The Verdict is In: Local Attorneys Guilty of Kindness
Civility Reigns at 16th Annual Dinner Benefiting St. Vincent’s Teens

   SAN DIEGO — There will be no objections, nor will there be moves to strike. But one thing attorneys and law professionals attending the 16th Annual Red Boudreau Dinner will be participating in is an appeal – to raise money for teenagers at St. Vincent de Paul Village’s Toussaint Teen Center.

   Over 500 members of San Diego’s legal community will gather at the Hyatt Regency Hotel – Downtown San Diego at 1 Market Place on Saturday, October 21 at 5:30 p.m. to celebrate the finest qualities of their profession.

   Named after Maurice "Red" Boudreau, a local trial attorney and one of the founding board members of St. Vincent’s, the dinner also raises funds for the Village’s Toussaint Teen Center, a home to 35 young people who have been abandoned or have left abusive, neglectful or otherwise unlivable family situations.

   Part of the celebration includes the presentation of the Daniel T. Broderick III Award for Civility, Integrity and Professionalism. This year’s recipient is Michael Thorsnes, founding partner of Thorsnes, Bartolotta & McGuire. He has received national recognition for his work in business litigation and has twice won the Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego.

   The funds raised at this year’s benefit dinner have never been so crucial, as HUD plans to cut $400,000 of assistance to the Teen Center.

   Father Joe Carroll, President of St. Vincent’s, says that if law professionals who are often fighting each other in the courtroom can unite for this worthy cause, anything is possible.

   "These attorneys and judges can see the importance of what we’re trying to accomplish for our teens," he says, "even to the point that they are willing to put the legal sparring aside and join together to support the efforts of the Village. Short of comparing it to Moses parting the Red Sea, having all of these lawyers in the same room is a miracle."

While a higher power may indeed be intervening, Father Joe says the praise is owed to the hundreds who attend the event.

   "For 16 years we have held this event in part to recognize the integrity of those in the field of law," he says. "Their devotion and generosity proves that this celebration is well-deserved."

The dinner is sponsored by the American Board of Trial Advocates, San Diego Defense Lawyers, Association of Business Trial Lawyers and Consumer Attorneys of San Diego.
For more information on the dinner, call (619) 687-1012.

   For more information on the Toussaint Teen Center, call (619) 687-1000.

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