Las Vegas, Nevada-The elegant, five-star Bellagio Hotel and Casino was the venue, as the Armenian Bar Association (Armenbar) presented an outstanding group of Armenian legal experts on July 29, 2006 for a mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) seminar. Approximately 70 members and friends of Armenbar made the trip to Las Vegas to participate in the event.
Federal Judge and Honorary Member Dickran Tevrizian joined preeminent attorneys Mark Geragos, Garo Mardirossian, Craig Missakian and Frank Zerunyan for the event. Three topics were presented as part of the program, including criminal trials in the state and federal systems, litigating a catastrophic injury case, and legal ethics. Attorneys attending the seminar received three units of MCLE credit, including one for ethics ..
“The quality of the speakers and the content of the lectures equaled or exceeded any MCLE program offered in the legal community. We were extremely proud to have been able to present such a distinguished group of legal scholars to our membership,” said Betty Jamgotchian, Executive Director of Armenbar.
The criminal trials discussion was moderated by Judge Tevrizian, who gave the view from the bench and questioned the other panelists on the similarities and differences in the State and Federal criminal courts. Geragos presented the defense perspective, and Missakian the prosecution perspective. Tevrizian, who sits in the Central District Court in Los Angeles is a veteran of the Federal court system, and was the first person of Armenian heritage to be appointed to the Federal Bench. Included among his many accolades is the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1999, for his commitment to both the United States and his heritage, the Maynord Toll award in 2002 for his assistance to the underprivileged and the Emil Gumpert award in 2005 for his efforts in promoting alternative dispute resolution.
Mark Geragos is perhaps the best known attorney in the country. In addition to being the Managing Partner of the prestigious law firm of Geragos and Geragos, and a regular commentator on national television programs such as Larry King Live and CNN and Dateline’s Burden of Proof, he was the recipient of the 2006 Clay award as a leading attorney in the state of California. Missakian is a veteran attorney with the U.S. Attorneys office and an accomplished federal prosecutor. He is a current adjunct professor of law at USC School of Law in criminal advocacy and was a former candidate for State Assembly in California.
Garo Mardirossian is the Managing Partner of Mardirossian and Associates, and the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles’ “Trial Lawyer of the Year” in 2000. In 1995, Mardirossian obtained the largest jury verdict in a police brutality case ever recorded in the United States in the case of Dole v. County of Los Angeles. He has obtained numerous multi-million dollar verdicts in catastrophic injury cases, and discussed the topic of litigating a catastrophic injury case, highlighting the use of demonstrative evidence.
Frank Zerunyan, the current Chairman of Armenbar, is a City Councilman for the City of Rolling Hills Estates. Zerunyan is a principal partner in the real estate development firm of Public Private Community Development, LLC, and a former partner of the Sulmeyer Kupetz, PC, and is a rising star in California politics. He is an expert in the field of legal ethics, and lectured on that topic. California attorneys are required to have one unit of legal ethics every three years as part of their State Bar continuing legal education requirements.
Following the lectures, those in attendance were treated to a delicious array of Armenian mezza and cocktails in the Armenbar hospitality suite at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. Later, members and friends were spotted enjoying the nightlife and world class entertainment which is the signature of the Las Vegas Strip.
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