OCHBA Statement Updated June 2023
The Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County was founded in 1970 by an astonishingly small group of Orange County lawyers of Hispanic heritage. The late Honorable Judge James O. Perez was the first Latino judge to be appointed to the bench in Orange County and, naturally, became a founding member of the organization. To proudly honor his legacy, the James O. Perez Trail Blazer Award is given at the annual Judges Barbeque yearly.
The members of the OCHBA have been committed to its purpose even in the plight of these past few years through a pandemic. The OCHBA is committed to promoting education, unity, and excellence in the Hispanic legal community. The loyal members and sponsors of the OCHBA have given strength in areas where our community needs it. This year, members, Judges, past presidents and sponsors attended the 45th Annual Gala Scholarship Fundraiser and Installation Dinner, which is the organization’s biggest fundraising event. Deserving law students Jonathan Caceres, Maria C. Tello, Mireya Valle, and Claudia Diaz Martinez received the Wally Davis Scholarships to help in their law studies, and Tamara McCormick received a Bar Stipend to help support her in her preparation for the Bar Exam. This year, we honored Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her trailblazing efforts and breaking barriers in becoming the first Latina Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California. Our Attorney of the Year was awarded to Camille Vasquez for being a powerhouse for the Latina and Latinx legal community. Our Guardian De La Justicia was Boys and Girls Club of Central Orange Coast for providing an outlet and changes the lives of the youth in our communities. Our Corporate Citizen was awarded to Skechers, for their significant contributions to our communities, especially through their Bobs charity program, which enabled the donation of approximately 600 pairs of shoes to three organizations of our choosing this past year.
The success of this organization, its programs, and events and impact upon our community are a combination of the commitment of all of its members, directors, past presidents, and sponsors as they come together to promote education, unity, and excellence in the Hispanic legal community. We are deeply committed in helping our community in areas of social justice and continuing our yearly scholarships to help our law students achieve their goals and join our legal community to further the positive impact in Orange County.
We encourage you to join us, we have many events where you can network, socialize and get involved in our community. These are a few of our events:
We hope you will join us!
For more information about upcoming events, visit www.ochba.org.