EBLRLA Celebrates a Night of Legal Excellence in the Latina/o Community
On Thursday October 29, 2009, the East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association and friends celebrated a Judicial Excellence and Scholarship Awards Dinner at the Cocina Poblana restaurant in Oakland’s Jack London Square.
Themed, “Civil Rights in the 21st Century: An Injury to One is an Injury to All!,” the event honored the judicial excellence and moral courage of California Supreme Court Justice Carlos R. Moreno for his principled dissent in Strauss v. Horton, the Prop. 8 case. The evening also featured a powerful keynote speech about the potential for justice through solidarity and familiarity by acclaimed gay Latino novelist Michael Nava, a judicial staff attorney running for San Francisco Superior Court Judge in 2010.
The event also honored Ms. Erlinda G. Castro for her lifetime achievements as a socially active lawyer and provided scholarships to five Latina Berkeley Law students: Lucero Chavez, Elizabeth De La Torrre, Magdalena Guadalupe, Oriana Sandoval and Amanda Urquiza, rewarding their commitment to serving the social justice needs of the Latina/o community.
Event sponsors included:
- Kazan, McClain, Lyons, Greenwood & Harley, P.C.
- Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons, Greenwood, Harley & Oberman Foundation, Inc.
- Diana Lyons
- Frank Fernandez
- Alameda Contra Costa County Trial Lawyers Association
- Sundeen, Salinas & Pyle
- Morrison & Foerster
- Reed Smith