On Thursday, March 16, 2006, the Armenian Bar Association in conjunction with the Loyola Armenian Law Student Association hosted a panel of judges at Loyola Law School in downtown Los Angeles. The judges' panel was attended by over 170 attorneys and law students, making it the best attended substantive seminar ever held by ArmenBar. The judges on the panel were:
The audience included law students from Loyola Law School and other local law schools, such as UCLA, USC, Southwestern Law School and Pepperdine University. A large contingency of lawyers, mostly ArmenBar members, also were present. The judges provided advice and spoke about the transition from law student to attorney, the role of attorneys in the courtroom, the attributes of successful attorneys, and the judges’ own experiences as attorneys and judges. Judge Tevrizian served as an excellent moderator for the panel, providing insightful advice and expounding on the comments of the other judges.
“We are truly fortunate to have such a distinguished group of judges who are so willing to devote their time, energy and wisdom for the benefit of our Armenian law students and attorneys and the interested public,” said Rita Bojalian, an attorney with CBS and an ArmenBar Board Member, who co-Chairs ArmenBar’s Student Affairs Committee with Annette Ohanganian, an attorney with the Los Angeles Department of Social Services.
Judge Tevrizian, who sits in the Central District Court in Los Angeles, is a veteran of the federal bench, a Board member of ArmenBar, and a nationally recognized jurist. Included among his many accolades is the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, awarded to him for his commitment to both the United States and his heritage.
Judge Chooljian recently was appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, where she will preside over matters in Los Angeles. Prior to her appointment, Judge Chooljian served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
Judge Kolostian retired in February 2006 from the Superior Court, and has just joined Alternative Resolution Centers also known as ARC, one of the leading alternative dispute resolution service providers in California. Prior to his retirement, he was the senior judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court system.
Judge Munoz is the senior judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court system, having served more years on the bench than any other judge.
Judge Altoon currently sits as a Superior Court judge in the Central District Court in Los Angeles, handling unlimited civil cases, and also is an ArmenBar Board member. Prior to her current assignment, she established a reputation as first-rate criminal trial judge in the Central District. Her career as a judge has spanned many years and included many honors.
Judges Keosian and Sinanian were appointed to the bench in 2002 by Governor Davis, and have quickly established themselves as respected judicial officers, garnering much praise from attorneys and judges alike. Judge Keosian sits in the Northwest District Court in Van Nuys, handling civil cases, while Judge Sinanian sits in the North Central District Court in Burbank, hearing criminal and civil matters. Both judges were founding members of ArmenBar, and Judge Sinanian is a past Chairman of the organization.
The event was organized by Bojalian and Ohanganian in coordination with Loyola law students Kris Demirjian (president of Loyola’s Armenian Law Student Association) and Taline Kizirian (also an intern for Judge Munoz), ArmenBar’s Executive Director Betty Jamgotchian, and her assistant Lisa Boyadjian. Wine, beverages and Armenian delicacies were generously provided by ArmenBar’s Treasurer Vicken Simonian of the law offices of Simonian and Kerkonian and Edvin Minassian of Tennenhouse, Minassian & Adham, both of whom are also Board members.
After the panelists completed the program, Board member Datev Shenian and Simonian spoke about ArmenBar, and promoted both membership and upcoming events, including the Annual Meeting which will be held in Washington, D.C. from April 28-30. Shenian, who is also co-Chair of the Membership Committee, also talked about our recently filed amicus brief in a case recently filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, and David Yeremian, co-Chair of the Southern California Regional Committee, gave an update on event honoring certain judges in the Rococo Room at Café Santorini in Pasadena, California, to be held on April 12. Further details of this event will soon be posted on the ArmenBar website and distributed to ArmenBar members by e-mail.
Lawyers who attended the forum will receive two units of MCLE credits. If you attended and did not obtain the MCLE certification, please contact ArmenBar.
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