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by Michael A. Gregg
Raising the OC Bar
Maya Angelou once said, “[i]f you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.” Consistent with this principle, the OCBA recently launched its Raising the OC Bar podcast to highlight the history of the Orange County, California legal community.
From its agrarian beginnings to status as a major economic power, lawyers and judges played a key role in the development of Orange County. Raising the OC Bar spotlights the rich and unique history of our Orange County legal community including stories about landmark cases, impactful institutions, and legal trailblazers.
The first three episodes of Raising the OC Bar are now available on all the popular podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many others. The episodes are also available on the OCBA’s website at the following link: https://www.raisingtheocbar.org/. Below is a sneak peek into the first three episodes.
Podcast on OCBA History Former Presidents of the OCBA and its current CEO/Executive Director discuss the growth of the Orange County legal community, the role the OCBA has played in the development of legal institutions in Orange County, and the OCBA’s impact on the larger Orange County community.
The speakers provide historical insights into a range of topics including the growth of Orange County and the OCBA, the building of the federal courthouse and court of appeals in Orange County, the OCBA’s near insolvency and purchase of its own building, the OCBA’s response to the 1993 fires and other events affecting the larger community, charitable giving of the OCBA and related programs, Jennifer King, Alicemarie Stotler, and the adoption of the OCBA’s Mission Statement and logo, among other things. Hosts: Michael Gregg and Nikki Miliband Speakers: Gene Andres (1982 OCBA President), Hon. Andrew Guilford (Ret.) (1991 OCBA President), Trudy Levindofske (OCBA CEO/Executive Director), Tom Malcolm (1992 OCBA President), and Michelle Reinglass (1993 OCBA President).
Podcast on PLC History Current and former leaders of the Public Law Center discuss the genesis of the organization, its growth over the years, and its impact in providing free legal services to low-income residents in Orange County since 1981.
The speakers unpack PLC’s history, including its beginning, the merger of Amicus Publico and OCPILA, balancing the dual missions of the PLC, the PLC’s response to a homeless sweep in Santa Ana in the early 90s, Justice Trotter’s role in the genesis of the organization, PLC funding, the creation of IOLTA, Scott Wylie’s early years with the PLC, the OCBA’s role in helping the PLC secure its own building, the OCBA’s mission of assisting the community and its support of PLC, the PLC as an incubator, the growth of the PLC, and its vision for the future. Hosts: Michael Gregg and Hon. Andrew Guilford (Ret.) Speakers: Monica Glicken (current PLC Executive Director), Ken Babcock (former PLC Executive Director), Bob Cohen (former CLA SoCal Executive Director), Justice John Trotter (instrumental in genesis of PLC), Scott Wylie (former PLC Executive Director).
Podcast on CLA SoCal History Current and former leaders of Community Legal Aid SoCal, and other key players, discuss the genesis of the organization and its work in serving the legal needs of low-income people in Orange County and beyond from the 1958 to the present.
The speakers discuss the OCBA’s role in the genesis of CLA SoCal; the relationship between CLA SoCal and OCBA over the years; the role of the Lawyers’ Wives; CLA SoCal’s staffing, services, and sources of funding from its early years; Patricia Herzog; CLA SoCal’s creation of IOLTA and the I-CAN! E-File program; CLA SoCal’s work with the OC Superior Court on self-help legal services for the poor; and impact litigation by CLA SoCal and its vision for the future. Hosts: Michael Gregg and Nikki Miliband Speakers: Kate Marr (current CLA SoCal Executive Director), Bob Cohen (former CLA SoCal Executive Director), Mary Lou Czerner (former CLA SoCal Director of Finance and Operations), John McDonald (former CLA SoCal Executive Director), Crystal Sims (former CLA SoCal Director of Litigation), Alan Slater (former OC Superior Court CEO).
As former OCBA President Danni Murphy reminded us in chronicling the first 100 years of the OCBA, the Orange County legal community is special. I encourage you to tune in to Raising the OC Bar to hear about stories and events that make up our rich history. If you have ideas for stories that should be featured, please email them to HistoryProject@ocbar.org so we can consider including them in the growing catalogue of Orange County historical topics.
Michael A. Gregg is the 2023 OCBA President and a shareholder at Littler. He represents companies in all aspects of labor and employment law. You may reach him about these or other issues by emailing michael@ocbar.org.