Dear La Jolla Bar Association Members:
Welcome to the La Jolla Bar Association for 2017. We look forward to another great year – our 34th year since the La Jolla Bar Association was formed in 1984. I would like to thank Don Lincoln, our outgoing President, for his outstanding leadership and guidance over this past year. That same appreciation goes out to the 2016 officers, the board of directors, and all the committees, including our membership, speakers, nominating, social and website committees – and, of course, to all our loyal members. All were integral parts to the fine year we enjoyed in 2016. We greatly appreciate the firm of Blanchard, Krasner & French, which continues to provide their conference room for our quarterly board meetings. I am impressed that so many of our past Presidents and board members continue their dedicated and active support of our association. At the same time, we need new “leaders” to carry the torch for the future. The time constraints in getting involved in our association are not overly demanding and the rewards in improving the La Jolla legal community through collaboration and mutual support are incalculable.
Officers/Board
New officers for 2017:
President, George E. Hurley, Jr.
Vice President, Paul H. Neuharth, Jr.
Secretary, Ariel J. Sabban
Treasurer, Shirleymae Davis & Immediate Past President, Donald R. Lincoln
Board Members:
Elsa I. Carre
Virginia H. Gaburo
Daniel R. Gamez
Thomas L. Gotfredson
Robert D. Moldenhauer
J. Scott Schaller
Edward P. Schlesier
Shannon M. Stein
Membership
We currently have 92 members, which is a new high for our association. We have a great group of new members. I have had the task of creating the website member pages of our members and I can attest to the wide range of truly amazing educational, legal, and personal achievements of each of our new members — not to mention these same exceptional attributes of our other members. Although our membership is at a new high, we still need to encourage new members to join, perhaps by inviting invite them to one of our MCLE luncheons. Our fill-in membership form is on our website. Please feel free to direct any prospective members to our website for more information about the La Jolla Bar Association. The general requirements for membership are that the member has to live or work in La Jolla, or have a significant personal or professional interest in La Jolla. La Jolla is not just the village (despite what some locals would say!), but La Jolla also consists of the outlying areas, such as the UTC and UCSD areas.
Website
Through the tremendous expertise and creativity of our website coordinator, Mary Bean, of Mary Bean Graphic Design, we have continued to upgrade our website. Through Mary’s guidance, we have developed a site that focuses on our members, their member pages, and our MCLE and social events. We have been able to advertise our MCLE luncheons, attach MCLE materials from our speakers, and provide biographies of our speakers on our website, in appreciation for their willingness to speak to our association at no cost. We need your suggestions for any changes or updates to our website. Each member receives a member page on our website and members can include on that member page a more detailed, personal description of the member’s practice. Please check the personal information on your member page and submit any corrections to me at George Hurley or to our Secretary, Ariel Sabban. We would also like to include your personal photo to “bring life” to our website.
MCLE Luncheons
We are grateful for the continued support of all our members of our monthly MCLE luncheons and our two main social events — our Summer Beach Party and our Holiday Party. We have had excellent attendance at our luncheons and we will continue to present MCLE presentations of the highest quality. By attending our monthly MCLE programs (ten MCLE programs per year), our members can easily meet the State Bar’s 25-hour MCLE requirement every three years. As a priority, we also schedule programs to satisfy the State Bar’s three required MCLE programs: (1) ethics (four hours each reporting period), (2) Competence Issues, formerly known as Prevention, Detection and Treatment of Substance Abuse or Mental Illness (one hour), and (3) Recognition and Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession and Society (one hour). Our MCLE luncheons, held at the beautiful Manhattan Restaurant in the Empress Hotel on Fay Avenue, bring together our members in a convenient and collegial environment. For a yearly membership fee of only $50, this is quite a bargain. We are extremely grateful for the cooperation of the Manhattan Restaurant and the owner and manager, Nancy O’Donnell, in providing a fine setting and exquisite food and service. We encourage any ideas from our members for future speakers. Please give me any suggestions and I will pass them on to our Speakers Committee.
Social Events
Our Summer Beach Party is held at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club in August. We start the party in the late afternoon to enable us to enjoy the beautiful sunset at La Jolla Shores. Virginia Gaburo of our association has been our official sponsor and coordinator and we thank Virginia for her heroic efforts each year in coordinating, with the assistance of our Social Committee, the food, beverages and service, and even evaluating the tides at La Jolla Shores to select the best date for our party.
In December, our La Jolla Bar Association Holiday Party brings members together in a festive setting to share the joys of the holiday season. This past year our Holiday Party was held at the home of Paul Neuharth in Rancho Santa Fe. We thank Paul for his gracious hospitality in allowing us to enjoy his beautiful home. We enjoyed a delicious catered meal, wonderful holiday beverages, and great camaraderie and friendship with our colleagues, spouses, and guests. We also collected toys for the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Program.
I wish you and your families all a wonderful year, both personally and professionally, in 2017.
Sincerely,
George E. Hurley, Jr.
