The Riverside County Bar Association awarded Riverside Superior Judge Craig Riemer with the E. Aurora Hughes Meritorious Award for Service Sept. 14.
The award presentation was held at the bar’s Annual Installation Dinner, in the Mission Inn’s Grand Parisian Ballroom.
Riemer’s idea of duty
Riemer said his contributions pale in comparison to the award’s namesake. E. Aurora Hughes was president-elect of the RCBA when she was diagnosed with a terminal illness, Riemer said in his speech.
“Most of us, I suspect, being placed in that position would say, ‘Someone else can fill the shoes as president. I’m going to devote my time, and what few years I have left in my life, to enjoy myself and my family.’ That’s not the choice Aurora made. Aurora chose to go live and serve as president, to serve as the past president on the board, and did so with distinction,” Riemer said.
Riemer said his own work for the Bar hasn’t been out of the ordinary, but rather is a fulfillment of a duty every person owes to their profession. His basis? The 16th-cenutry Lord Chancellor of the English Courts, Sir Francis Bacon.
“(Bacon) said, in much more flowery language than this, every professional owes a duty to their profession. He reasoned that if the professional is earning a living from the practice of that profession, then in exchange the professional owes a duty back to improve the operation of that profession. I agree. My service to the bar, and therefore to the legal profession, and more directly to the cause of justice gave me the opportunity to fulfill that obligation,” Riemer said.
Riemer ended his speech by thanking the Board of Directors for the award, and saying he could not imagine any use of spare time that is more fulfilling than improving the system a person works in.
Riemer’s long, long, list of work
Riverside Superior Judge John Vineyard introduced Riemer.
“I’ve always been impressed by (Riemer’s) commitment to making both the legal profession better, and improving the justice system, both in Riverside County and throughout the state,” Vineyard said.
In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Riemer was involved in state lobbying efforts, representing the State Bar, Vineyard said. Riemer was president of RCBA in 2000, during which time he saved the organization from bankruptcy, Vineyard said. He turned the RCBA’s building from a money pit into a moneymaker that is now actually funding RCBA activities.
Riemer’s resume is too long to go through, but it includes rewriting the Bar Association’s bylaws in 1995, Vineyard said.
“During the last 25 years plus, Riemer either chaired or has been a member of every Bar Association committee that I’m aware of. I’m not going to list all of them,” Vineyard said.
Riemer also was a main proponent of the Lake Arrowhead Civil Litigation Conference, Vineyard said. The conference introduced younger lawyers to both Riverside’s unique brand of civility, and to experienced lawyers, Vineyard said. The conferences lasted from 1989 to 2003.
Riemer has also been a heavy hitter on education, writing more articles for the bar magazine than anyone else Vineyard knows.
“I would guess that everybody in this room has learned something from Judge Riemer during his career either as a judge or as a lawyer in the Bar Association,” Vineyard said.
From 2018 to his retirement this summer, Riemer conducted civil litigation roundtables in his chamber, during which he mentored young lawyers.
“Nobody deserves this award more than Judge Riemer,” Vineyard said.
New leadership in the house
The Annual Dinner is primarily held to install the incoming RCBA leadership.
Kelly Moran, Riverside’s chief deputy county counsel, is the new president of RCBA.
“As someone who grew up in Riverside, the fact that I’ve been able to build my dream career in my hometown is something that I hold very dear to my heart. That would never have been possible without the kind of people at (my former firm) Thompson & Colegate,” Moran said. She expressed thanks for many people in the room, before saying that Riverside lawyers are unique in their support of one another.
“Isn’t that the true beauty of this community and practicing law in Riverside County? Isn’t the best part of being here the fact that we come together and we support one another, no matter what side of the fence we stand on?” Moran said.
Moran’s goal as president is to honor their shared past while embracing their future, she said.
“Not only will we be focused on ensuring the continued success of all of our established programs, like those in the photos in front of you, but we will also be focused on finding ways to appeal to an ever changing legal community, (composed) of more solo practitioners and remote workers than ever before,” Moran said.
Mark Easter is president-elect, Megan Demshki is vice president, Elisabeth Lord is chief financial officer, Goushia Farook is secretary, Lori Myers is past president, and Heather Green, Chris Johnson, Malvina Ovanezova and Lauren Vogt are directors at large.
The officers for the Barristers, an association of newly licensed attorneys, were sworn in by Robyn Lewis.
“Barristers holds a very special place in our hearts. Barristers is where we all start our legal carers, and our involvement in the RCBA. It’s where we make lifelong friends and created our professional networks. It is with intention that the barristers board is installed on the same night as the RCBA Board. Barristers is where our RCBA future leaders are born,” said Lewis.
David Rivera is the new president of Barristers, Summer DeVore is the president-elect, Kevin Collins is treasurer, Priscilla George is secretary, Lauren Vogt is past-president, and Alejandro Barraza, Nolan Kistler, Sandra Lattouf, Jack Rafter and Sharon Ramirez are members at large.
Jeb Brown was the dinner’s master of ceremonies, and Michael Marlatt installed the RCBA Board of Directors.
