Alameda County
Bar Association

A Letter from the ACBA President 

Spring greetings:
 

Cheryl Poncini
Cheryl Poncini, ACBA Board President

It is difficult to believe that we are almost one-third through 2019! It has been a busy year so far for ACBA. Here is a quick review of the year-to-date.
 
One of the ACBA Board members, then president-elect Pelayo Llamas, was appointed as an Alameda County Court Commissioner earlier this year and resigned from the Board. The Board solicited applications to fill the vacant position and ultimately selected Yen Chau to replace Pelayo. Yen is a senior counsel with the Oakland firm Donahue Fitzgerald. Congratulations to Yen and Pelayo!
 
My theme this year of The Many Paths to Public Service is well underway. ACBA has already hosted several MCLE’s on this topic including The Role of Ethics in Public Service and Murder in City Hall: Supervisor Milk and Mayor Moscone. More MCLE’s are scheduled in the months ahead including Public Service Lifestyle which will be held at ACBA on May 7th beginning at 5:30 p.m. One of the speakers is a Board of Supervisors Chief of Staff as well as a lecturer with CSUEB and a professional photographer. Topics will include the challenges for a public servant to balance the commitment to public service with a personal life.
 
To facilitate communication among the ACBA, its Board and its sections/standing committees, I have reinstated a practice from many years ago of appointing Board members as liaisons to sections and standing committees. For example, if a section or standing committee needs assistance from the Board/bar association, let your Board liaison know. The liaison will bring that request back to the Board and we will explore how to assist the section/committee. If you have any questions about this partnership, do not hesitate to contact me.
 
May is Food from the Bar month for the Alameda County Community Food Bank. ACBA will have barrels from the Food Bank at its office. I encourage ACBA members and those in related fields to stop by ACBA offices during regular business hours and drop off non-perishable food items for the Food Bank such as canned goods (soup, chicken and tuna) and oatmeal.
 
The ACBA staff works very hard to arrange numerous programs  for its members throughout the year. See the ACBA website for more details regarding upcoming MCLE’s and socials. Not to be missed is the ACBA South County Social at PlaYT Restaurant in Hayward on May 8 at 5:30 p.m. I hope to see you at these and other ACBA events throughout the year.
 
Thank you for your ongoing support of ACBA and its Board.  If you have any suggestions, concerns or just want to talk, do not hesitate to contact me. My business e-mail address is as follows: cheryl.poncini@acgov.org
 
Best,
 
Cheryl
Cheryl Poncini
President
Alameda County Bar Association