News


San Diego County Bar Foundation Honors 2019 Distinguished Lawyer Memorial Inductees

SAN DIEGO (May 20, 2019) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation announced its 2019 Distinguished Lawyer Memorial inductees, recognizing deceased lawyers and judges of the San Diego County Bar who have demonstrated superior legal skills and high ethical standards throughout careers of significant length. The Distinguished Lawyer Memorial Reception will be held at the University Club on Wednesday, May 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Each inductee will be recognized with a permanent plaque in the Hall of Justice at the San Diego County Courthouse. “The Distinguished Lawyer ...

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Welcome New SDCBA Executive Director Jill Epstein

March 12, 2019 A note from SDCBA President, Lilys McCoy. It is with great excitement that I write to inform you that we have hired a new SDCBA Executive Director, Jill Epstein. Jill is an attorney and an experienced association executive, and she will start her role at the SDCBA on Wednesday, March 20th.   Jill comes to the Bar Association from Miracle Babies, a foundation that provides financial and emotional support to families with critically ill babies in the NICU. Previously, Jill spent nearly seven years as the Executive Director of the California ...

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San Diego County Bar Foundation Awards $521,000 in Grants to 24 Local Nonprofits

SAN DIEGO (Mar. 12, 2019) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation has awarded $521,000 to 24 local nonprofit organizations providing legal services, public awareness education and improvements to the region’s justice and court system. The awards, from two Foundation grant programs — general and indigent criminal defense — focus on people and communities that are impacted by poverty, abuse and discrimination. Funds assist organizations that serve refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, working poor, domestic violence victims, the disabled, veterans, the homeless, low ...

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San Diego County Bar Foundation Recognizes Leadership, Raises Funds at the 21st Annual “An Evening in La Jolla” Benefit

SAN DIEGO (Oct. 30, 2018) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation brought together the San Diego legal community’s finest at its 21st annual “An Evening in La Jolla” benefit, raising more than $130,000 to help at-risk communities gain access to proper legal services. The Foundation also recognized board members Brian Funk and Jean Walcher for their leadership and contributions to making its mission possible. “These awards are given when the board wants to recognize someone who has gone above and beyond to advance the ideals of the Bar Foundation,” said Neal ...

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CALIFORNIA INNOCENCE PROJECT CLIENT HORACE ROBERTS RELEASED AFTER 20 YEARS OF WRONGFUL INCARCERATION!

SAN DIEGO (October 24, 2018) The San Diego County Bar Foundation’s (SDCBF) Indigent Criminal Defense Fund (ICD) supports the California Innocence Project and other organizations that deliver effective legal representation and programs to assist accused people who cannot afford to hire an attorney. Last year, SDCBF provided California Western School of Law’s California Innocence Project $100,000 to bring a post-graduate law student on as a full-time fellow to work on wrongful conviction cases. News like the below is what makes our work so rewarding! “I am so ...

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San Diego County Bar Foundation Calls for Grant Submissions

Applications for 2019 General Grant Fund and Indigent Criminal Defense Fund are Now Open  SAN DIEGO (July 06, 2018) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation is now accepting applications for its annual grant cycle. The Bar Foundation’s grant program awards local organizations that promote an understanding of the legal system and support victims of poverty, abuse and discrimination. Since beginning its grant program in 1979, the Bar Foundation has awarded over 50 legal aid and public interest organizations with more than $3 million to provide legal services to ...

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San Diego County Bar Foundation Honors 2018 Distinguished Lawyer Memorial Inductees

SAN DIEGO (May 2, 2018) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation announced its 2018 Distinguished Lawyer Memorial inductees, recognizing recently deceased lawyers and judges of the San Diego County Bar who have demonstrated significant commitment to their communities as well as superior legal skills and high ethical standards throughout their careers. The Distinguished Lawyer Memorial Reception will be held at the University Club on Wed., May 23 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Each inductee will be recognized with a permanent plaque in the Hall of Justice at the San Diego County ...

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San Diego County Bar Foundation’s Indigent Criminal Defense Fund Awards $290,000 to Homeless, Juveniles and Veterans

San Diego County Bar Foundation’s Indigent Criminal Defense Fund Awards $290,000 to Homeless, Juveniles and Veterans SAN DIEGO (March 16, 2018) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation (SDCBF) has awarded $290,000 to organizations through its Indigent Criminal Defense Fund, benefiting those that deliver effective legal representation and programs to assist accused people who cannot afford to hire an attorney. Seven nonprofits serving the homeless, juveniles, veterans and wrongly convicted criminal defendants in North County, Central/Downtown San Diego and East ...

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San Diego County Bar Foundation Awards $105,000 in Grants to 14 Local Nonprofits

Funds Provide Legal Aid to San Diegans Impacted By Poverty, Abuse and Discrimination SAN DIEGO (Jan. 5, 2017) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation (SDCBF) awarded a total of $105,000 to 14 San Diego nonprofit organizations as part of its 2017 Grant Cycle. Grant recipients promote public understanding of the law through public service programs, improve the San Diego court system and expand the availability of legal services to county residents. “We are grateful to all our corporate and individual donors who make it possible for us to provide these grants every ...

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San Diego County Bar Foundation 2016 Grant Recipients Support Indigent Criminal Defendants

Three Local Nonprofits Use Grants to Serve Homeless and Veterans in Need SAN DIEGO (Dec. 11, 2017) – California Veterans Legal Task Force, Father Joe’s Villages and Think Dignity, recipients of San Diego County Bar Foundation’s (SDCBF) Indigent Criminal Defense Fund, have reported results and success from the organization’s 2016 grant cycle. Collectively, the group has assisted more than 230 local homeless and veterans by working on over 450 cases and providing education to 100-plus San Diegans in need. Each nonprofit applied its funding, a total of $110,000, ...

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