Message from the Chair

• Publication year: 2023
• Citation: Vol. 37 No. 5
• Author: Scott Stillman

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

AUTHOR^*

Scott Stillman

Last September, when I took the reins of the Section Chair position, I felt like I had been handed the keys to a Ferrari.

Our Section was already firing on all cylinders—providing year-round, top notch educational opportunities for our members. Our Executive Committee was composed of extraordinary individuals who were not only fiercely dedicated to our Section's mission, but also to having fun and being kind while accomplishing our goals. And we had the energy and support from a reinvigorated CLA staff and management.

So, what do you do when handed the keys to a Ferrari? Have fun—but do everything you can not to crash it! As this year comes to a close, I must say I have had a tremendous time driving this Ferrari and, to my great relief, I think I've succeeded in not crashing it.

Our flagship programs continued to provide unparalleled legal education on the most relevant and timely topics in the labor and employment field. While this area of law is quite broad, we had something for everyone this past year.

• For lawyers new to this area, our New Employment Lawyer Conference, chaired by Esmeralda Zendejas, offered up a wonderful chance to learn the basics, as well as network with other lawyers practicing labor and employment law.
• Our Public Sector Conference, chaired by Janet Cory Sommer and Stephanie Joseph, was a huge hit. We were thrilled to offer engaging panels and the chance for the public sector community to gather in Sacramento and catch up face to face.
• We set an attendance record at our virtual Advanced Wage and Hour Conference, chaired by Alexandra Stathopoulos and Hina Shah.
• We broke old records again at July's Annual Meeting Conference, chaired by Monica Teresa Guizar and Maribel Hernandez, as lawyers from across California came together to stay current on this ever-changing and always-evolving field of law.
• And our amazing Education Committee, chaired by Beth Mora, brought you many timely webinars on topics ranging from California's new attorney misconduct reporting requirement, to ERISA for employment attorneys, to criminal background checks and California's Fair Chance Act, to identifying and challenging implicit bias, to a three-year review of the most significant employment law cases.

Beyond organizing these impressive programs and webinars, our ExComm's many other committees kept on doing more and more great work. For instance, our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (chaired by Nicole Heeder)...