The Association of Corporate Counsel’s annual Black and White Ball was, well, a ball for most of us. So-so for others. Morrison & Foerster LLP partner Anders Aannestad won one of the raffles for thousands of casino dollars. Wealthy beyond reason, Aannestad was good until he ran into trouble at the Texas Hold-em table. It was all in good fun. As it is said, he couldn’t take it with him anyway.
Speaking of Mo-Fo, it has elected Brian Kramer to the partnership. His practice focuses on patent litigation. Kramer serves on the board of directors of the Japan Society of San Diego and Tijuana.
Janine Sarti, general counsel at Palomar Pomerado Health, who starts her term as president of ACC on July 1, awarded Fred Jay, retired in-house attorney for Pfizer, as the Pro Bono Corporate Counsel of the Year.
The San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program has elected Rosalie A. Kramm and Leah Swearingen to its board of directors. Kramm is president of Kramm Reporting, and Swearingen is principal of Swearingen Communications. The two appointments will increase the SDVLP board to 34 directors.
William P. Keith has joined San Diego law firm Duckor Spradling Metzger & Wynne as a litigation associate. Keith’s practice areas include real estate, employment, insurance, and construction defect litigation. Before joining Duckor, Keith was an associate attorney at Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell in Florida.
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP announced this past week that it has completed its merger with Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP. The combined firm will continue to be known as McKenna Long & Aldridge, and hopes to build on the Luce Forward legacy. It will have more than 575 attorneys and public policy advisers in 13 offices and 11 markets. The combination of legal and public policy capabilities creates a firm that ranks among the 70 largest law firms in the U.S.
The San Diego County Bar Foundation has added two new members to its board of directors: Brian Funk, a criminal defense attorney with his own law office, and Jan Rieger, president of McLane Rieger Communications. The foundation has invested more than $1.5 million in grants to legal aid and public interest organizations throughout San Diego County.
Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP is accepting applications for its Native American Law Internship Program. The Native American Law Internship provides an opportunity for a Native American law student, or law student emphasizing Native American law, the opportunity to gain hands-on experience dealing with everyday legal issues facing the Native American community. Applications are accepted through April 30 of each year, and should be submitted to Ted Griswold (ted.griswold@procopio.com).
The Bishop’s School of La Jolla bested 18 other San Diego County high schools to win the sixth annual San Diego County High School Mock Trial Competition recently. The competition, which places high school students in a simulated courtroom setting where they assume the roles of lawyers and witnesses in a hypothetical case, took place at the County Courthouse in downtown San Diego. The Bishop’s School team will go on to represent San Diego County at the California Mock Trial Finals this month.
The San Diego County Bar Association presents the Mock Trial Competition program each year with the support of the San Diego Superior Court, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Constitutional Rights Foundation, San Diego Justice Foundation, San Diego County Office of Education, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, California Western School of Law, and the SDCBA’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service.
Correction: How embarrassing. Speaking of good, old Thomas Jefferson School of Law, my alma mater, it won! It took first place in the fifth annual Tulane National Baseball Arbitration Competition in New Orleans, not second, as I reported last column. I did report accurately, and it is still true, that TJSL defeated in the competition: Harvard, University of Arizona, NYU, Notre Dame, Michigan, Marquette, Columbia, Chicago-Kent, Arizona State, St. John’s, Villanova, University of Pennsylvania, Southern Methodist University and the University of San Diego!
Randy C. Frisch is the president and publisher of the San Diego Business Journal. He is licensed to practice law in California, Nevada and Idaho. He can be reached at rfrisch@sdbj.com.
