Hon. Jonathan Conklin, Hon. Stanley Boone, Hon. Herbert Levy, and Hon. Oliver Wanger have a pre-luncheon discussion
Keynote Speaker Neil Pedersen speaks on “Surviving and Thriving in the Practice of Law.”
FCYLA President Jared Marshall presents Zack Groothuyzen with the Hopper Scholarship
Pettit Award winner Timothy Thompson is congratulated by FCYLA President Jarad Marshall.
Fresno County Bar President Deborah Coe and Hon. James Ardaiz.
Brittany Hines and Arthur Hampar
Hon. Robert Oliver and Bradley Silva.
It’s All Happening at the Hopper
Congratulations to Timothy L. Thompson, winner of this year's Pettit Mentor Award, and San Joaquin College of Law student Zack Groothuyzen, winner of this year's Hopper Scholarship!
The Fresno County Young Lawyers Association presented the 37th Annual George Hopper Memorial Scholarship Luncheon on November 20th. About a dozen judges were among the hundred-some in attendance, including several previous winners of the Pettit Mentor Award. Nickole Cunningham of Whitney, Thompson & Jeffcoach introduced her boss and mentor, Timothy Thompson after explaining how he had guided her path. She says upon hearing the news he had won the Pettit Award, Thompson said “it was either a mistake or I am getting old.” Cunningham maintained it was not a mistake, so old it is!
FCYLA President Jared Marshall introduced the winner of the Hopper scholarship, adding that he personally knows Zack Groothuyzen from when he taught him during law school. Zack is a fourth year student, who also won the 2019 Hollis Best Scholarship earlier this year.
Keynote Speaker Neil Pedersen started by revealing his previous over-reliance on caffeine, explaining his day always started with a couple of “Monster” style caffeine kicks, followed by a day filled with coffee, caffeinated sodas, ice tea, and often a couple more “Monsters” before the end of the day. That habit ended when he not only suffered a stroke, but discovered he had suffered several previous mini-strokes. His tips on mitigating the stress included working with people you enjoy, minimizing outside stress, sleeping, exercising, planning vacations well in advance, and making time to connect with social support.
The luncheon honors the memory of Justice Hopper, who, during his time on the Municipal Bench, was known to exert extreme efforts to “educate” new attorneys appearing in his courtroom. It was not pretty. The process, which became known as “Being Hopperized,” has now become a badge of honor among many attorneys who suffered that quick education “back in the day.”