn more or to volunteer your pro bono services in such practice areas as consumer law, estate planning, expungements, family law, landlord-tenant disputes, military law, veteran and government benefits, and more, please visit www.vetslegal.com.
Corporate Partner Honoree Palace Entertainment has been a positive force in the Orange County legal community for several years, as exemplified by General Counsel and OCBA President-Elect Michael Baroni’s service on the Board of Directors of Constitutional Rights Foundation, Orange County (CRF-OC), alongside the volunteer efforts of legal team members Diana Tran and Chris Pflug, and the support of Marketing VP Michele Wischmeyer, COO Rolf Paegert, and CEO Fernando Eiroa.
For CRF-OC, Michael and his team have been involved with Law Day, Constitution Day, Mock Trial, and Orange County Career Forum. The company has redesigned event programs and marketing materials, served as speakers, and lined up an array of inspirational speakers such as Los Angeles Lakers legend A. C. Green, Wahoo’s Fish Taco Founder Wing Lam, FBI agents, police, firefighters, aviators, Disneyland, SeaWorld, celebrities such as Malcolm-Jamal Warner, small business owners, The Ducks/Honda Center, and food companies such as Pink’s Hot Dogs and Johnny Rockets.
Palace has donated countless amusement park passes and auction items (including a trip to Hawaii and baskets to Raging Waters), to benefit CRF-OC, the OCBA and its affiliates, and other legal charities. Recipients of its generosity include the OCBA Charitable Fund’s Annual Judge Kenneth Lae Charity Golf Scramble and the OCBA Charitable Fund’s Annual Benefit, Public Law Center, Orange County Women Lawyers Association, and many others. Palace has engaged in widespread participation of the OCBA’s Community Outreach activities, including Senior Santa, Beach Clean-Up, Food Harvest, “Big Brother for a Day,” food and luggage drives, and Super Pet Adoption. Palace’s charitable donations and activities extend to such charities as Make-A-Wish, We Give Thanks, March of Dimes, St. Jude, Autism Speaks, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Last, but certainly not least, Palace has donated thousands of hours and millions of dollars to rescue and rehabilitate manatees, seals, dolphins, birds, and sea turtles. For more information, please visit www.palaceentertainment.com.
The Main Event
Our sincere thanks and appreciation go out to Event Co-Chairs Nikki Miliband and Bradley Erdosi and the entire Annual Benefit Committee for all their hard work putting together what promises to be a fun and memorable evening for all.
We encourage you to enjoy yourselves as you wine, dine, and network with colleagues from the Bench and Bar, but the evening’s entertainment is secondary to the true mission of Raise Your Glass: raising much-needed funds to support law-related organizations and programs in Orange County. We can only succeed in this worthy cause with the enthusiastic participation of our valued OCBA membership. Whether or not you’ve contributed to the OCBA Charitable Fund in the past, we invite you to get involved now. Register online at www.ocbar.org or contact the OCBA Events Department at (949) 440-6700, ext. 127, or via email at events@ocbar.org for more information including details on available sponsorships.
For information on the OCBA Charitable Fund’s grants, events, and Board of Directors, please visit www.ocbar.org.
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