Justice League
Ken Babcock, executive director, Public Law Center; Shakeel Syed, executive director, OCCORD; Christina Lopez, attorney, Gibson Dunn; Danielle Serbin, attorney, Gibson Dunn; Xavier Becerra, California attorney general; Mark Dittrich, attorney, Gison Dunn; Katie Magallanes, attorney, Gibson Dunn; Jared Greenberg, attorney, Gibson Dunn; Mark Erickson, partner, Haynes and Boone
State Attorney General Xavier Becerra was the keynote speaker at the Public Law Center’s annual Volunteers for Justice dinner on June 19 at Hotel Irvine. He was joined by more than 800 leaders of the Orange County legal, civic and business communities. The event raised a record-breaking $750,000, which will generate $6 million worth of free civil legal aid through the law center’s pro bono model.
At the event, it honored Haynes and Boone LLP, the Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Jerra Litigation Team and Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development. Each year, the organization and its 1,400 volunteers provide $23 million worth of free legal services to Orange County’s low-income military veterans, seniors, domestic violence survivors, children and their families.
It presented the Community Partner of the Year award to OCCORD and its executive director, Shakeel Syed, for helping thousands of people in becoming U.S. citizens.
Public Law Center also honored a team of lawyers from Gibson Dunn as its attorneys of the year. The 10 lawyers have volunteered almost 4,000 hours to represent a pro se litigant.
The Orange County office of Haynes and Boone LLP was honored as law firm of the year.
Flip Flop Gala
Jason Lezak, four-time Olympic gold medalist; Matt Hood, chief marketing officer, The Habit Burger
More than 800 people donned their best aloha attire and fanciest flip-flops as they gathered at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa on July 15, united in their fight against cystic fibrosis. The 10th annual Pipeline to a Cure gala raised a net $540,000 to help the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation find a cure for the inherited disease.
Event sponsors included BJ’s Restaurants, American Airlines, STACKED Food Well Built, Coast Benefit Consultants, Karma Tequila, Subaru America, Nick Alexander Imports, Audi America, Coca-Cola, Constellation Brands (Pacifico), Crean Family Foundation, HB Surf School, The Habit Burger Grill, Merrill Lynch, Newport Surf Camp, Newport Aquatic Center, Piercey Auto Group, Quikblade, Surf Industry Manufacturers Association, Pepsi, TwinMed and KROQ.
“Few challenges compare to life with cystic fibrosis,” said Judy Burlingham, owner of Coast Benefit Consultants and the Pipeline chairperson. “Pipeline to a Cure is about celebrating the lives of those who fearlessly battle this disease and who need our help to find a cure.”
Investing in Life
Kara Duckworth, a wealth manager, chief compliance officer, Duckworth Wealth Advisors; student, LIFEvest Financial Literacy Program
In July, the University of California-Irvine Paul Merage School of Business hosted the seventh annual LIFEvest Financial Literacy Program, a one-week on-campus program dedicated to helping underserved ninth- and 10th-grade students by teaching life skills in money and investment management. The program’s mission is to instill a continued desire to strengthen understanding of financial matters, encourage admission into a four-year college or university, and to inspire confidence and success in all areas of life.
Partnership for Park
Don Wagner, mayor, Irvine; Landon Donova, former men’s U.S. national team, LA Galaxy soccer star; Emile Haddad, chairman, CEO, FivePoint, with youth soccer players
The first 53-acre phase of the 175-acre Orange County Great Park sports park opened Aug. 5 with a free daylong community celebration that included family games, sports activities, gourmet food trucks and a free concert by the Blues Brothers.
The project was funded and built by FivePoint Communities Inc. in partnership with the city.
More than 10,000 guests were among the first to tour a state-of-the-art soccer stadium, 25 hard-surface tennis courts, six natural-turf soccer fields, and five sand volleyball courts.
They were treated to a festival of family games; demonstrations and sports clinics.
The centerpiece of the sports park’s first phase is a championship soccer stadium with a 5,000-person capacity.
Built on the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, the park is the result of a public-private partnership between the city of Irvine and Five Point. The FivePoint partnership is spending approximately $250 million to improve, operate and maintain 688 acres of Orange County Great Park and infrastructure serving it.
Bits & Pieces
As part of Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Global Week of Volunteering initiative, employees and managers volunteered at the Costa Mesa Senior Center on July 27, setting up the lunchroom, prepping food, and serving about 60 seniors. … The Laguna Playhouse was recently awarded a $20,000 grant from the 2017 S.L. Gimbel Foundation Fund, administered by the Community Foundation, to support year-round youth education and outreach programs Youth Theatre, TheatreReach: Bringing Books to Life, and workshops.
