Sep. 30, 2011

The Latina Lawyers Bar Association held its 14th annual awards and scholarship dinner on Sept. 16 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. This year’s honorees were school desegregation pioneer Sylvia Mendez and director of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Nina Perales. Mendez’s parents won a federal class-action lawsuit that represented the first successful challenge to the separate-but equal doctrine in public school education, thereby serving as precedent for Brown v. Board of Education. “I have received many honors but to receive one from my own people means a lot to me,” said Mendez. The award ceremony was followed by a dinner during which the assocoiation presented $1,000-2,000 scholarships to 10 law students. LLBA co-president Ivette Pena said she was proud to see all of the Latina judges and lawyers who attended the dinner. “We have really come a long way.” — Connie Lopez