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By Katy Doyle
Created five years ago, the Santa Clarita Valley Bar Association is a non-profit organization with approximately 150 local attorneys as members. Through the association’s website, maintained by current president and local estate planning attorney Robert Mansour, SCV residents are able to access attorneys who live and work in the Santa Clarita Valley for virtually every type of legal service that they might need. The site receives over 1,500 visitors monthly.
Mansour describes the purposes of the association as threefold. First, it provides a networking opportunity for lawyers to get to know each other and be able to refer each other with confidence. According to the site, www.scvbar.org, “member attorneys are bound by a strict code of professional ethics which are designed to ensure that clients are represented only by attorneys who are competent to handle their matters, and that the fees charged for services are fair and reasonable.”
Second, the SCV Bar Association provides monthly continuing education seminars so that lawyers can keep up with the credits they need to maintain their licenses. And, third, the association is involved with the community, recently rekindling their efforts to stage mock trials at local high schools and offering to visit students of all ages throughout the valley to talk about the law and being a lawyer. Mansour adds, “It is one of the best-kept secrets that we have a bar association. It’s a good resource for people to know. There are lawyers in our backyard who can really help people out in this neighborhood without traveling out of the valley.”
On Friday, October 2, the Santa Clarita Valley Bar Association will be presenting its Fifth Annual Law Appreciation Day at 11:30 a.m. at the Valencia Hyatt. The luncheon program will honor local heroes, as well as the men and women who join us in their commitment to democracy and justice. Invited guests include County Supervisor Michael Antonovich , District Attorney Steve Cooley, L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, Senator George Runner, Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon, Mayor Frank Ferry, L.A. County Fire Department, California Highway Patrol and other dignitaries.
Mansour says of the event, “We are honoring local heroes, school teachers, firefighters or high school kids, who have done something extraordinary.” Brian Koegle, the association’s incoming president and a labor and employment attorney with local firm Poole and Shaffery, LLP, is chairing Law Day for the second time in three years. He says of the luncheon, “It’s important that we recognize the contributions of our community’s unsung heroes.”
Of the association in general, Mansour says, “It’s very fulfilling. I feel very connected to the attorneys in this town and also to the community. Our members come from different areas of law, from family law to lemon law to elder law. Everybody brings something unique to the table. The truth is, the association has been a very good way to get to know people. And it’s fun.”
Koegle says of his upcoming tenure as president, “We have a relatively young bar association and the leadership has been exceptional. We have been in a ‘build’ mode to bring new members in, but we’ve now reached a point where we can try to increase the visibility of the Bar Association within the community. As attorneys, we have an obligation not only to do good work, but to do good things within the community to help it grow and thrive.”
Whether you are a local attorney who would like to enjoy the benefits of becoming a member, a local resident who would like to attend or sponsor Law Day on October 2, or a local teacher who would like a lawyer to speak to your class, please contact the Santa Clarita Valley Bar Association by visiting www.scvbar.org.
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