Celebrating Black History Month & Remembering our 2013 Keynote by Kamala Harris |
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President Brian Farrell and PLC’s Officers Welcome 12 New Board Members during 40th Year |
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Dan Schneider Helped 3 Clients, and their Families, after they were Displaced by a Fire |
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Celebrating Black History Month with Look Back at then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris’s Keynote Address to PLC |
During Black History Month, PLC reflects on the brave people, like Charlotte E. Ray, Ferdinand Lee Barnett, Jane Bolin and Charles Hamilton Houston who pursued justice and paved the way for more equal access to justice for all. We also consider the national racial reckoning of the past year and remember Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Stephon Clark, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbery, George Floyd and too many other human beings lost due to injustice. We affirmatively state Black Lives Matter. We continue our board and staff initiatives on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We pursue justice for all our clients.
We also reflect on the wisdom then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris shared with us during our 2013 Volunteers for Justice Dinner. Her emphasis on combatting human trafficking and assisting people facing housing insecurity resonate just as strongly today. We applaud Vice President Kamala Harris in making history as the first female, Black and Asian American VP. We share in her call to action to “build a more just and inclusive America.”
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40th Anniversary Executive Committee Welcomes Twelve New Board Members & Says Goodbye to Several Long-term Leaders |
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As Public Law Center began our 40th year of service in Orange County, Brian Farrell of Banc of California started his term as Public Law Center’s President. He is joined by fellow officers Vice President Christy Lea of Knobbe Martens, Secretary/Treasurer Nicole Whyte of Bremer Whyte, and Immediate Past President Deb Mallgrave of Greenberg Gross. Together, they lead a 45-member Volunteer Board of Directors, which welcomed 12 new members this year:
Michele Bell, Deputy Public Defender with the Orange County Public Defender’s Office; Amy Chen, Associate General Counsel with Ingram Micro; Eric Dominguez, Partner at Korpivaara, Le & Dominguez, LLP; Gialisa Gaffaney, Instructor at Cerritos College & Editor in Chief, Orange County Lawyer; Jose Gonzalez, Partner at Bentley & More LLP; Casey Johnson, Partner at Aitken*Aitken*Cohn; Samrah Mahmoud, Partner at Troutman Pepper; Chahira Solh, OC Managing Partner at Crowell & Moring; Yolanda Torres, Partner at Law Office of Yolanda Torres; Nicole Vanderlaan Smith, Partner at Schilling Law Group, PC; Darrell White, Partner at Kimura, London & White LLP; and Kristopher Wood, Senior Associate at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
Five long-time members also finished their tenures on the Board - Darren Aitken, Deb Arbabi, Kathy Esfahani, Jim Meeker and Peter Zeughauser. The Board also said goodbye to Carole Reagan, Eleanor Stegmeier, and Ralph Blakeney (who will continue to chair PLC’s Audit Committee). Together, these board members served a combined 160 years on the PLC Board. Please join us in thanking all of our former board members for their dedication to PLC and access to justice in Orange County.
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PLC & Newmeyer Dillion Help Families Displaced by Fire during the Pandemic |
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PLC Board Member and Newmeyer Dillion Partner, Dan Schneider, is a pro bono hero to three low-income Orange County families who were displaced by a fire at their building.
Initially, a single mother with four children came to PLC for assistance. They lived in a six-unit building and were displaced due to a fire caused by work in another unit. The tenant contacted the contractor’s insurance company to no avail and suffered losses of $30,000 in damages and cost of living expenses.
Dan agreed to work with this client to negotiate with the contractor and landlord’s insurance companies to ensure that the client was compensated for the loss of her personal belongings. After the first client was placed with Dan in September 2020, PLC was contacted by residents of two additional units from the same building. One was a primarily Korean-speaking older woman, and the other was a disabled father and his caretaker daughter. The father had lived at the property for over 20 years.
Dan took on all three cases and, in early January, successfully negotiated settlements compensating them for damages and expenses caused by the fire. This was a huge win for our clients, who were facing huge losses on top of having to move during the pandemic. Dan’s representation was the key difference for each of them. Please join us in saluting Dan Schneider and Newmeyer Dillion for continuing PLC’s long tradition of pro bono excellence.
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Former PLC Volunteer Headed to Harvard |
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Her success reveals a new path; Santa Ana Unified to the ...
A recent video of a Santa Ana High School student's acceptance to Harvard University - the family cheering, hugging, crying - got lots of online attention. But it was the story of Cielo Echegoyen's dad, who was detained by immigration agents last ...
Read more
www.ocregister.com
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PLC Earns Guidestar’s 2021 Gold Seal of Transparency |
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Public Law Center earned a 2021 Gold Seal of Transparency! Now, everyone can view our financial details and learn about the people at our organization. Check out our updated #NonprofitProfile by clicking on the Gold Seal.
Donate to PLC during our 40th Anniversary and support our work to bridge the justice gap in Orange County by clicking here.
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