2025 CLA Awards Recipients

Patricia Lee (Ret.) serves as Vice Chair of the California Legal Pathways Collaborative, (the premier program of the California Lawyers Foundation), dedicated to creating and supporting the California High School Law Academies, educating students about the legal system, Constitution and Rule of Law and introducing them to law related careers. Also, she currently chairs the ABA Council on Diversity in the Educational Pipeline and has served as past chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Public Education, as well as Chair of the ABA Diversity and Inclusion Center and Advisory Council. She was instrumental in the formation of the initial California Partnership Law Academies and currently serves on the Advisory Board and as Mentoring Program Coordinator for the De Anza High School Law Academy.

She began her legal career in 1972 as a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) attorney in the Mission Law Office with the San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation (now Bay Legal). She was Managing Attorney at both the Mission and Chinatown/Northbeach Offices, Executive Director and CAO for the Legal Aid Society of Santa Clara County and founding Director of Santa Clara County’s Office of Women’s Advocacy focusing on issues impacting women, children and families. She served on Santa Clara County Bar Association Board, on the bar association’s Lawyer Referral Service Committee and was a co-founder of the Bar’s Pro Bono Program.

She was Special Assistant for Diversity & Bar Relations at the State Bar of California, serving as executive liaison to the newly formed Council on Access & Fairness and was dedicated to the formation of the California Law Pathway (High School, to Community College, to four-year entities, to law school and into the profession). She served as Director of the State Bar’s Office of Legal Services, Access & Fairness Programs focusing on equal access to justice, diversity and elimination of bias initiatives. Her first position with the State Bar in 1982 focused successfully on implementing the Board of Governors pro bono policy throughout the state, encouraging attorneys to provide 50 hours of pro bono service each year to low-income persons.  

She is a recipient of various professional and community awards including the prestigious ABA Spirit of Excellence Award and the For People of Color Community Services Award, the Santa Clara County Bar Unsung Hero Award, and was inducted into the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame. She received her BA from UC Berkeley and JD from UC San Francisco College of the Law (formerly Hastings College of the Law) and was admitted to practice in February 1972. 

David M. Majchrzak is a seasoned ethicist, civil litigator, and certified specialist by the State Bar of California in legal malpractice law, is listed in Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers, and is rated AV®-Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell. He is the general counsel of and a partner at Rosing Pott & Strohbehn. Mr. Majchrzak represents lawyers, law firms, and judges in matters involving risk management, discipline defense, and malpractice claims. And he has served as an expert on legal ethics issues.

Mr. Majchrzak devotes a substantial portion of his career to, and has a national reputation for, counseling his clients on how to achieve their professional goals in an ethical way. For lawyers and firms with or without general counsel, he helps navigate the complex ethical waters of the legal profession. Mr. Majchrzak performs law office risk management assessments, trains law firm staff in ethics requirements, and advises on a variety of topics. These include conflicts of interest, fees and billing requirements and dispute handling, trust account procedures, internal and departing lawyer compensation, law firm advertising and online marketing efforts, engagement and common interest agreements, non-engagement and disengagement protocols, attorney-client privilege/confidentiality analyses and protection, subpoena response, multi-jurisdictional practice, lawyer mobility, and ancillary business ventures.

Mr. Majchrzak is active and widely visible within the legal ethics community. Mr. Majchrzak served as the co-chair of California Lawyers Association’s first Ethics Committee and as a member of the organization’s Future of the Profession Task Force; and he co-chaired 2022’s annual meeting. He currently serves as the president of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, the chair of the ABA working group on Model Rule 5.5, a member of the editorial board of the ABA/Bloomberg Law Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct, a liaison to the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, a member of the ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility Planning Committee, and a member of the ABA’s House of Delegates. Mr. Majchrzak also served as a three-year member of the State Bar of California’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, and chair of its outreach committee; and is a past chair of the San Diego County Bar Association’s Legal Ethics Committee. In 2015, Mr. Majchrzak revived the then-abandoned Ethics Quarterly, and has continued as one of its two editors. He has also taught professional responsibility as an adjunct law school professor.

Mr. Majchrzak is also active within the general legal community. In 2022, he served as the president of the San Diego County Bar Association. Mr. Majchrzak also served for four years as president of the William L. Todd, Jr. chapter of the American Inns of Court. Presently, he serves as the vice chair and treasurer for the Law Practice Management and Technology section of California Lawyers Association. He has also served as an officer of the Association of Discipline Defense Counsel, a judge for Teen Court, an attorney instructor for mock trial competitions, and in various other voluntary professional and community roles.

