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ARMENBAR CONVENES ANNUAL MEETING IN SAN FRANCISCO
asbarez
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
A scene from one of the ArmenBar sessions
SAN FRANCISCO-More than a150 Armenian American lawyers, judges, and
community leaders gathered in the city by the bay from April 29 to
May 1 for a breakthrough convention of the Armenian Bar Association.
"This has been the most fantastic convention of the Armenian Bar
Association," Chairman Edvin Minassian said. "We now return to work
with high spirits and a renewed dedication to justice-before our
country, our homeland, and our history."
The weekend was officially opened at the California Supreme Court,
where Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye received the members of the
ABA, first at a meeting of the California Judicial Council and then
at a private luncheon reception. Drawing from her own background
as a Philippina, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye said that she shared
with the ABA a deep faith that a dedication to the national heritage
"translates directly to our commitment to the rule of law and the
strength of our community."
The Chief Justice also expressed her gratitude for the contribution
of so many Armenians, especially Governor George Deukmejian, both to
her professional career and to the law at large. It was fitting, then,
that several Armenian American legal luminaries were in attendance.
Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter, a guiding member of the ABA,
presided over the afternoon meeting and later led a tour through the
Supreme Court building. Retired Supreme Court Justice Armand Arabian
and Court of Appeal Justice Charles Poochigian delighted the crowd
with short, sweet reflections.
The convention was reconvened in the evening, this time at the rooftop
hall of the Union Square Marriott Hotel, where Ann Lousin, a celebrated
professor of commercial law at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago,
presented the weekend's first public service award. The recipient was
David Balabanian, a premier civil litigator with the law firm Bingham
McCutchen, who spoke of the complex controversies surrounding the
103-foot concrete cross on San Francisco's Mount Davidson, the tallest
monument ever dedicated to the Armenian Genocide. With signature wit
and passion, Balabanian told the compelling tale of how the Armenian
community-represented pro bono by his law firm-was able to crush a
Turkish-funded lawsuit launched against the memory of 1915.
A night of festivities gave way to a serious and sober morning,
with the first of two extensive panels, titled "Armenia on the
Road to Judicial Independence and Legal Reforms." The Republic of
Armenia's newly appointed Minister of Justice, Hrayr Tovmasyan, led the
discussion with an eloquent and candid survey of the problems plaguing
the post-Soviet country's legal system. "The elimination of corruption,
the independence of the judiciary, the protection of human rights,
the supremacy of law-these are problems that we must face together,
if Armenia is ever to become the land of our dreams," Tovmasyan said.
The minister's general comments were complemented by the detailed
accounting presented by Yerevan State University professor Ruben
Melikyan, who addressed specific problems-such as the lack of a system
of precedent in Armenia-and offered specific solutions toward reforming
the judicial culture in Armenia. His proposal, that diasporan lawyers
and judges be invited to take on official, legally binding roles in
the administration of law in the republic, was met with particular
enthusiasm. Also on the panel, and contributing the diaspora's
perspective, were Antranig Kasbarian, director of the Tufenkian
Foundation, and Garin K. Hovannisian, author of Family of Shadows.
The second panel, "The Armenian Genocide's Legal Significance
in Recovery Litigation," was powered by a distinguished panel of
experts on international law: Harut Sassounian, public commentator and
political scientist specializing in international law; Steven Dadaian,
lawyer, advocate, and leading draftsman of legislation that governs
genocide litigation in the United States; Professor Lee Crawford-Boyd,
chief architect of genocide litigation ongoing in the California
courts; and Federico Hairabedian, Argentine Armenian lawyer who
recently won a historic lawsuit against Turkey in Argentine Federal
Court, which issued a verdict recognizing the Armenian Genocide and
the murder of his family by Ottoman Turkey.
"We set a landmark in which we took the genocide, which is an
international crime, into a federal court, but we did this without
considering the next step," Hairabedian said. Indeed this was
the panel's original goal and ultimate success: to serve as the
foundational discussion about that "next step"-how to organize the
disparate efforts of Armenians across the world into a clear and
comprehensive international campaign to seek justice for the victims
of the Armenian Genocide.
Tucked between the extensive Saturday deliberations was the gala
luncheon, which was billed as the celebratory event of the weekend
convention, but which transformed, through successive heavyweight
speeches, into a long, saturated afternoon.
After an elegant and heartrending introduction by founding member
Vicken Simonian, Garo Ghazarian took the podium to deliver the
keynote lecture. Drawing from his friendship with Simonian, who was
his athletic adversary and best friend on the racetracks of Southern
California, Ghazarian inspired the crowd with his larger-than-life
story of failure and redemption in America. He concluded with a
fascinating chronicle of his recent mission to Yerevan, where he
monitored the progress of civil rights and visited Raffi K.
Hovannisian, the first foreign minister of Armenia and present-day
leader of the Heritage party who had declared a freedom fast at
Liberty Square.
