Dear CELA members,
The upcoming fall CELA virtual conference promises once again to be yet another great conference. Sadly, it will also mark the 20th anniversary of Joseph Posner’s last presentation to our group. He passed away about 6 weeks after the 2000 conference. Ever since, CELA has presented the Joe Posner award in his memory at our annual conference.
The Joe Posner Award Committee, made up of previous Joe Posner Award recipients, is soliciting nominations for the 2020 honoree.
Please complete your ONLINE NOMINATION FORM or complete the attached and send to: CELA Administrative Office at info@cela.org, on or before FRIDAY, AUGUST 14.
Because the membership of CELA has grown tremendously since Joe passed away, and many of the current members never had the privilege of knowing or working with him, it may be helpful to remind ourselves of the qualities that Joe exemplified that we try to honor each year with this award.
Joe co-founded this organization at the dawn of the development of the rights of non-union employees in California. He and others did so in the belief that collectively, plaintiff’s employment attorneys could match, and defeat, their better organized and well financed opponents. The success of CELA members has definitely proven him to be correct.
Joe was a zealous advocate, not only for his clients but ultimately, for all employees in California. Joe’s legacy lives on as plaintiff’s counsel and in his wonderful amicus briefs in notable cases such as Rojo v. Kliger (1990) 52 Cal.3d 65, Pugh v. See’s Candies (1988) 203 Cal.App.3d 743, City of Moorpark v. Superior Court (1988) 18 Cal.4th 1143, Commodore Home Sys Inc. v. Superior Court (1982) 32 Cal.3d 211, Tameny v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (1980), and Davaris v. Cubaleski (1993) 12 Cal.App.4th 1583.
As these cases (and many others not listed) reflect, through Joe’s determined amicus work, he had a tremendously beneficial impact on the developing law that we use every day to the advantage of our clients. His zealous advocacy was however exceeded by his desire to educate and develop other plaintiff’s attorneys. He was a prolific lecturer. Joe was very generous with his time to a fault, always available to pick up the phone and give advice. Even in success, he was humble, knowing that one can always learn something from others. He had great wit and charm, appreciating music, wine, colorful jackets, fast cars, the Hollywood Bowl, and the company of CELA members. Joe loved and appreciated life to an extent that few do.
Because of his great work, Joe will never be forgotten. Because we can draw inspiration from his life, we continue to honor others who remind us of him by being imbued with some of his qualities and values of diversity. The first Joe Posner Award in 2001 was bestowed upon Bill Quackenbush. Thereafter, our honorees have been: Cliff Palefsky, Janet Koehn, Brad Seligman, Dan Stormer, Nancy Bornn, Jeff Winikow, Norm and Beverly Pine, Lisa Maki, Toni Jaramilla, David deRubertis, John Weiss, Kathy Dickson, Chris Whelan, Dolores Leal, Bernard Alexander, David Duchrow, Phil Horowitz and Jean Hyams.
If you know of a person whom you believe to have just some of the qualities that made Joe such a special person, they should be considered for this award.
Please note, as in the past, we continue to strive to give this award to persons other than CELA Board members.
Please complete your ONLINE NOMINATION FORM or complete the attached and send to: CELA Administrative Office at info@cela.org, on or before FRIDAY, AUGUST 14.
Thank you for your time and attention.
The Joe Posner Award Committee
Toni Jaramilla, Chair
Bernard Alexander
Nancy Bornn
David deRubertis
Kathy Dickson
David Duchrow
Phil Horowitz
Jean Hyams
Janet Koehn
Dolores Leal
Cliff Palefsky
Norm Pine
Dan Stormer
Chris Whelan
Jeff Winikow