Co-Founder of The Public Interest Law Project, a pivotal California state support center for community legal services programs, Michael Rawson for over 40 years has played a guiding role in systemic litigation, legislation and public policy development focused on advancing housing justice, equity and inclusion for lower income households and communities of color.  Mike continues as Director of Litigation and Advocacy to help formulate and direct impact litigation, advocacy, training and publications in the areas of affordable housing, land use and fair housing.

Mike co-founded PILP in 1996 after the imposition of federal restrictions on local legal services’ ability to engage in class action litigation, legislative advocacy, and representation of undocumented immigrants.  Forever grateful to the Legal Services Trust Fund for recognizing the importance of this work and providing critical funding, together PILP and the Trust Fund stand steadfast for racial and economic justice. Mike and PILP staff alongside local public interest law attorneys have litigated over 200 systemic cases, drafted and supported dozens of key local and state laws, and trained thousands of advocates.

Mike acted as co-lead in California Building Industry Assn. v. City of San Jose, 61 Cal. 4th 435 (2015) (cert. denied 136 S.Ct. 928 (2016) representing Interveners and establishing the constitutionality of local inclusionary zoning laws in the face of a takings challenge. The author of many legal publications and articles, he’s probably best known as the principal author of PILP’s California Housing Element Manual as well as authoring and updating “Discrimination in Land Use, Planning & Development Approval”, a chapter of the Rutter Group California Fair Housing and Public Accommodation Practice Guide.   

The California Indian Law Association, Inc. (“CILA”) is dedicated to enhancing the legal profession and Tribal jurisprudence in California. CILA seeks to provide quality educational programming to law practitioners, Tribal justice personnel, law students, and professionals who may interface with Indian Tribes or Tribal issues in their course of work. CILA promotes the study of Tribal jurisprudence and provides support to Indigenous students in their pursuit of the legal profession. CILA is dedicated to helping Tribes in California exercise self-determination, self-sufficiency, and to protect sovereignty. Learn more at calindianlaw.org. 

Formed in 1989 in response to the disparity between the percentage of minorities in the state’s population and the legal profession, the California Minority Counsel Program (CMCP) is a California 501(c)(6) non-profit mutual benefit corporation, dedicated to promoting diversity in the legal profession by expanding access to business development and professional development.

CMCP brings business lawyers of all races together as members and colleagues, regardless of the type of organization in which they practice, for the purpose of achieving opportunity and inclusion within law firms and in-house law departments, and in the outside counsel spend of corporations and government agencies.

Through high-quality programming, networking events, and mentorship initiatives, CMCP builds a strong community that creates meaningful opportunities for professional growth and client development. CMCP supports its members by:

• Expanding Business Opportunities – Connecting attorneys with decision-makers in corporations and law firms.
• Providing Professional Development – Offering leadership training, networking, and mentoring to help attorneys succeed.
• Fostering a More Inclusive Legal Market – Helping organizations access top-tier talent and innovative perspectives to enhance legal service delivery.
• Strengthening Legal Excellence – Promoting the exchange of ideas and best practices that drive innovation and success.
• Building a Strong Community – Creating space for authentic connection, collaboration, and shared purpose among attorneys committed to advancing opportunity in the legal profession.

Amid shifting legal and political landscapes, participation in CMCP offers law firms and corporate legal departments a clear, business-driven approach to drive innovation, strengthening their teams and client relationships, and build a more inclusive and competitive legal industry.

Since its early beginnings in San Diego more than 40 decades ago, Klinedinst has become the go-to firm for clients across the western United States, including California, Washington, Arizona, and Nevada. Our litigators, trial attorneys, and transactional lawyers guide clients through every problem, finding solutions at every turn. Whether protecting your business in court, helping negotiate your transaction, or handling your matter on the appellate level, Klinedinst attorneys help get the job done. With approximately 95 attorneys, the firm maintains seven physical locations in San Diego, Irvine, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento, and Seattle.

Klinedinst is dedicated to the advancement of diverse groups in the communities we serve. An individual’s success at our firm is not determined by gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, or sexual orientation. We recognize that our commitment to DEIB within our own firm enables us to shape the legal landscape, and to better understand and serve our clients’ perspectives and needs.