On December 13th, the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) continued its tradition of bringing the legal community together at the Hyatt Embarcadero for the Annual Membership & Installation of Officers. This year’s event marked another milestone, as attendees gathered in person, fostering a sense of connection as the year closes. The room buzzed with energy, hosting representatives from 22 law firms and companies, including individuals ranging from general counsels to esteemed judges. As we bid farewell to the accomplishments of 2023, we eagerly welcomed a new chapter, honoring outstanding individuals and setting the stage for another year of continued excellence and collaboration in the San Francisco legal community.
In addition to the numerous achievements and great impact this bar has achieved, Yolanda Jackson, BASF’s Executive Director and General Counsel and its JDC’s Executive Director, shared exciting news that will springboard our 2024 initiatives. The Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco has recently been identified to receive two transformational gifts - $1.4 million from the Yield Giving organization and $1.2 million endowment from the Arthur and Charlotte Zitrin Foundation.
Outgoing Board President, Vidya Prabhakaran, expressed gratitude to all 2023 directors and officers for their service, especially the outgoing 10 BASF and Barristers Board Directors. In Vid’s year as President, he led this Bar Association in its thought leadership on criminal justice reform in the City. And as his year closed, he focused on protecting the independent judiciary in light of attacks by government officials. In addition to his Resolution honoring him, Vid’s recent op-ed article in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Stop making judges the scapegoats for San Francisco’s problems” was framed and presented to him by incoming President, Teresa Johnson.
In his farewell address, Vid used his time to issue a call to action. “This blame game undermines a fundamental principle of our democracy, the independence of the judiciary [...] every attack on the judiciary, no matter how small, chips away at its strength and our democratic values,” he explained. “So the next time you find yourselves talking about the upcoming election, please take the time to talk about the bottom of the ballot where the judicial races are listed. We need you to be the ones to explain how it is that you are supposed to judge the performance of an umpire – not on how many balls or strikes they call, but on whether they make their calls based on the rules and without bias.”
This year, we granted seven Awards of Merit to individuals, nominated by BASF leadership, who have continuously dedicated themselves to enhancing the experience for all members and benefit the greater San Francisco community: Melissa Allain, Allain Law; Savannah Blackwell, Estes Law Group; David Carrillo, UC Berkeley School of Law; and Richard Zitrin, Zitrin Law Office.
Melissa M. Allain
Attorney at Law
Melissa M. Allain, Attorney at Law, has been an active member of The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) Conference of Delegates for approximately 10 years. Melissa’s hard work with BASF helped pass legislation governing civil rights, internal controls and green technology in the 50,000+ homeowner associations throughout the Golden State.
Savannah R. Blackwell
Estes Law Group
Savannah R. Blackwell, associate attorney at Estes Law Group, has been an active member of The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) for over 12 years and during this time generously contributed dozens of her “Legal Writing Tip” articles to the BASF Bulletin. The “Legal Writing Tip” column explores the writing challenges lawyers face and how they can affect the outcomes of their cases and work.
David A. Carrillo
UC Berkeley School of Law
David Carrillo is the Executive Director of the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law. David is a long-time member of The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) and a longtime supporter of the Justice & Diversity Center (JDC). David has a great deal of experience with financial management and investing, and has shared his expertise and skills with BASF while serving on our Finance Committee since 2016 (7 years).
Richard Zitrin
Zitrin Law Office
Richard Zitrin of the Zitrin Law Office was inspired to attend law school to make a deeper community impact when he was involved in the social and political scene. He first became involved with The Bar Association of San Francisco by helping with criminal defense through the Lawyer Referral Information Service (LRIS). Richard has been a long-time supporter of our Minority Law Student Scholarship Program (MLSSP) which he helped to start over 25 years ago and has been a strong supporter of the program ever since.
Three additional Awards of Merit were granted to Outstanding Barristers. Outgoing Barristers Club President, Courtney Brown shared gracious remarks for this year's Barristers Club. She spoke highly of this year’s Committees and Sections that hosted programs and events dedicated to the professional and personal growth of newer attorneys. Brown expressed, “This year, Barristers Leaders at all levels worked hard to rebuild the Barristers community so we could once again provide the necessary support, educational resources and leadership opportunities our members look to us for. We not only worked to rebuild what we once had but to evolve into something that could better meet the current needs of our members.” From Drag Queen Trivia Night to Speed Networking, and its most recent two-day Diversity Conference, the Barristers Club had much to be proud of this year.
Brown congratulated the Outstanding Barrister Awards recipients and thanked them for their work this year: Evan Etthinghoff, Minnis & Smallets; Jon Patrick Jones, Seifert Zuromski; and Brittany Rogers, The Law Office of Scott Righthand.
Evan Ettinghoff
Minnis & Smallets
Evan has been an active member of the Barristers Labor & Employment Law Section for six years, and is currently the Chair of the Executive Committee. He has organized and moderated several CLEs for our section including: “The Future of Work is Hybrid” (August 2022), “Implicit Bias in Employment Law” (August 2021), and “Enforcing Workplace Laws as Businesses Reopen” (June 2020).
Jon Patrick Jones
Seifert Zuromski
Jon Patrick Jones is a newer member of the Solo and Small Firm section Executive Committee. However, before he joined the Executive Committee for the Solo and Small Firm section, he was on the Judges Reception Committee for several years. He has been very dedicated to the Barristers Club by not only sitting on the Judges Committee but volunteering to assist at the event and solicit sponsorships.
Brittany Rogers
Law Offices of Scott Righthand
Brittany Rogers is the current co-chair of the Barristers Solo and Small Firm section and she has organized numerous CLEs and networking events. This year when there were changes to laws related to medical malpractice and wrongful death actions, Brittany organized a CLE with several other plaintiffs attorneys to discuss these changes in the law.
Following the Award presentations, Prabhakaran passed the gavel to the incoming Board President Teresa Johnson. In her opening remarks, Johnson expressed her dedication to contributing to the legal community, a value instilled in her by her father who was also a lawyer. She acknowledged the challenges faced by the city of San Francisco, including the notion of a “doom spiral” but assured the audience saying, “Our city remains an inspiring beacon of creativity and tolerance [...] We should have our heads held high, shoulders back - proud to be San Franciscans.”
She introduced her President’s project for 2024 - a Distinguished Speakers’ Series exploring Truth & Power - and urged members to participate and engage. The series will explore topics such as whistleblowing, free speech, Responsible AI, and the impending election. Johnson passionately sought support for the initiatives BASF and JDC, nodding to the recent generous contributions from philanthropists MacKenzie Scott and Richard Zitrin as a testament to the impactful programs underway. The continued success of our commitment to justice and equality is a collective responsibility of everyone in attendance.
As we reflect on the strides made in 2023, we eagerly anticipate the impact 2024 will bring to BASF and JDC. Stay tuned for the full luncheon recording and event photos on our social media!
See photos from the luncheon below (Photos: Jim Block).
