And the winner is….

A Walk on Water is selected as OCTLA’s annual charity recipient

2021 March

OCTLA is proud to announce that A Walk on Water (AWOW) has been selected as OCTLA’s Top Gun Award’s Silent and Live Auction charity recipient.

AWOW provides Surf Therapy to children with special needs or disabilities. “AWOW works closely with local communities, businesses, volunteers and watermen, brought together in service of a shared mission to help those most in need experience the calming and therapeutic effects of the electrifying, living ocean. And in the process, showcase the best of surf culture,” said AWOW Executive Director Sean Swentek.

I had the honor of notifying Swentek that AWOW was selected as OCTLA’s Top Gun Award’s Silent and Live Auction charity recipient.  Swentek expressed his sincere gratitude to the OCTLA Board.

OCTLA’s Board of Directors is very excited to have AWOW as our 2021 charity and we look forward to working with Swentek and his team. Even though my year as president is young, I already know that making the call to Swentek will be one of the greatest honors of my Presidency.

Please check out our “Charity Spotlight” article in the April issue of The Gavel, providing an in-depth look at the awesome work “AWOW” does and the opportunities to support the charity. OCTLA is the real winner here, having the opportunity to give to such an amazing charity and worthy cause.

Exceptional education programs planned

In addition to choosing our Top Gun Award’s Charity, OCTLA’s various committees have been working hard to plan our year. In particular, OCTLA’s education committee has a year of exceptional education programs planned.

In February, we held a Tips from the Bench webinar. The webinar’s panel consisted of a Presiding or Assistant Presiding Judge from Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange County to discuss the current state of the Courts during COVID-19, bringing our members up to date on what to expect in each county, the status of each county’s outgoing trials, as well as Covid procedures.

In March, OCTLA’S education program is “Jury Selection in a Covid World.” The program will be presented by two outstanding trial lawyers, Keith Bruno and Elise Sanguinetti. Both have tried cases during Covid. If you miss either of these programs, they are available on demand to our members at OCTLA.org.

Last year, due to Covid, OCTLA was unable to offer its internship to law students. This year however, OCTLA will offer its mentoring program to three 2L law students. OCTLA’s internship program is designed to give interns the opportunity to rotate through three law firms focusing on three different areas of law, providing a unique insight to the practice of law on behalf of plaintiffs. This year the Andal Law Group, Sachs Law APC and the Law Offices of Jennifer R. Johnson, in conjunction with Hodes Milman, LLP, have agreed to host the OCTLA interns. A very special thanks to these law firms for graciously agreeing to host our interns.

Palm Springs Virtual Seminar

Finally, don’t forget to save the date for the 2021 Palm Springs Seminar. The Consumer Attorneys of California, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire and Orange County Trial Lawyers Association will hold their annual Palm Springs Seminar, virtually, April 30 - May 1, 2021.

We are looking forward to a fabulous year.