Riverside County Bar Association Barristers honored Riverside Judge Randall Stamen and attorney Darren Pirozzi at their May 16 Judicial Reception.
The barristers held the reception—the fifth annual hosted by the organization—on the rooftop of Riverside City Hall. Barristers is an organization designed to mentor attorneys recently admitted to the bar.
“We learned to see each other as people—not just lawyers,” said Riverside Superior Judge John Vineyard, an active member of the organization and a speaker at the beginning of the program.
Attorney of the Year
Barristers Past-President Lauren Vogt of Rizio | Lipinsky | Heiting introduced Pirozzi, her colleague at the firm and recipient of the Attorney of the Year Award.
The award is designed to honor attorneys who further the development of other attorneys’ careers—a task Pirozzi consistently does without an expectation of anything in return, Vogt said.
The first time Pirozzi and Vogt met, he asked her question after question, with the intent of finding out how he could support her, she said. When Vogt took her first lead case, Pirozzi sat in the courtroom every day for three and a half weeks, helping coach her throughout the case, Vogt said. He always takes calls from new and aspiring attorneys.
Pirozzi thanked his colleagues for creating a firm filled with good lawyers and a good environment.
“I could not be here without you,” he told (Greg) Rizio, whom he met in college.
“I thank you for your friendship, and I thank you for the environment you and (Daren) Lipinsky have built in the office,” he said.
Judge of the Year
Barristers President David Rivera introduced Stamen, who received the Judge of the Year Award.
Stamen reached out after the Barristers’ officer election, to see if any of the organization’s leadership needed anything, Rivera said.
Stamen practiced business and real estate law before starting his own practice in horticulture law in 1994, Rivera said. He wrote his own book on California’s horticultural law. Vineyard and other judges encouraged Stamen to apply to a judgeship, and he was nominated by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017. He now practices criminal law, specifically by managing the alternative court for military veterans.
“He believes in helping others, and he believes in young attorneys,” Rivera said.
Stamen said he is honored by his position as a judge.
“As a judge, I truly feel that I have the honor to serve Riverside’s residents, businesses and tourists,” Stamen said.
When he drives to the courthouse, he drives past the schools he attended, the pools he worked as a lifeguard, and the businesses he frequented, he said. He has appeared in every courthouse in California, due to his work practicing horticultural law, but “always found it to be a pleasure to be back in Riverside,” he said.
Stamen encouraged people to give back to their communities—he himself served on Riverside’s traffic commission, then on his son’s water polo boosters association.
He also said to lead a balanced life—a lesson he learned when he realized he might not have much time to live. He had been diabetic for 44 years, and required organ transplants to stay alive. He’s packed his days with volunteerism, legal work, his family and the gym.
He thanked everyone who’s helped him, including the family of his unknown organ donor, the doctors at Scripps Hospital who treated him, Vineyard, Riverside Superior Judge Chad Firetag, Public Defender Steve Harmon, Riverside County Bar Association Executive Director Charlene Nelson, State Sen. Richard Roth (D-Riverside), California Appellate Justice Richard Fields and Stamen’s wife Terry.
Rivera, the Barristers’ president, ended the event by impressing upon everyone the advice to help one another.
“Let people know you’re available—you’re just a phone call away,” Rivera said.
