Remarks of the 2016 Ronald M. George Public Lawyer of the Year Award Recipient Sylvia Torres-Guillén

By Sylvia Torres-Guillén^*

INTRODUCTION

Thank you Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye for the kind words and to the Executive Committee of the State Bar Public Law Section for this great honor and gift that I share with my friends, my colleagues, and my family. This honor, more than anything, acknowledges the wonderful people I have had the pleasure of working with. I have been very blessed. Sharing this stage today with the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court is a reminder of the blessing, the privilege and the gift it is to enjoy a life of advocacy and public service. I am grateful for this recognition, but grateful also that this award exists to honor this life of public service—for doing for others, for those less fortunate, for those on the outskirts of our society. As Cesar Chavez said, "When we are really honest with ourselves we must admit that our lives are all that really belong to us, so it is how we use our lives that determines what kind of people we are. It is my deepest belief that only by giving life do we find life." And what a life we find!

So it is tonight that we celebrate this life of public service, our commitment, and our passionate pursuit for justice. We celebrate each other, and the important work that we as attorneys get to do in service of others.