BERNARD E. WITKIN AWARD RECIPIENTS - 2005
The Honorable Judith McConnell,
California Court of Appeal, Fourth District
Presiding Justice Judith McConnell took office upon her confirmation October 3, 2001. On September 29, 2003, she was appointed by the Chief Justice as Administrative Presiding Justice of the Fourth Appellate District. She served for 23 years as a trial judge in San Diego (21 years on the Superior Court and 2 years on the Municipal Court). Her colleagues on the Superior Court twice elected her Presiding Judge. She also served as Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court and Supervising Judge of the family, appellate, and civil law and motion departments during her tenure on the Superior Court.
During Justice McConnell's judicial career, she has worked to improve the court system through better case management and to make the courts more accessible to the public. In addition, Justice McConnell served two terms on the California Judicial Council, the rule making body for the state courts, and chaired the council's Superior Court and Planning committees. She was a member of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Jury System Improvement, the Commission on the Future of the Courts, and the Advisory Committee on Gender Bias in the Courts. She also served on the governing board for the California Center for Judicial Education and Research. She currently chairs the Judicial Council's Task Force on Judicial Ethics Issues.
In 2001, Justice McConnell was named Jurist of the Year by the California Judicial Council. In 1999, she was the first recipient of the Benjamin Aranda Access to Justice Award presented jointly by the California Judicial Council, the California Judges Association and the State Bar of California.
Justice McConnell received a J.D. degree in 1969 from the University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law, and a B.A. degree in 1966 from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was awarded Phi Beta Kappa. Justice McConnell began her legal career in San Diego in 1969 with the State of California, Department of Transportation. She served as a trial attorney in the Department's Legal Division until 1976, when she entered private practice.
Michael H. Dessent, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law,
California Western School of Law
Michael H. Dessent, Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at California Western School of Law, has fulfilled various leadership roles throughout his distinguished career both as an academician and a practitioner. Many San Diego lawyers have been privileged to have had the benefit of Dean Dessent's legal knowledge and instruction through his law school classes at:
- California Western School of Law
- University of San Diego School of Law
- Thomas Jefferson School of Law (formerly Western State - University, San Diego) &
- The University of San Diego Paralegal Program
Currently, Dean Dessent is teaching a variety of courses including Business Organizations, Contracts I & II, and Professional Responsibility. He has been awarded California Western's "First Year Law Professor of the Year" Award in 2001-2002, 2002-2003, and 2004-2005. Moreover, Dean Dessent also served as the Chief Executive Officer for California Western from 1986-1996.
In addition to his academic credentials, Dean Dessent is no stranger to the practice of law. He has been Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel for Central Federal Savings and Loan Association (now known as Washington Mutual Savings Bank), Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Member of the Board of Directors of The Price Company (now Costco), Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Fotomat Corporation (NYSE) and an Associate at Gray Cary Ames & Frye (now DLA Piper, Rudnick, Gray Cary).
Dean Dessent is the author of numerous law review articles and several law books including First Year Contract Law, California Corporation Law, and Enterprise Law. He has also penned a children's book called Baseball Becky.
Dean Dessent received his B.S. from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He received his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law School in Chicago, graduating cum laude, as a member of the Order of the Coif.
A married father of two, Dean Dessent and his wife are active philanthropists and take part in many San Diego charities, such as the La Jolla Youth Organization, the Old Globe Theater, and the San Diego Museum of Art.
Jay W. Jeffcoat,
DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP
Jay W. Jeffcoat, Esq. Mr. Jeffcoat is a partner at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary and is a veteran trial attorney. He practices in a variety of litigation areas including: environmental, commercial, title insurance, trust & estates law and agricultural issues among others. The LLJF is proud to honor this distinguished attorney and San Diego citizen with the 2005 Witkin Award winner in the practice of law category.
Mr. Jeffcoat has been a very active contributor to local civic and charitable organizations. He is the Senior Vice President of the Community, Public, and Governmental Relations staff member for the John Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. This center is dedicated to funding cancer research.
In addition, he is a Past President of the San Diego Kiwanis Club Foundation of San Diego from and is an active member/contributor to the City Arts Feasibility/Organization Committee; the Children's Museum Capital Campaign Study and the Balboa Theater Feasibility Study Committee. Mr. Jeffcoat has also volunteered his leadership and expertise when he chaired the Bank of America Olympic Cup and the San Diego International Sports Council.
Mr. Jeffcoat received his B.A. degree with honors from the University of California at Santa Barbara and his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.
Charles R. Dyer,
Retired Director of Libraries
This month we are proud to feature our fourth winner of the 2005 Witkin Awards. Charles R. Dyer, Esq., Retired Director of the San Diego County Public Law Library will be honored for his special service in the field of law librarianship and legislative advocacy on behalf of law libraries. Mr. Dyer, known as "Charley" to his friends and colleagues, retired in August after 18 years of service as the chief administrative officer of the Law Library and now resides in Bellingham, Washington.
Mr. Dyer received his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in philosophy/mathematics and his master's degree in philosophy from Northwestern University. He earned his J.D. and Master's in Library Science from the University of Texas. Prior to working at SDCPLL, Mr. Dyer was an Associate Professor of Law and the Chief Law Librarian at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.
Mr. Dyer became the Director of the San Diego County Public Law Library in 1987. Under his direction, the Law Library moved forward into the technology age in the early 1990's with its first automated catalog system. In recent years, the Library has introduced a variety of online database services for its users: Westlaw, Lexis, Loislaw, HeinOnline and several others. Under Mr. Dyer's direction, the Law Library also received two Library Service Technology Act grants (LSTA) through the California State Library to develop and teach legal research classes for the public and to provide training to other librarians around the state who were interested in teaching similar classes for their users.
During his tenure as Director of the Law Library, Charley served as an executive board (or committee) member on multiple community, public service organizations and law library associations including: the American Association of Law Libraries; the Southern California Association of Law Libraries; the California Council of County Law Libraries; the Serra Cooperative Administrative Council; the Tierra del Sol Regional Library Network; AALL's State, Court and County Law Libraries Special Interest Section; and the San Diego Centre City Development Corporation.
Mr. Dyer is well-known for his commitment to improving county law library services to the public. For many years, he has actively worked to strengthen the financial future of California county law libraries by lobbying state legislators on a number of bills. In 2002, he and his fellow law library directors on the California Council of County Law Libraries were instrumental in creating a pilot program which introduced the first interactive legal reference service for online users. This "Ask a Law Librarian" virtual chat reference service was so successful that it is now prominently featured on the California Judicial Council's website on the Self-Help link for self-represented litigants.
Mr. Dyer has recently been recognized for his distinguished service to the field of law librarianship by the American Association of Law Libraries, (AALL), which presented him with the Marion Gould Gallagher Award at its annual conference in July 2005. He was also recognized by Southern California Association of Law Libraries' for his special advocacy on behalf of California public law libraries at the 2005 AALL Annual Meeting. Moreover, Southern California Association of Law Libraries recognized Mr. Dyer with the prestigious Rohan Service Award in 1998.
Now enjoying his retirement in Washington, Charley plans on remaining active in his field, writing articles, teaching and speaking on behalf of law libraries and public service. An avid guitarist, he and his wife, Bert, enjoy playing and singing the blues with friends and fellow musicians.