Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Page 3
Valley Legal Group to Sponsor Law Day Charity Event
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Valley Community Legal Foundation is sponsoring its annual Law Day Gala on June 7 at the CBS Studios back lot in Studio City.
The reception and silent auction begin at 6:00, the dinner and the program will begin at 7:30.
The foundation is the San Fernando Valley Bar Association’s non-profit charitable arm and distributes contributions raised through the event to help fund the creation of two children’s waiting rooms in the Van Nuys and San Fernando court houses, scholarships, and grants to legal-related organizations such as Bet Tzedek, a free legal service provider, and Haven Hills, a domestic violence shelter and foster home.
This year’s event will honor Los Angeles SWAT Police Officers Randall Simmons—being honored posthumously after being killed in the line of duty—and James Veenstra, along with Bill Kurtis of A&E’s “American Justice,” which bills itself as the longest running non-fiction justice series on cable.
Kurtis is receiving the Armand Arabian Law and Media Award. The award is named after the first judge from the San Fernando Valley area to join the state Supreme Court and recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to law and media.
Arabian told the MetNews it will be an honor to present the award to Kurtis. The former jurist praised Kurtis for doing a “tremendous service to the educational process” by furthering the “understanding by the average citizen of the criminal justice system.”
The show provides a “very powerful and elegant presentation” of legal issues, Arabian opined, adding that Kurtis—who could not be reached for comment—was a “natural” to receive the award.
KFI Radio Host Bill Handel will serve as the evening’s master of ceremonies.
The foundation asked that those interested in attending are asked to call 818-227-0490. Tickets are $125 per person, and the event is black-tie optional.
Copyright 2008, Metropolitan News Company