The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) presented Outstanding Chapter of the Year award for the medium category (251 - 800 members) to the San Diego Chapter at ACC's 2006 Annual Meeting last month in San Diego. The award recognizes ACC Chapters that demonstrate commitment to member services and contributions to the association and the legal community. Selection criteria include active promotion of member involvement and overall excellence in meeting members' needs.
ACC's San Diego Chapter serves the professional needs and represents the interests of more than 400 in-house counsel to more than 300 corporations in San Diego, CA. The chapter enjoyed a 15-percent growth over the past year and is known for providing valued programming and networking opportunities for in-house counsel in the San Diego area at over 60 events each year. 'Notably, the Chapter added quarterly roundtable discussion meetings in five practice group areas as a new offering in 2006, which have proven to be very popular and valuable to its members' commented Jon Hellings, Executive Director.
The San Diego Chapter pioneered a local Large Law Department CLO Club, which meets quarterly and provides a forum for general counsel to discuss issues unique to their needs. The chapter's Fifth Annual Black and White Ball, which has become the premier black tie event for the San Diego legal community with attendance of over 500, raised over $20,000 for Habitat for Humanity.The chapter also has a vibrant Small Law Department Committee and biweekly Job Newsletter, which aggregates San Diego in-house positions.
'I am proud of what the San Diego Board of Directors and committee members accomplished this year and am looking forward to building on that success.We already are planning new initiatives for next year to grow our chapter and provide even higher quality member service,' said Chapter President Christopher W. Ekren, Vice President, Group Counsel, Sony Electronics Inc., who accepted the award on behalf of the chapter.