Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law's Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) honors OCBA member the honorable Kathleen O'Leary and Board Member Antoinette Balta with the M. Katherine Baird Darmer Commitment to Public Service Award and the PILF Award for Excellence in Public Service respectively. The awards will be presented during the 2017 Gala Dinner and Silent Auction on March 30, 2017, held at Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Anaheim in Orange.

Justice O’Leary is being honored with the M. Katherine Baird Darmer Commitment to Public Service Award for her dedicated service to public service. Justice O'Leary was appointed Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, in 2011. Throughout her judicial career, Justice O’Leary has been active in judicial and law-related education. She has consistently worked to improve the administration of justice through comprehensive and quality education and training.

Balta, who is an alum of Chapman University Fowler School of Law, receives the annual PILF Award for Excellence in Public Service for her dedicated service to the Orange County community. Balta is President and Co-Founder of the Veterans Legal Institute where she oversees and has responsibility for business development, outreach, public relations, marketing, and strategic planning. She is also a reserve JAG Officers with the California State Military Reserve, assigned to the Installation Support Group at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos where she holds the rank of Captain. She earned her J.D. in 2006 and her LL.M. in 2011 from Chapman University Fowler School of Law.

PILF is dedicated to creating new and innovative opportunities for law students to engage in critically needed public interest work. It supports and promotes public interest work by funding law students who dedicate their time to serving our community through summer grants so they can serve in unpaid, volunteer positions in the public interest field.

The annual dinner and silent auction features a dinner with wine pairings, live entertainment from The Jazz Execs, and no-host bar. Proceeds from the dinner and silent auction will be used to support PILF’s Summer Grant Program. The Program provides scholarships to Chapman students wishing to take public interest positions during the summer.

For more information about the event, visit the event webpage.