CAALA’s Gala — A celebration for the entire Los Angeles legal community

A celebration for the entire legal community

2016 December

CAALA members, judges and attorneys will gather for our association’s annual Installation and Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 14, 2017, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

For CAALA members, it’s one of the year’s most anticipated events. But it’s also one of the year’s most popular events for the entire Southern California legal community.

It has become so popular it is now known simply as the CAALA Gala. More than 900 CAALA members, jurists, attorneys, legal staff and other members of the legal community will be in attendance when 2016 CAALA President Dave Ring passes the gavel to incoming President Ricardo Echeverria.

Changing of the guard

This will be the 68th time that our association has held a gala dinner to recognize and install the incoming officers and members of the Board of Governors.

LASC Presiding Judge-Elect Daniel Buckley will administer the installation oath to Echeverria, the new CAALA officers (Mike Arias, Shawn McCann, Jeff Rudman, Genie Harrison, Doug Silverstein) and the members of the 2017 CAALA Board of Governors.

So why is the CAALA Gala so popular? Why is it a “must attend event” for CAALA members, attorneys and judges? My answer is: because it’s a celebration.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many opportunities for members of the legal community to come together for a celebration. Everyone knows that times are difficult. Court budgets are tight, resulting in fewer resources and less staff. Tensions are high both inside and outside the Courtroom. The people who are part of the civil justice system work tirelessly in challenging and stressful jobs, whether they are attorneys, jurists, legal staff or legal service providers.

For one night of the year, however, the entire community is invited to come together and celebrate, courtesy of CAALA.

For the first 23 years of its existence the Gala only honored the officers and board. In 1972 the association’s leaders decided to recognize outstanding attorneys and jurists and the dinner has never been the same.

This year’s honorees

Attorneys and judges spend time with old friends and celebrate their professions. Recognizing judges and attorneys for their dedication to the highest professional standards not only fosters civility and pays tribute to the award winners, it also pays tribute to the entire trial bar and bench.

The 2016 CAALA Annual Award honorees are Maryann Gallagher (Charlie O’Reilly Trial Lawyer of the Year), Alyssa Schabloski (Rising Star Award) and The Hon. Carolyn Kuhl (Alfred J. McCourtney Trial Judge of the Year).

Trial Lawyer of the Year

Maryann Gallagher is the 2016 Charlie O’Reilly Trial Lawyer of the Year award winner. She is the second female attorney to be honored with the award and the third recipient who specializes in employment litigation.

The CAALA Board of Governors recognized Gallagher as a result of her successful verdict in the case of Torres v. B.E. Aerospace, a difficult age- and gender-discrimination case against a company that manufactures airplane parts. Gallagher’s client was terminated after 23 years working for the company and was replaced by a younger man she had trained in the quality assurance department. The jury awarded Gallagher’s client more than $8.5 million including punitive damages.

The other 2016 Trial Lawyer of the Year finalists were Simona Farrise, Lars Johnson, Nicholas Rowley and Robert Simon.

Rising Star Award

Alyssa Schabloski is the fifth recipient of the CAALA Rising Star Award, presented to outstanding CAALA members who have practiced law for less than 10 years.

She was admitted to the State Bar in 2008 and joined CAALA in January of 2009. She is an Associate at the deRubertis Law Firm. In 2016 she was second chair with David deRubertis in Hernandez v. AT&T, a difficult five-week trial that resulted in the jury returning a verdict of more than $2 million. Alyssa has also provided volunteer service to CAALA in a number of capacities and is an officer of L.A. Trial Lawyers’ Charities.

Other 2016 Rising Star finalists included Torsten Bassell, Thomas Feher, Lauren Horwitz and Natalie Weatherford.

Trial Judge of the Year

The CAALA Trial Judge of the Year award is presented each year to a judge who exemplifies the ideals of the civil justice system – a commitment to fairness, respect and compassion for litigants, and dedication to the highest professional standards.

Los Angeles Superior Court Presiding Judge Carolyn Kuhl is the 45th recipient of the Alfred J. McCourtney Trial Judge of the Year award.

Judge Kuhl has served on the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 1995. Prior to that she was a partner in the law firm of Munger, Tolles and Olson. Before entering private practice, she served in the U.S. Department of Justice as Special Assistant to the Attorney General (Civil Division) and Principal Deputy Solicitor General preparing and arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

For eight years, Judge Kuhl has served in the leadership of LASC as Presiding Judge, Assistant Presiding Judge and twice as Supervising Judge of the Civil Courts. She has guided the Court and especially the Civil Courts through challenging and difficult times, earning the admiration and respect of the entire civil trial bar.

Tickets for the CAALA Gala are now available at the CAALA web site www.caala.org, but don’t procrastinate, the Gala is traditionally sold out, and demand this year will be high. Everyone loves a celebration.