On May 28, Gordon & Rees received two prestigious awards at the Bay Area United Way Community Impact Awards ceremony.

•  Gold Community Impact Award, which is awarded to a company that achieves

    excellence in its overall campaign

•  Anchor Award, which is awarded to a company that achieves high participation

    numbers

Each year, United Way honors Bay Area employers for exceptional community involvement  based on a commitment to serve and make an impact in the community through the United Way. Several hundred local companies participate in the event.

"The 2008-2009 Campaign was a great success and Gordon & Rees is proud to be among the major businesses in the Bay Area that are recognized for our community service efforts," said Charles Custer, a member of the Campaign Cabinet and a partner in the San Francisco office of Gordon & Rees.  "We look forward to building upon our success as we plan our 2009-2010 United Way Campaign."

These two awards follow similar awards received in January at the United Way Awards Ceremony focusing on the community involvement of Bay Area law firms.  At that event, in the category of law firms with more than 100 attorneys, Gordon & Rees received numerous recognitions as the "Most Philanthropic Law Firm," "Best Overall Campaign," "Highest Overall Participation," "Strongest Giving Performance for Associates" and "Greatest Increase in Giving Between 2007 and 2008."

Manuel Saldana, a Gordon & Rees partner in the Los Angeles and Orange County offices, and Juan Walker, a Gordon & Rees associate in the San Francisco office, participated on a panel at the 4th Annual University of California Hastings College of the Law, “A Day At Law School Program.” The event introduced Bay Area elementary through high school students of color and their parents to higher education and the study of law in particular. Addressing the parents in attendance, Mr. Saldana and Mr. Walker, along with other panelists, discussed their experiences applying to law school and funding their law school educations. Following a lively question and answer session, the panelists were held over by the many parents who had follow up questions and wanted to personally thank them for their participation. Gordon & Rees was a proud sponsor of the event, which fits well with the Firm’s commitment to increasing the pipeline of diverse applicants to higher education.

Peter Robertson, Chairman of the United Way of the Bay Area Campaign and Vice Chairman of the Board for Chevron Corporation has appointed Gordon & Rees Partner Chuck Custer to the United Way of the Bay Area Campaign Cabinet. The campaign cabinet for 2007/08 will be:

Leonard Almalech
Vice President/General Manager
Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Mark Antonitis
President and General Manager
KRON TV-4

David L. Anderson
Managing Partner
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Russell A. Colombo
President and CEO
Bank of Marin

Charles S. Custer
Partner

Gordon & Rees LLP

Michael Dorsey
Managing Director

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Mark Edmunds
Vice Chairman-Regional Managing Partner

Deloitte

John Hammergren
Chairman, President and CEO
McKesson Corporation

Ebbert Jones
Executive Vice President, Western Banking Group
Wachovia Corporation

Donald R. Knauss
Chairman of the Board and CEO
The Clorox Company

Lori Lee
Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
AT & T West

Terry Schwakopf
Community Volunteer

Steven J. Silvestri
President, Southwest Region
Bank of America

John Stumpf
President and Chief Operating Office
Wells Fargo & Co.

Mr. Custer has been active in United Way of the Bay Area for more than 15 years. He currently sits on the Board of Directors and has been the driving force behind Gordon & Rees' award winning United Way Campaign for over 10 years. Gordon & Rees' continued commitment to the Bay Area community helped the firm win the 2006 KoKo award for highest contribution and participation among Bay Area for law firms. Gordon & Rees has won this prestigious award three of the past five years.

Gordon & Rees was a sponsor at First Graduate's (formerly known as b.a.y.fund) Annual Cap & Gown Gala held at the Old Federal Reserve Building in San Francisco on May 24, 2007. First Graduate makes a 10 year commitment (from 7th grade through 5 years of college) to help underprivileged children be the first in their families to graduate from college.

First Graduate presented its First In Family Award to Alejandro Toledo, the president of Peru from 2001 to 2006. President Toledo recounted how the efforts of two volunteers helped him attend college at the University of San Francisco and then graduate school at Stanford. First Graduate's graduating high school seniors were also honored as they announced where they will be attending college in the fall.

