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Hundreds of lawyers will gather in Monterey this week for the California Lawyers Association’s second “Annual Meeting,” which offers one more action-packed day of activities than the inaugural gathering.
The three-day conference starting Thursday will feature one of its premier events on day one, as California Supreme Court Justices Ming Chen and Joshua Groban will be interviewed during a luncheon.
Chin, who was appointed in 1996 by Gov. Pete Wilson, is the longest serving justice. Groban, who was Gov. Jerry Brown’s last appointee to the court, assumed his role at the start of 2019.
“We have found our attendees and members really like hearing from the California Supreme Court,” said outgoing CLA President Heather L. Rosing. “They like to understand how it works, and they like to hear the behind-the-scenes stories. I think people are also very excited to hear from Justice Groban because they don’t know him yet.”
The first day will also feature an awards ceremony and opening reception at 5:30 p.m.
“The extraordinary individuals being honored by CLA represent the very best of the legal community and we at CLA are thrilled to recognize them for their achievements,” CLA Executive Director Ona Dosunmu said in a statement.
One of the highlights Friday will be constitutional scholar and UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky giving the annual Alexander F. Morrison Lecture during lunch. At night, attendees can partake in a dinner reception at the Monterey Aquarium.
A swearing-in ceremony for the new leaders of the California Lawyers Association and California Judges Association is scheduled for Saturday. Emilio Varanini will serve as the new CLA President and Orange County Superior Court Judge Tam Nomoto Schumann will be the new California Judges Association president.
The officers will be sworn-in by California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, who let Groban handle similar duties at the recent swearing-in of the State Bar’s new leaders.
Cantil-Sakauye will be a major part of the day’s events in another way too, as she will receive the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for the Advancement of Civics Education from the National Center for State Courts.
The last night of the conference will include the California Young Lawyers Association’s “BBQ, Brews and Bocce President’s and Chair’s reception.” (During a trivia contest at last year’s CYLA reception, I was thrilled to help my team correctly answer that award-winning producer David E. Kelley went to law school at Boston University, which is where I completed my undergraduate degree.)
The California Judges Association, Bench-Bar Coalition, and Conference of California Bar Associations will also be holding their annual meetings in Monterey this week.
The State Bar hosted the yearly gathering bringing a wide variety of members of the legal community together for more than 80 years before ceding the duties to CLA, which launched last year as a result of the bar’s 16 sections and the young lawyers association being split off by the state Legislature.
CLA’s inaugural annual meeting in San Diego was a rousing success, and Rosing said they are hoping for an even-better event in year two.
Lyle Moran is a freelance writer in San Diego who handles both journalism and content writing projects. He previously reported for the Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Diego Daily Transcript, Associated Press, and Lowell Sun. He can be reached at lmoransun@gmail.com and found on Twitter @lylemoran.