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Legal Aid Bestows Award Named for Former Dean |
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By Tom Schultz
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Saturday, April 28 2007 |
Members of the legal community on Friday celebrated the life of the late Richard Goldman, former dean of the Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law, inaugurating an award to be given annually in his name.
 Ellen Goldman, left, Mark Geragos, center and Judge Thomas Anderle. Photo by Tom Schultz
Goldman, who was a foundation board member, died Sept. 28 from cancer.
Also receiving the award was attorney Marilyn Gilbert, who raised thousands of dollars for Legal Aid and serves on its advisory board.
In addition, the award went to Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle, a past president of the organization who has helped to create two Legal Resource Centers in local courthouses. He hoisted the porcelain award shaped like a burning flame above his head like an Oscar.
Famed lawyer Mark Geragos, who represented pop star Michael Jackson for a portion of his child molestation defense, delivered the keynote address. Tickets cost $75.
"I'm just happy to be back in Santa Barbara without a client who is dancing on top of an SUV," Geragos said, drawing laughs in a reference to a stunt Jackson pulled one day outside court in Santa Maria.
"What you do truly helps people beyond any measure," Geragos said of the foundation and its membership.
Founded in 1959, the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County provides free services in civil disputes to residents who are at or below the poverty line, those facing language or disability barriers, senior citizens, victims of domestic violence or those facing other hardships.
Numerous cases handled by the foundation involve housing discrimination or unfair eviction, its members say.
In the last fiscal year, the foundation served more than 4,300 people and tallied 800 hours of pro bono attorney time equivalent to $140,000 in legal bills, Executive Director Ellen Goldstein said.
"Dean Goldman was a great friend of Legal Aid," Goldstein said. "Richard Goldman was a true hero for justice."
Lifelong friend Timothy Dallinger, who grew up next door to Goldman and also became an attorney, said Goldman subscribed to the ideals of 1960s liberalism and took the words of President Kennedy to heart.
"We believed quite literally in what President Kennedy said about in his address about asking what you can do for your country," Dallinger said. "It's no surprise that Rich was always involved in the fight for justice."
Deputy Public Defender Karen Atkins praised what she described as Goldman's well-rounded knowledge of the law, his analytical skills and his reflective nature.
Goldman was difficult to criticize — even in jest, she said, recalling her efforts to plan a roast to see him off upon his retirement from the Public Defender's Office several years ago.
"I could not think of anything," she said. "Richard was essentially un-roastable and we had to plan something else." |
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