Raffi Hovannisian himself, who had made a surprise appearance in San
Francisco, followed Ghazarian to address the members of the Armenian
Bar Association, the organization he founded in 1989. "Our nation
is not lost," he said. "We still have a cause to deliver on-to make
Armenia the land of liberty, sovereignty, and the national interest
that we all expect it to become." Hovannisian also expressed his
appreciation to David Balabanian, Walter Karabian, and all those who
nourished the ABA from its humble beginnings, and fueled its evolution
into a pioneering force of justice in the United States.
The gala luncheon was closed by Raffi's brother, Armen K. Hovannisian,
who had organized and presided over the weekend's many events and
festivities, and who now stood before the crowd to receive the
Armenian Bar Public Service Award for decades of dedication to law
and community. In a powerful and deeply moving acceptance speech,
which incited the tears and laughter of a hundred lawyers and judges,
Hovannisian spoke about his grandmother Siroon Hovannisian and
grandfather Hovakim Kotcholosian, who represent for him the different
faces of the Armenian Genocide, as they do the common formula of his
service to his community and country. "I'm not one of those people
who can leave a mark," he said. "I'm somebody who carries the marks
of others."
The convention, which was the 22nd annual convention of the Armenian
Bar Association, was interspersed with social events, long walks
through the golden city, and a concluding dinner in Little Italy,
where the lawyers and judges offered toasts and sang Armenian songs.
In attendance throughout the weekend were Zaven V. Sinanian, Los
Angeles County Superior Court Judge; Amy Hoogasian, Federal Immigration
Law Judge; Garo Mardirossian, Immediate Past President of Consumer
Attorneys Association of Los Angeles; Frederick K. Ohlrich, Clerk of
the Court, California Supreme Court; Debbie Poochigian, Fresno County
Supervisor; Metropolitan News Publisher and Editor-In-Chief Roger
M. Grace and President Jo-Ann Grace; and many distinguished others.
The members of the Armenian Bar Association left San Francisco on
Sunday with a newly elected 17-member board, including the most recent
class of Michael Amerian, Ara Babaian, Garo Ghazarian, Armen K.
Hovannisian, Laura Karabulut, Edvin Minassian, and Gary Moomjian. The
executive officers for the 2011-2012 term were also elected: Edvin
Minassian, chairperson; Garo Ghazarian, vice chairperson; Harry
Dikranian, vice chairperson; Sara Bedirian, treasurer; and Hovanes
Margarian, secretary. Sonya Nersessian will continue in her role as
chairperson ex-officio.
From: Baghdasarian
asbarez
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
A scene from one of the ArmenBar sessions
SAN FRANCISCO-More than a150 Armenian American lawyers, judges, and
community leaders gathered in the city by the bay from April 29 to
May 1 for a breakthrough convention of the Armenian Bar Association.
"This has been the most fantastic convention of the Armenian Bar
Association," Chairman Edvin Minassian said. "We now return to work
with high spirits and a renewed dedication to justice-before our
country, our homeland, and our history."
The weekend was officially opened at the California Supreme Court,
where Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye received the members of the
ABA, first at a meeting of the California Judicial Council and then
at a private luncheon reception. Drawing from her own background
as a Philippina, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye said that she shared
with the ABA a deep faith that a dedication to the national heritage
"translates directly to our commitment to the rule of law and the
strength of our community."
The Chief Justice also expressed her gratitude for the contribution
of so many Armenians, especially Governor George Deukmejian, both to
her professional career and to the law at large. It was fitting, then,
that several Armenian American legal luminaries were in attendance.
Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter, a guiding member of the ABA,
presided over the afternoon meeting and later led a tour through the
Supreme Court building. Retired Supreme Court Justice Armand Arabian
and Court of Appeal Justice Charles Poochigian delighted the crowd
with short, sweet reflections.
The convention was reconvened in the evening, this time at the rooftop
hall of the Union Square Marriott Hotel, where Ann Lousin, a celebrated
professor of commercial law at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago,
presented the weekend's first public service award. The recipient was
David Balabanian, a premier civil litigator with the law firm Bingham
McCutchen, who spoke of the complex controversies surrounding the
103-foot concrete cross on San Francisco's Mount Davidson, the tallest
monument ever dedicated to the Armenian Genocide. With signature wit
and passion, Balabanian told the compelling tale of how the Armenian
community-represented pro bono by his law firm-was able to crush a
Turkish-funded lawsuit launched against the memory of 1915.
A night of festivities gave way to a serious and sober morning,
with the first of two extensive panels, titled "Armenia on the
Road to Judicial Independence and Legal Reforms." The Republic of
Armenia's newly appointed Minister of Justice, Hrayr Tovmasyan, led the
discussion with an eloquent and candid survey of the problems plaguing
the post-Soviet country's legal system. "The elimination of corruption,
the independence of the judiciary, the protection of human rights,
the supremacy of law-these are problems that we must face together,
if Armenia is ever to become the land of our dreams," Tovmasyan said.
