Dear La Jolla Bar Association Members:
I am pleased to welcome you to the La Jolla Bar Association and am honored to be the President for 2020.
The La Jolla Bar Association has been in existence since 1984, and takes great pride in providing a collegial and professional atmosphere, with informative and knowledgeable speakers. MCLE general and specialty requirements can be satisfied through attendance at all of the monthly meetings.
I would like to thank Thomas L. Gotfredson our outgoing President for the wonderful work he did, and continues to do, on our Board of Directors. Thank you to the 2019 Board and Officers, and a thank you to our current Board members and Committee members for making my job so much more enjoyable.
This organization could not function as well as it does without our membership, which has some of the leading attorneys in their respective fields who are willing to donate their knowledge and experience to other members. The willingness to volunteer and serve on a committee or on the Board helps to ensure a diverse and progressive perspective which we all benefit from. We are once again grateful to Blanchard, Krasner & French for continuing to support us and graciously allowing us to utilize their conference room for our Board meetings. I am looking forward to a great year, meeting all of you, and seeing you at our two annual and other social events.
Officers/Board
New officers for 2020:
Ariel J. Sabban, President
James Heffner, Vice President
Robert D. Moldenhauer, Secretary
Donald R. Lincoln, Treasurer
Board Members:
Thomas L. Gotfredson (immediate past President)
Daniel Gamez
Aaron J. Schu
Gary Laturno
Shirleymae Davis
Ann Kinsey Schu
Edward P. Schlesier
Paul H. Neuharth, Jr.
George E. Hurley, Jr.
Membership
We have a great group of members who have accomplished truly amazing educational, legal, and personal achievements. Although our membership is at a new high, we still need to encourage new members to join. Invite your friends to one of our MCLE luncheons! Our fill-in membership form can be accessed 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.
Committees
Our Committees consist of the Social Committee, Membership Committee, Speakers Committee, Website Committee, and Nominating Committee.
Website
Through the tremendous expertise and creativity of our 2018 Website Committee Chairwoman Ann Kinsey Schu, we made significant enhancements to our website, including the ability to pay your annual dues online. Our website 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 welcome 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 use the membership application to submit any corrections or updates. We would also like to include your personal photo. A special thanks to our wonderful webmaster Mary Bean of Mary Bean Graphic Design.
MCLE Luncheons
We are grateful for the continued support of all our members at 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. In the past, Virginia Gaburo was our official sponsor and coordinator and, although she is no longer with us, we are eternally grateful to her, and now to those who have acted in her place, for 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 for the second time at the Manhattan Restaurant, and again by all accounts was a brilliant choice. Thanks to the efforts of Social Committee, we enjoyed a delicious catered meal, wonderful holiday beverages and music around the piano, and great camaraderie and friendship with our colleagues, spouses, and guests. We also collected toys for the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Program. Special thanks to Board member James Heffner, and his firm of Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP, for (again) generously underwriting the bar. Most appreciated.
I wish you and your families all a wonderful year, both personally and professionally, in 2020.
Sincerely,
Ariel J. Sabban
