Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Page 11
SNIPPETS (Column)
Italian American Lawyers Association Hosts ‘Supreme Court Night’
The Italian American Lawyers Association on Wednesday played host to members of the California Supreme Court, with Chief Justice Tani Cantil Sakauye presenting brief remarks and Gary Greene, Esq. and the Big Band of Barristers capping the evening by playing tunes from the mid-1900s, including the theme from “Perry Mason.”
Well over 200 persons attended the event, held at Casa Italiana.
The emcee was retired U.S. District Court Judge George Schiavelli, a past IALA president. He announced at the outset that he had a “surprise” for the chief justice—quickly adding it was “not a video.” The remark was a vague allusion to a soft-porn video shown two years ago by then-President Thomas Girardi, resulting in last year’s “Supreme Court Night” being attended by no member of the court.
In attendance Wednesday, in addition to the chief justice, were Justices Marvin Baxter, Ming Chin, Carol Corrigan, and Kathryn Werdegar.
Schiavelli presented the chief justice with a gold case containing playing-cards. He pointed to her rise from being a blackjack dealer at a casino in Nevada when, as a new admittee, she could not find a job as a lawyer to her ascendency to the state’s top judicial spot.
Below is a photograph taken by attorney Brent Braun of Schiavelli introducing Sakauye:
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•Nossaman LLP has announced the addition of Steven E. Knott as a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office.
Knott is a trial lawyer with 23 years experience who specializes in commercial disputes, insurance coverage, environmental and construction litigation, the firm said in a release.
Prior to joining Nossman, Knott served as in-house counsel for Texaco Inc. and was a founding partner in the firm of Knott & Glazier LLP. Prior to obtaining his legal degree at UC Davis, Knott served as a field artillery cannon battery officer in the Marines.
David Graeler, chair of Nossaman’s Litigation Practice Group, said:
“Steve is a highly regarded lawyer with a distinguished reputation for handling complex, high-stakes litigation. His unique expertise in tackling cutting-edge issues builds on the depth and overall capabilities of our prominent litigation practice. We are pleased to welcome him to the firm and look forward to the exceptional client service he will provide and his contributions to our continued growth.”
•The State Bar of California is looking for approximately 200 volunteers to fill various positions on more than three dozen of its committees, boards and commissions.
Groups with open positions range from committees dealing with access and fairness issues to section executive committees focused on particular areas of the law to a committee addressing questions of professional responsibility and conduct.
Positions on legal services committees are also available for those interested in helping provide legal services to poor and middle-income individuals. Most appointments carry a three-year term, with committee terms beginning on Sept. 14, 2014.
A complete list of openings, application forms and detailed committee information are available at the State Bar’s website at www.calbar.org/appointments. Applicants can apply to up to three committees, but may only be appointed to one.
Individuals can also obtain application materials by calling the bar’s appointments office at 415-538-2370 or by faxing 415-538-2305. The application deadline for most positions is Feb. 3, 2014.
•The Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Barrister’s Workshop will present a Bet Tzedek training session for representing clients in pro bono probate guardianship matters on Monday.
The workshop will take place at the association’s conference center located at 9420 Wilshire Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., with the program taking place from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The CLE program will cover the basic aspects of a guardianship case and will provide the requisite training needed to participate in Bet Tzedek’s Probate Guardianship Kinship Care Program. Training will cover how to complete and file the required forms, how to provide notice to the relevant parties and what to expect at the court hearing.
Those interested in ticket pricing and additional details can visit the Bar’s website at www.bhba.org or call (310) 601-2422.
Copyright 2013, Metropolitan News Company