Chief Executive Officer

As I prepare to travel to Monterey for my first Annual Meeting since becoming Executive Director of the California Lawyers Association, I am feeling celebratory. Preparing for the Annual Meeting is a huge undertaking and I’m extraordinarily grateful to the volunteer leaders, particularly those on the Annual Meeting committee, and our professional team from Sacramento, who worked so hard to make it happen. And we have a lot to celebrate! Read more

The California Association of Black Lawyers has selected California Lawyers Association Executive Director Ona Alston Dosunmu to receive its 2019 Leader Award. The award recognizes Dosunmu’s “exemplary work ethic and performance” as well as “commitment and dedication to furthering the laws of the Great State of California,” according to Andrew W. Houston, president of the California Association of Black Lawyers, which represents over 6,000 African-American attorneys, judges, law professors and students. Dosunmu came to the California Lawyers Association in January… Read more

September 2019 By Ona Alston Dosunmu In October of this year, our association will celebrate its first Board-level leadership transition. Both our first President, Heather Rosing, and our first Chair, Jim Hill, will be stepping down and giving new leadership an opportunity to step up. While we don’t yet know who will take the reins of our nascent organization, we do know that the California Lawyers Association and, whether they know it or not, every lawyer in the state, owes… Read more

A while back—after our June Board meeting but before our July Board call, I giddily announced to two volunteer leaders that our June Board meeting was “the best ever.” One of them wryly pointed out that it was only my second in-person meeting. While that’s true, it was a pretty great meeting. Read more

When I interviewed to become executive director of the California Lawyers Association, I told the Board that one of the biggest and most exciting opportunities facing the organization was the ability to scan the landscape, learn from mistakes made by others and in effect “leapfrog” history to build a bar association for the 2020s and beyond. Read more

CLA would like to extend a warm and enthusiastic thanks to our new Executive Director Ona Dosunmu for all of her dedication and accomplishments since she joined us in January. Read more

By Ona Dosunmu. Yay! It’s summer. For me that means getting out on my bike. My bicycle was one of the first items I shipped to my new home in Sacramento and one of the first items I received. Of course, I had every intention of riding back in January, but life happened. I finally went for my first ride over the long Memorial Day weekend. There’s something exhilarating about discovering a new city on two wheels and my May ride did not disappoint. It was also sobering. Read more

May 2019 By Ona Alston Dosunmu One of the California Lawyers Association’s greatest opportunities lies in its ability to advocate for causes that advance our mission: promoting excellence, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law. It’s the season to advance legislative priorities in Sacramento and CLA is at the center of the action on a number of items of interest to our members and to the legal profession… Read more

The end of March was a week of “firsts” for the California Lawyers Association. On Wednesday, March 20, we were welcomed by policymakers at the State Capital for our first ever organization-wide “Leg Day”. Read more

By the time this appears in your inbox I will be starting my 3rd month with CLA. The old saw about “time flies . . .” has certainly proven to be true. I am very much enjoying the opportunity visit with Section Executive Committees and to learn about the amazing work going on across the organization. Read more