Who says corporate lawyers are boring? At the OCBJ General Counsel Awards they were hilarious, especially as male speakers went out of their way to express respect for the opposite sex. The theme was a running joke by the time St. John Knit’s Daniel Burke lauded his company’s client base, and that teed it up for Matthew Maletta of Allergan, maker of Botox and breast implants: “With all due respect to Dan Burke, we may value our women customers even more.” Brainy emcee Tom Campbell, sometime politician and now Chapman U’s new law dean, set the tone. While lamenting state budget cuts to the UC system he also quipped, “We’ll keep you advised as we announce our hostile takeover of UCI.” More on page 4 and in next week’s issue …
Last year Chapman celebrated its breakthrough into U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 law schools (at No. 93.) But in the new rankings Chapman fell out by the slimmest of margins, finishing at No. 104, just behind four schools tied at 100. “Overall rankings are tightly bunched, and for that reason, we try not to focus obsessively on one year variations,” said Campbell. He noted that Chapman ranked fifth in student-faculty ratio, behind only Stanford, Northwestern, Utah and Yale: “I focus entire-ly on making Chapman the best, small law school possible” …
If you see a dapper guy in a hat who looks and sounds like he stepped out of a Raymond Chandler novel, it’s our new Editor Jerry Sullivan. A longtime journalist in L.A. and OC, Sullivan has a keen understanding of the region and its many constituencies. Mike Lyster, peerless leader for the past 11 years, has joined Irvine Co. as a VP of communications. Which brings things full circle: In 1993 Lyster was a cub reporter at the Irvine World News, then owned by the Irvine Co., when he moved to the OCBJ. More on page 7 …
Vintage memorabilia: Conn Creek Winery has created two wines to commemorate the Angels’ 50th anniversary season …
Musical monks: In February the Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado performed with Carl St. Clair and the Pacific Symphony. Now they’ve released their third album, “Gregorian Chant: Requiem” …
Three GOP presidential hopefuls came calling last week, and there’s little doubt that Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who gathered with local party leaders at the Pacific Club, generated the most buzz. Former Utah guv Jon Huntsman held a fundraiser at the Island Hotel while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, accompanied by wife Callista, had lunch with New Majority and an impromptu meeting with the Lincoln Club board. Board Prez Bob Loewen said the club directors were “respectful” as an upbeat-sounding Gingrich insisted he was staying in the race, said he sometimes enjoyed his decidedly underdog status, but also admitted that fundraising has gotten difficult. “I don’t think he left with any checks,” said Loewen, who attended the Perry and Huntsman events, too.
