Orange County Superior Court Family Law Panel Supervising Judge Lon Hurwitz installed OCBA Family Law Section Chair Thomas Tuttle (Seastrom Seastrom & Tuttle), Chair-Elect J. Ben Phillips (Phillips, Whisnant, Gazin, Gorczyca & Curtin), and Secretary/Treasurer Joan Loos (Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP) on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, at Grand Catered Events in Orange.

The installation was preceded by Judge Hurwitz's "State of the Union" address, in which he called upon members of the OCBA Family Law Section for their support as the Court continues to implement systemic changes and improvements. This includes the Odyssey Program, which was implemented in December 2015 as a platform to improve technical capacity, afford attorneys and litigants with remote access, and ultimately replace the existing Banner Case Management System. Judge Hurwitz also discussed the opening of a new family law courtroom, new contracts for indigent defense counsel, a more robust temporary judge program to enable timelier delivery of justice, the addition of evidence presentation equipment in five courtrooms, the relocation of the Court's Protective Order Unit from North Justice Center to Lamoreaux Justice Center, the availability of an online parenting program at minimal cost to participants, and the opening of the Self Help Services Center in Mission Viejo, designed to provide more than 600,000 South County residents with improved access.

Turning his attention to the months ahead in 2016, Judge Hurwitz announced that Judge Claudia Silbar will head up an initiative to redesign the family law calendar scheme to improve efficiency, while Judge Erick Larsh will spearhead the overhaul of fee processes.

A highlight of the event was the presentation of the George Bailey Award to Deputy Sheriff and Court Bailiff Adolfo Navarro. Established by Dan Boehm and Judge Francisco Firmat (Ret.), the Bailey Award—eponymously named for the protagonist of It's a Wonderful Life—annually recognizes an individual who "shine[s] a light on the lives of those passing through the Lamoreaux Justice Center, many of whom are metaphorically drowning," stated outgoing Section Chair Ryan Patrick Murphy (Seastrom Seastrom & Tuttle).

Also recognized were OCBA Family Law Section 2015 Chair Murphy, Chair-Elect Tuttle, Secretary/Treasurer Phillips, and Directors-at-Large Daniel Boehm, Laurel Brauer (Brauer Law Corporation), Leann Kaufman (Law Office of Leann K. Kaufman), Loos, and Richard Sullivan (Jarvis, Krieger & Sullivan).

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