On October 5, 2017, the Los Angeles Chapter of the Federal Bar Association held its 35th annual lunch in recognition of the five Judge Barry Russell Federal Practice Award recipients from local law schools; the event also included the swearing-in of the new FBA-LA officers and Board of Directors, and the fabulous 23-year tradition of Dean Erwin Chemerinsky’s United States Supreme Court Review.  

SWEARING-IN  

The event, hosted at the Biltmore Hotel, attracted a packed ballroom of attendees, from judges to federal public defenders to private practitioners and law students. Former FBA-LA President Matthew Close, partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, gave the introductory remarks before the new officers and board of directors were sworn in. Hilary Potashner, Federal Public Defender, succeeded Matthew Close as the new FBA-LA President. Joining Ms. Potashner are FBA-LA officers Lane Dilg, President-Elect, Judge Michael Fitzgerald, Treasurer, and Ronald Wood, Secretary. 

JUDGE BARRY RUSSELL FEDERAL PRACTICE AWARD 

Next, Judge Russell, who Dean Chemerinsky later noted has been on the bench as a bankruptcy judge since 1974, presented awards to the five local law school students.Each year, this event recognizes local law students for their achievements in their federal courts courses. The recipients included Emily Sauer of Pepperdine University School of Law, Alexa Cover of USC Gould School of Law, Brandon C. Amash of UCLA School of Law, Gevork Gazaryan of Southwestern Law School and Kimiko I. Elguea of Loyola Law School. The award recipients received a $500 check, a signed copy of Judge Russell’s most recent book and a plaque recognizing their outstanding achievements.  

See pages 3 and 16 for the full article in FBA-LA Newsletter.