President’s Message

October 2025

REMARKS FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

By: Dean McVay, Esq.

It is with great honor and gratitude that I step into the role of President of our Bar Association, once again.  We have always been a place of strength, fellowship, and service, and I am committed to building upon that proud tradition in the year ahead.

First, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the award recipients from our October Installation and Awards Dinner.  All are extremely worthy recipients of these awards and shining examples of the professionals and the people we should all strive to be.  Congratulations to Anabel Romero for her outstanding work in running our County courts.  Congratulations to William Lee and Virginia Blumenthal as recipients of our Jennifer Brooks award, and to Bill Shapiro, as we celebrate his lifetime achievement award and thank him for all he has done and continues to do in our communities.

Thank you to our Board of Directors as well as Lindsay Partridge, our extraordinary Executive Director, for all they do year round for our Bar Association.  And much thanks to my dear friend, our Immediate Past President Angelique Bonanno, for all her hard work and inspired leadership this past year.

My vision for this next year can be summed up in a simple phrase: Building Today. Securing Tomorrow. Together, we have the chance not only to strengthen our Association, but to shape the future of our profession.  To achieve it, I want us to focus on six pillars: increasing our Membership, re-engaging our Mentorship program, reviving our Scholarship program, developing an even stronger MCLE program, building an Endowment fund for the future, and further Collaboration with our sister bar associations and organizations.

First—membership.  A Bar Association is only as strong as the people who belong to it. When our numbers grow, so does our influence, our reach, and our ability to serve. This year, I want us to open wide the doors of this Association—to welcome young lawyers fresh from the bar exam, seasoned attorneys who may have stepped away, and underrepresented groups who have too often stood on the margins.  Thank you in advance to Board Members Christina Bernheim and Linda Guzman, who lead our Young Lawyers Division, who will continue to bring new, young lawyers, into our Bar Association Membership.  This is how we build today.

Second—mentorship. The law is not just a profession—it is a tradition, handed from one generation to the next. Think of the mentors who guided you, who showed you not only how to practice law, but how to live it with honor. This year, I want us to create a culture where every young lawyer has a mentor, and every seasoned lawyer has a mentee.  Our mentorship program will help ensure the future generations of lawyers are connected and supported by those wise, experienced lawyers in our community.  This is how we secure tomorrow. Interested in being a mentor? Sign up here!

Third—scholarships.  We all know brilliant young students and new lawyers who have the heart, the passion, and the potential to succeed—but who face financial barriers. By expanding our existing Roberta Shouse scholarship fund, we can make sure that talent—not circumstance—defines the future of our profession. Our scholarship namesake, Roberta Shouse, founded the San Bernardino County’s legal aid clinic in 1975. For over 40 years, she administered the clinic, providing free or low-cost legal services to those in need.  We will re-institute this scholarship program and will fundraise for future donations to add to our existing scholarship fund and will look for worthy scholarship recipients to be awarded these scholarships in the future. Because when we invest in these young people, we are building today and securing tomorrow.

Fourth—Continuing Legal Education.  The law does not stand still, and neither can we. Technology, new practice areas, and changing client expectations all demand that we stay ahead. This year, we will expand opportunities for continuing education, especially for young lawyers who are still finding their footing.  Our Young Lawyers Division, led by Board members Christina Bernheim and Linda Guzman, will work with me on creating a Young Lawyers MCLE track, where seasoned lawyers in various fields of practice will provide MCLE seminars on various topics of interest to our young lawyers, to help prepare and educate them to become experts in their field.  If you would like to volunteer to participate on an MCLE, please let us know!  We will present practical, accessible, forward-looking programs that equip our members not just to keep up—but to lead. That is building today. That is securing tomorrow.

Fifth – building an Endowment Fund for the future.   We must not only think about the Bar of today—we must secure the Bar of tomorrow. That is why I want us to establish a permanent endowment fund, supported by estate planning gifts and fundraising dollars. Imagine the power of an endowment fund that continues to grow, that ensures scholarships for students, education for young lawyers, and the financial health for the future operations of our Bar Association for generations to come.  Our two annual dinner sponsorships each year pay the bills for our Bar Association.  That is what keeps us afloat.  Without your sponsorship donations, we could not exist.  And September’s Installation Dinner marks the largest sponsorships totals ever for our Bar Association.  So, thank you, each of you, for your support and your generous contributions.  I will work with our Board and our Treasurer to come up with endowment levels that will enable you to sponsor our bar dinners, or scholarships, in perpetuity, preserving the corpus of your gift, and only using a portion of the increase or interest each year.   That is the ultimate expression of our theme: Building Today. Securing Tomorrow.

And sixth — collaborating with other bar associations and organizations.  We must collaborate with other Bar Associations and organizations. Alone, we are strong. Together—we are unstoppable. By building bridges beyond our own association and community, we share resources, ideas, and energy that magnify the good we can do.

We have many exciting collaborations that we are working on for the next year.  Some of those include the following:

In collaboration with our newly formed Pride Bar Association of the IE, we will jointly present an MCLE on October 16, from 12 – 1 p.m. via Zoom – “From Understanding to Action:  LGBTQIA+ Legal Updates & Cultural Competency.”

Then, on October 23, Inland Counties Legal Services’ “Advocates for Justice” Dinner will be held at the Mitten in Redlands, where the Pride Bar Association of the IE will be receiving the Community Partner of the Year Award.

And on October 30, we’ll join Pride Bar for a Halloween Costume Party Bingo Fundraiser at Hamburger Mary’s in Ontario!  Funds raised will go to the Pride Bar Scholarships for college and law students.

Then, on December 11, we will join the San Bernardino County Bar Association for their Holiday Party here at this hotel, on the evening of their 150th anniversary!

And on January 22, 2026, we will join the Pride Bar Association of the IE for their first annual Installation of Officers & Awards Dinner, honoring 4 remarkable trail blazers, Retired Judge Martha Bellinger, Retired Justice Marsha Slough, National Civil Rights Attorney Abby Rubenfeld, and actress and activist Beth Broderick, and our community partner Hamburger Mary’s.  There will also be a VIP meet and greet MCLE an hour before the Gala begins.

Also, on February 26, 2026, will be the Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino’s “Access to Justice” Gala at the Fox Theater in Redlands!

And finally, on March 26, 2026, we will meet again at the Doubletree for our Judicial Officer of the Year and Judicial Officer Lifetime Achievement Award Dinner and the Mitchel Roth Service Awards Dinner.

Let us move forward with purpose. Let us grow in number. Let us mentor with generosity. Let us give with open hands. Let us learn with eagerness. And let us build a foundation strong enough to last for decades.

If we do these things together, we will leave behind not just a stronger Bar Association, but a stronger profession—and most importantly, a stronger community. Thank you for this incredible honor to serve as your President. Together, let us commit to our shared vision of Building Today and Securing Tomorrow.