The minister's general comments were complemented by the detailed
accounting presented by Yerevan State University professor Ruben
Melikyan, who addressed specific problems-such as the lack of a system
of precedent in Armenia-and offered specific solutions toward reforming
the judicial culture in Armenia. His proposal, that diasporan lawyers
and judges be invited to take on official, legally binding roles in
the administration of law in the republic, was met with particular
enthusiasm. Also on the panel, and contributing the diaspora's
perspective, were Antranig Kasbarian, director of the Tufenkian
Foundation, and Garin K. Hovannisian, author of Family of Shadows.
The second panel, "The Armenian Genocide's Legal Significance
in Recovery Litigation," was powered by a distinguished panel of
experts on international law: Harut Sassounian, public commentator and
political scientist specializing in international law; Steven Dadaian,
lawyer, advocate, and leading draftsman of legislation that governs
genocide litigation in the United States; Professor Lee Crawford-Boyd,
chief architect of genocide litigation ongoing in the California
courts; and Federico Hairabedian, Argentine Armenian lawyer who
recently won a historic lawsuit against Turkey in Argentine Federal
Court, which issued a verdict recognizing the Armenian Genocide and
the murder of his family by Ottoman Turkey.
"We set a landmark in which we took the genocide, which is an
international crime, into a federal court, but we did this without
considering the next step," Hairabedian said. Indeed this was
the panel's original goal and ultimate success: to serve as the
foundational discussion about that "next step"-how to organize the
disparate efforts of Armenians across the world into a clear and
comprehensive international campaign to seek justice for the victims
of the Armenian Genocide.
Tucked between the extensive Saturday deliberations was the gala
luncheon, which was billed as the celebratory event of the weekend
convention, but which transformed, through successive heavyweight
speeches, into a long, saturated afternoon.
After an elegant and heartrending introduction by founding member
Vicken Simonian, Garo Ghazarian took the podium to deliver the
keynote lecture. Drawing from his friendship with Simonian, who was
his athletic adversary and best friend on the racetracks of Southern
California, Ghazarian inspired the crowd with his larger-than-life
story of failure and redemption in America. He concluded with a
fascinating chronicle of his recent mission to Yerevan, where he
monitored the progress of civil rights and visited Raffi K.
Hovannisian, the first foreign minister of Armenia and present-day
leader of the Heritage party who had declared a freedom fast at
Liberty Square.
Raffi Hovannisian himself, who had made a surprise appearance in San
Francisco, followed Ghazarian to address the members of the Armenian
Bar Association, the organization he founded in 1989. "Our nation
is not lost," he said. "We still have a cause to deliver on-to make
Armenia the land of liberty, sovereignty, and the national interest
that we all expect it to become." Hovannisian also expressed his
appreciation to David Balabanian, Walter Karabian, and all those who
nourished the ABA from its humble beginnings, and fueled its evolution
into a pioneering force of justice in the United States.
The gala luncheon was closed by Raffi's brother, Armen K. Hovannisian,
who had organized and presided over the weekend's many events and
festivities, and who now stood before the crowd to receive the
Armenian Bar Public Service Award for decades of dedication to law
and community. In a powerful and deeply moving acceptance speech,
which incited the tears and laughter of a hundred lawyers and judges,
Hovannisian spoke about his grandmother Siroon Hovannisian and
grandfather Hovakim Kotcholosian, who represent for him the different
faces of the Armenian Genocide, as they do the common formula of his
service to his community and country. "I'm not one of those people
who can leave a mark," he said. "I'm somebody who carries the marks
of others."
The convention, which was the 22nd annual convention of the Armenian
Bar Association, was interspersed with social events, long walks
through the golden city, and a concluding dinner in Little Italy,
where the lawyers and judges offered toasts and sang Armenian songs.
In attendance throughout the weekend were Zaven V. Sinanian, Los
Angeles County Superior Court Judge; Amy Hoogasian, Federal Immigration
Law Judge; Garo Mardirossian, Immediate Past President of Consumer
Attorneys Association of Los Angeles; Frederick K. Ohlrich, Clerk of
the Court, California Supreme Court; Debbie Poochigian, Fresno County
Supervisor; Metropolitan News Publisher and Editor-In-Chief Roger
M. Grace and President Jo-Ann Grace; and many distinguished others.
The members of the Armenian Bar Association left San Francisco on
Sunday with a newly elected 17-member board, including the most recent
class of Michael Amerian, Ara Babaian, Garo Ghazarian, Armen K.
Hovannisian, Laura Karabulut, Edvin Minassian, and Gary Moomjian. The
executive officers for the 2011-2012 term were also elected: Edvin
Minassian, chairperson; Garo Ghazarian, vice chairperson; Harry
Dikranian, vice chairperson; Sara Bedirian, treasurer; and Hovanes
Margarian, secretary. Sonya Nersessian will continue in her role as
chairperson ex-officio.
From: Baghdasarian