California Bar Journal
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 2000
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Everyday lawyering...
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. . . in San Francisco, humanitarian efforts

Two San Francisco lawyers were honored recently by the Anti-Defamation League’s Central Pacific Region for their humanitarian efforts.

Mary B. CranstonMary B. Cranston, chair of Pillsbury Madison & Sutro, and M. Laurence Popofsky, former chair of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, received Disting-uished Juris-prudence Awards.

The honor was established to recognize individuals in the legal community who have exhibited humanitarian concerns, and whose everyday actions exemplify the principles on which the ADL was founded.

M. Laurence PopofskyPopofsky, 64, specializes in antitrust law and complex litigation. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and was a Rhodes scholar. Cranston, 52, received her law degree from Stanford and is an expert on class action procedural and trial issues and lead counsel in antitrust actions alleging price fixing in the pharmaceutical industry.



. . . in Orange County, father of the year

Russell BriesackerNewport Beach attorney Russell Briesacker was named Father of the Year by the Orange County chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. He also is nominated for the nationwide 49th annual National MS Society Mother and Father of the Year Award.

Briesacker, 50, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, is a single father to Jessica, 15, and Philip, 11, and drives them to basketball and cheerleading practices, helps organize the class car wash and advises high school students for mock trial competitions.

“Even though MS may make him tired or slow him down, he has overwhelmingly kept up with our daily lives, taking my brother and me to school every morning and then sometimes staying up past 10 p.m. to pick me up from football games or competitions,” says Jessica. “Being a single parent and raising two very active kids is a big responsibility, but he manages to do it without any complaining.”

MS is a chronic, disabling disease that attacks the brain and central nervous system.

. . . nationally, a woman’s professional excellence

Shirley M. Hufstedler, the first woman to preside as Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and the Secretary of Education under President Jimmy Carter, received a Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achieve-ment Award from the ABA Commis-sion on Women in the Profession.

Shirley M. HufstedlerHufstedler, 75, who began her legal career in 1950 after graduating from Stanford Law School, practiced for 10 years before her appointment to the Los Angeles Superior Court bench. She was elevated to the California Court of Appeals and then to the federal appellate court.

The Margaret Brent award recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of women lawyers, particularly women who have achieved professional excellence in their field and have influenced other women to pursue legal careers.

EDITOR’S NOTE: In “Everyday Lawyering . . .,” California Bar Journal features lawyers who shine but do not seek, and rarely get, the credit they deserve. Any recommendations for inclusion in future columns should be e-mailed, with complete details, to cbj@calsb.org.