V. Judson Klein Award

• Publication year: 2023
• Author: Tami Griswold on behalf of Andrea Kushner

V. JUDSON KLEIN AWARD

Tami Griswold on behalf of Andrea Kushner

It is my honor to accept the V. Judson Klein Award on behalf of my dear friend, Andrea Kushner. Andi and I met, ironically, at a tax conference . . . you might've heard of it . . . Heckerling? Robin Klomparens introduced us, and we took to one another immediately. It wasn't until a few hours (and cocktails) later that we realized among many other things in common, we were also in the same sorority (Kappa Delta), albeit at different schools, her at UCLA and me at SDSU. Two months later, I was visiting a friend of mine in Long Beach, and let Andi know I'd be in the area. She responded immediately, and insisted I be her plus one at yet another tax conference dinner, this time in Costa Mesa. From that point on, we were pretty much inseparable, whether it be at conferences or our infamous girls' weekends, we were always together.

Distracted by all the fun we were having; I'll admit I was a bit slow to catch on to the genius that was Andi the Lawyer until later . . . when I finally had the privilege of seeing her speak. I hope you all have had the opportunity to participate in one of her presentations, because if so, I'm sure you'll understand my reaction:

WOW.

Her presence was captivating. She lit up a room when she was speaking, especially about one of her favorites, QSBS. The topic never mattered to me; it was...