. . . 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. 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.
 Popofsky, 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
 Newport 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.
 Hufstedler, 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.
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