San Fernando Valley Bar Assocation marks centennial

WOODLAND HILLS -- The San Fernando Valley Bar Association marked its 100th anniversary Thursday evening with reflections on public service, mentorship, resilience, and the evolving role of the judiciary during its annual Judges' Night celebration at the Woodland Hills Country Club.

The centennial event honored retired California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Huey P. Cotton Jr., Thomas Rubinson, and Valerie Salkin, along with SFVBA Director of Education and Events Linda Temkin.

SFVBA President Kyle Ellis presented the organization's Judge of the Century honor to Cantil-Sakauye, praising her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and recalling the uncertainty that swept through California's courts in March 2020.

"It was our chief justice who, within those few days, was able to organize the entire court system across the state to react to this once-in-a-century global event," Ellis said, noting that many emergency measures adopted during the pandemic, including remote appearances, remain in use today.

Cantil-Sakauye accepted the recognition through a prerecorded video message, thanking the association for what she called an "amazing award." Referring to the title of Judge of the Century, she joked that she hoped to "live to the next century" to see whether the award would still exist.

Accepting on her behalf was ADR Services founder and president Lucy Barron, who described Cantil-Sakauye as a transformational figure in California's judiciary. Barron noted that the daughter of Filipino farmworkers rose to become California's 28th chief justice -- the first person of color, first Asian Filipino American, and second woman to hold the position.

"She did not simply serve during an important century in California law," Barron said. "She helped shape it."

Judge Thomas Rubinson, recipient of the Community Impact Award, delivered deeply personal remarks centered on family and civic responsibility. He credited his parents with teaching him that service was not optional, recalling his father's work establishing one of Miami's first residential drug treatment facilities and his mother's decades running a youth baseball and softball league.

"Service is not a competition," Rubinson said. "It's a relay."

Rubinson said community service was not separate from the legal profession but central to it. "It's not charity," he told attendees. "It's citizenship."

The evening's most emotional moments came during the presentation of the Stanley Mosk Legacy of Justice Award to Judge Huey P. Cotton Jr., introduced by Judge Daniel S. Balcigalupo as a mentor, adviser, and peacemaker whose influence extended far beyond the courtroom.

Cotton reflected on a lesson taught by his mother: "Everybody can help somebody." He tied that philosophy to the legal community's response during crises, including the 2018 Woolsey Fire, when SFVBA members worked to secure temporary office space for displaced attorneys and coordinate court accommodations for affected practitioners.

"We didn't sit on our hands," Cotton said. "Everybody had to help somebody."

Cotton later presented the SFVBA Judge of the Year Award to Judge Valerie Salkin, praising her dedication to mentorship, public service, and leadership during the pandemic-era transition to remote court proceedings.

Accepting the award, Salkin reflected on the many changes she has witnessed since graduating law school in 1992, recalling a time when women attorneys were discouraged from wearing pantsuits and technology had yet to transform courtroom practice. She noted that the modern legal profession now grapples with issues ranging from remote hearings to artificial intelligence-generated briefs "that cite phantom cases that don't exist," drawing laughter from the audience.

Still, Salkin emphasized that despite rapid technological change, the justice system must remain rooted in human values.

"Justice must remain grounded in fairness and in humanity and in reason," Salkin said. "Because ultimately, law is about people."

The evening also marked another milestone for Salkin. Friday was both her 68th birthday and her final day serving on the bench after 16 years as a judge.

"It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve in that role," she said.