Gordon & Rees' support First Graduate is part of our commitment to increase the pipeline for diversity in the legal profession. San Francisco office Managing Partner, Sara Thorpe is a member of First Graduate's Board of Directors.

Sara Thorpe has been appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for First Graduate (formerly known as b.a.y.fund), a non-profit organization whose mission is to help young people finish high school and become the first in their families to graduate from college. b.a.y.fund believes education is a powerful tool that helps young people overcome adversity, develop character and build community.

Every spring, First Graduate chooses twenty-four 7th grade students from two of San Francisco's lower performing middle schools. First Graduate makes a 10 year commitment to each student from the end of 7th grade through 5 years of college. Through mentoring, tutoring, community service and college counseling, First Graduate students are exposed to experiences and challenges that encourage them to develop the decision-making skills, leadership ability and good judgment necessary to become successful adults. b.a.y.fund achieves its mission by working together with families, schools, volunteers, other youth development agencies, and donors who are committed to the education of San Francisco's young people.

Susan Roe, Gordon & Rees’s Director of Professional Development received the United Way’s Top Banana Award which recognizes the 2005 Top Campaign Coordinator among all the law firms in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Gordon & Rees’s contribution to the campaign made up more than 20% of the entire Bay Area campaign.

Susan is a driving force behind the firm’s United Way campaign and continually strives for fresh ways to encourage contributions for this commendable cause. She remarked that “giving through United Way makes such sense, as our firm generously matches each dollar, thus doubling any contribution. “

For many years Susan has worked closely with the United Way of the Bay Area. She knows firsthand the incredible support this organization provides to families, agencies, and community organizations.

The 2005 United Way campaign presented some unique challenges after G&R personnel responded immediately and generously to the national disasters following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  However, even after many people gave tremendously to these causes, there was great response and participation to the 2005 KoKo Bay Area campaign.

Gordon & Rees continues its decade long tradition of participation in the National Constitutional Rights Foundation by sponsoring a San Francisco high school team in the California Mock Trial program. The National Constitutional Rights Foundation seeks to instill in our nation's youth a deeper understanding of citizenship through values expressed in our Constitution and its Bill of Rights and educate young people to become active and responsible participants in our society. The National Constitutional Rights Foundation organizes the Mock Trial program, an academic competition, in which high schools compete at the county, state and national levels.

The trial itself is a simulation of a criminal case, in which students portray each of the principals in the cast of courtroom characters. Student teams study a hypothetical case, conduct legal research, and receive guidance from the volunteer attorney coaches in courtroom procedures and trial preparation. Students acquire a working knowledge of our judicial system which encourages them to develop their analytical abilities and communication skills while gaining increased self-confidence and self esteem. For the 2005 - 2006 year, the Gordon Rees coaches headed by Amy Maclear included colleagues Kevin Collins, Rupa Bhandari, Tom Watson, Katherine Hall and Joy Jaeger. Ms. Maclear said, "It's an extremely rewarding experience to help mold and nurture young adults gain a greater understanding and appreciation for our legal system."

Tireless hours of preparation, coaching, and mentoring went into the new team of 20 students at Lowell High school, a Distinguished School of Excellence in San Francisco. Last year, Lowell High School placed first in the county against 7 other schools and proceeded to the state level competition.

The first week of July 2004, Sara Thorpe, Managing Partner of the San Francisco Office, joined 23 breast cancer survivors and supporters celebrating the Breast Cancer Fund's fifth major mountain climb expedition, 'Climb Against the Odds ~ Mt. Shasta' (CAO) . Sara and half of the team staved off altitude sickness and with crampons and ice axes reached the peak of 14,162 feet shortly after 9:30 am after starting the hike at 1:30 am. Fortunately their descent was much quicker as they were able to glissade down most of the mountain. As a group, the CAO team raised over $350,000 for the Breast Cancer Fund's programs to identify the causes and eliminate the environmental causes of the disease. Sara well exceeded her own personal goal of $8,000 and pledges are still coming in. "Thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement. This was truly the hardest thing I have ever done (besides manage lawyers). The Breast Cancer Fund is a great organization with a worthy mission of preventing a disease that now impacts 1 out of every 7 women (and a smaller percentage of men), and of course their families and friends. I was inspired by the entire experience and the great motivated people I met preparing for and completing this climb."