Many lawyers try to find ways to make a difference in their community, but passing laws that impact the entire State seems like a hill too steep to summit. Did you know you can join a group of lawyers regularly getting legislation passed to benefit millions of Californians?
On December 13th, The Bar Association of San Francisco honored Melissa Allain for more than ten years of service as a member of BASF’s Conference of Delegates to the Conference of California Bar Associations (CCBA). We spoke with Melissa about her experience with the CCBA, how working with the CCBA has helped her pursue her passion for the environment, and the laws she has helped pass.
The Conference of California Bar Associations (CCBA) serves justice in California by bringing together attorney volunteers from around the State to seek, debate, and promote creative, non-partisan changes to the law for the benefit of Californians. This mission attracted Allain, who became an attorney after working as a paralegal for a company in bankruptcy and staff aide for a state senator. “The law allows us to understand the undercurrents that guide society and to help people protect their rights, guides businesses, and empowers our communities to grow and resolve disputes, and CCBA helps me be a more active participant in our democracy,” shares Allain.
The annual CCBA cycle starts with individual members of local CCBA delegations who develop and circulate resolutions for vetting and approval first by their local delegation, then their bar association’s board of directors, to other California bar associations for possible counterarguments, to CCBA’s Resolutions Committee who issue recommendations on every resolution submitted, and eventually to CCBA’s annual conference to debate and vote on resolutions. Proponents of approved resolutions then meet in Sacramento for a day to meet with legislators in the State Senate and Assembly to sponsor new bills, and to review progress of pending bills from prior resolutions. This cycle allows for a series of in-depth debates among colleagues on how laws can work and their limitations. “It is a modern salon where we can exchange ideas with a collegial and diverse group of attorneys, lawmakers and experts from public agencies, other non-profit organizations and the affected industry. Legislators receive well vetted and legally sound legislative proposals that they can sponsor to benefit all Californians.”
Allain has a distinguished career as a partner in one of the oldest law firms in California and as general counsel in the energy research and technology sectors in California and the Middle East. Her role as a delegate both for BASF and previously for two other bar associations has allowed her to pursue her passion for protecting the environment. “Serving as a delegate allows you to explore areas of the law outside of your practice areas and sharpens your advocacy skills. The CCBA has enabled me to broaden my experience in environmental law and to consider many other important issues of our society, from the death penalty and police discipline to our schools, children and alternative dispute resolution. During Allain’s tenure, she has helped write and pass legislation on civil rights, governance, and green technology in the 50,000+ homeowner associations throughout the State. Her environmental law experience facilitated resolutions that became legislation to protect residents from unsafe levels of mold in housing, and provide for the safe construction, use, and maintenance of electric vehicle charging stations and solar power systems.
“The delegates from BASF and the CCBA community are a wonderfully diverse and dedicated group. Several have been members for decades while others have left and returned amidst competing commitments. It has been a privilege to collaborate with all of them, and I thank every BASF delegate past and present for their support and guidance in my efforts leading to this award. We encourage BASF members including our board of directors to reach out and get involved. You can participate as a delegate throughout the yearly cycle or provide more limited help with specific components such as research for or spot checking a draft resolution in your practice area for unintended consequences, or contacting another delegation or external stakeholders to discuss their views.” You can learn more about joining the CCBA and BASF delegation by contacting BASF’s Deputy Executive Director Lisa Handley at lhandley@sfbar.org who can direct you, or Melissa at melissa@allainlaw.com. Here is a link to CCBA resolutions CCBA is currently supporting in the State Legislature, including two from BASF proponents, (AB 300 and SB 760).
