The San Diego County Bar Association’s club building in downtown San Diego was alive with people and conversation this December third as hundreds of attorneys, judges, professors, and students gathered for a holiday reception that spilled into each room of the Bar Center’s main floor.

Christmas trees, holiday lights and warm fellowship heightened the occasion as new leaders for 2011 were inducted in the event called “Step Up to the Bar.”

Who Was There?: Deputy District Attorney Dan Link was sworn in as the SDCBA’s new President, taking over from Patrick Hosey. At age 35, he is the youngest president ever of this 110-year old organization. Among those onhand for the induction of Link and five new SDCBA Directors were Judge Gaylyn Boon, Judge Robert Longstreth, Joshua Wilson, Habib Hasbini, Edik Zandovskis, Amy Kim, Stephanie Chow, Gee Wah Mok, Sarah and Scott Havens, Jessica Howe, Jim Dorcy, Joe and Valeria Targia, Jeff Graham, Chris Cooke, Tim Nader, Doc Anderson, Douglas Oden, Lei-Chala Wilson, Catherine Welton, Kristen Johnson, Emily Kirohn, Krystal Norris, Julianna Gates, Yasmine Djawadian, William Nimmo, Kate Jarosinska, Andy Albert, Denise Asher, Elizabeth and David Balfour, Christopher Alexander, Duane Horning, Jesse Blanco, William Slomanson, and Tara Cheever.

The Creative: A buzz of conversation radiated from the bar association's 7th and A Street Bar Center as hundreds of people mingled among holiday garlands and twinkling lights. Appetizing displays of cheeses, breads, and pate competed with tray-passed hors d’oeuvres and cups of holiday cheer for guests’ delight. In the main room, the induction was marked with fraternal jokes and laughter along with the obligatory Powerpoint, a vital highlight of any attorney gathering.

The Cause: As the largest lawyer network in San Diego and the second largest Bar association in California, the San Diego County Bar Association operates a charitable Foundation that has donated more than $1.5 million to more than 30 legal aid and public interest organizations in order to provide access to justice for people and communities impacted by poverty, abuse and discrimination.

The Good-Hearted: More than 125 law firms in San Diego County boast 100% partner membership in the SDCBA, including the District Attorney’s office. Major supporters of recent events include Pacific Western Bank, Jenner & Block, McKenna Long & Aldridge, Best Best & Krieger, Latham & Watkins, Kirby Noonan Lance & Hoge, Mintz Levin, Wright & L’Estrange, and the Morrison Foerster Foundation.

Get Involved: If you need an attorney, the San Diego County Bar Association offers a free Lawyer Referral and Information Service. The SDCBA is spearheading volunteer work in literacy through the Juvenile Court Book Club and by recruiting readers-out-loud for the San Diego Book Project.

(For more event photos, go to: CAUSE.)