President's Message

By Carlos X. Colorado, President

Welcome to the HBA web site.

Our theme this year proclaims that the HBA is History Brought Alive.  That history has a name -- “the American Dream” -- and it's the story of a people.

People like Norma García Guillén, the daughter of immigrants, who realized her dream to go to USC Law School with the support of an HBA scholarship, then got her JD and went to work at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, and rose to become an HBA president.  And HBA scholarship recipients Mayté Santacruz, Erica Diaz, and Diana López, who realized their dreams to end up at Latham & Watkins; Adorno, Yoss; and the law office of Fred Sayre, respectively.  Now, they’re on the HBA Board, where they continue to weave their life stories through HBA history, paying back their scholarships, while earning their keep at some of the most prestigious law offices in the County.

That’s why our big firm sponsors understand that they have a stake in the HBA: because a piece of the HBA’s history is a piece of the future of the OC legal community.

They understand the contribution that the HBA scholarships make to social justice.  Five of our scholarship recipients have gone on to become public defenders; three others work for public agencies.  Many other HBA members also make daily contributions in the field of public interest law, civil rights, and consumer protection.  The HBA celebrates all of the achievements that its members have attained, at big firms, in the corporate setting, as well as at the public defender’s office, and in the union halls and court chambers around the County.

The HBA also contributes to the professional formation of its members, with its annual MCLE travel seminar, and its many social events and networking opportunities throughout the year.

I invite you to explore our website and that you will discover where your story fits in HBA history – a history that continues to unfold, and some of it is captured here.  As we write a new chapter of that history, and begin a new decade of contributing to the annals of Orange County history, I promise you that we are going to think big, we are going to work hard, and we are going to continue to weave our personal struggles and victories, our hopes and dreams, to the American Dream.

Thank you.

Carlos X. Colorado
HBA President