Judge Wilfred Schneider and Commissioner Michael Gassner have joined the list of Kaufman Campbell award winners.
Around 200 attended the awards dinner held May 18 in Redlands’ Mitten Building organized by the San Bernardino County Bar Association, according to the SBCBA.
During the dinner, Claire Furness was awarded with a certificate for her work as SBCBA executive director by Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez-Reyes.
Schneider
Schneider, a criminal-court judge, emphasizes courtesy and professionalism. He was an early member of the Joseph B. Campbell Inn of Court, and is the oldest judge by age in San Bernardino.
“Always assume that your opposition is smarter than you, and your judge is dumber than you, and plan accordingly.”
Judge Wiflred Schneider
San Bernardino Superior Judge John Pacheco introduced Schneider. Pacheco credited Schneider with growing the Inn of Court from 15 to 60 members, and said that Schneider’s mind was always running; he used to shoot out 50 faxes a night.
“I never thought I would be a recipient of this award, and be honored so heavily by my peers tonight,” Schneider said.
His advice to lawyers? Read a book. Specifically, William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White’s “The Elements of Style.”
When Schneider was a student at the University of California, Los Angeles, he met Stephen Pasarow, who is now an attorney at Knapp Petersen Clarke.
Schneider had asked Pasarow to read an essay he had just finished. Pasarow’s response: “I don’t think you’ll make it through school. This paper is absolutely horrible.”
Pasarow gave Schneider a copy of “The Elements of Style,” a copy which Schneider had brought to the dinner.
“Every attorney should read this,” he said, waving the copy.
“Stephen Pasarow rescued my college career. He saved my law school career, my legal career and my judicial career by gifting me this,” Schneider said.
Schneider also advised people to have a work ethic, be prepared and choose their friends carefully.
“Do not be misled: bad company disputes good character,” he said, quoting a verse from the Corinthians book of the Bible.
Schneider said that the best, and worst, part of being a judge is the knowledge that a judge can change people’s lives.
Finally, he said, “Always assume that your opposition is smarter than you, and your judge is dumber than you, and plan accordingly.”
Gassner
Commissioner Michael Gassner handles family law cases.
He comes from a legal family: Both of his parents are certified family law specialists, and his brother is an attorney. He always assumed he would be an attorney.
He joined San Bernardino Superior Court in 1996. He has served on the Elkins Family Law Task Force, and on the California Center for Judicial Education. He was named Judicial Officer of the Year by the California State Bar Family Law Section in 2001.
Gassner literally saved attorney Joyce Holcomb’s life, she said. Holcomb had been pushing through an illness, and neglected going to the hospital. Gassner ordered her to the hospital during a hearing in his courtroom, and she ended up needing blood, Holcomb said.
Family law specialist Angelique Bonanno introduced Gassner. She said that Gassner has an ongoing mantra of case resolution, and that he has an open door policy that helps end cases.
“He really is the go-to person for family law, Bonanno said.
He is the “best ready, best prepared, he wants to bring honor, dignity and respect to the people who appear before him,” she said.
Gassner was humble in his acceptance speech, and credited his success to his team.
“You don’t get here on your own. I’ve had so many people help me on my way,” Gassner said.
He credited the team that works on the family law resource center, which was not present at the court when he joined, for helping litigants who previously were “being pushed around by the currents.”
“When you have the respect of your peers, your colleagues, you have it all,” Gassner said at the end of his speech.
Campbell and Kaufman
The award was named after two appellate justices.
Campbell was born and raised in Victorville, and worked as a rancher before graduating from University of Southern California School of Law in 1959. He served as a Victorville councilman from 1962 to 1972, during which time he became mayor. Gov. Ronald Reagan appointed him to a San Bernardino judgeship in 1972, and he was appointed to the Court of Appeal by Gov. George Deukmejian in 1986.
The Joseph B. Campbell Inn of Court also bears his name.
His son, Scott Campbell, spoke at the dinner. He said his father’s value lay in his genuine connection with people.
“His true genuineness, the way he engaged with everyone, with true interest and real empathy…You were listened to, and engaged with, and made to feel special,” Campbell said.
“Listen to people you come into contact with. Listen to your clients. Listen to your associates,” Scott Campbell urged the audience.
Marcus Kaufman graduated from UCLA in 1951. He served in the Korean War, and graduated from USC Law in 1956, after working as the editor of the Law Review. He clerked under California Chief Justice Roger Traynor, who was at the time an associate justice. He was directly appointed to the Court of Appeal in 1970, and was one of the few who was appointed directly to the appellate court. He was elevated to the California Supreme Court in 1987, and served three years until he retired in 1990.
The award is a testament to one of Kaufman’s last statements, which SBCBA President John Short quoted at the beginning of the dinner.
“Ideas, values and ideals do not perish with the mind that conceived them. They live on and play a part in the lives of those to whom they have been transmitted. And so people live on after death in the ideas, values and ideals they transmitted during their lives, which often continue to grow and spread even after death.”
