News
Law Practice
Jun. 17, 2002
Extreme Rainmaking in the Sea
LOS ANGELES - When it comes to networking, lawyers can always lean on the usual yawners: bar association meetings, mixers, and hours of stuffy glad-handing.
Or they can try extreme rainmaking - like the attorneys who decided to shed their three-piece suits and work it while fighting for waves in the Pacific Ocean, talking shop while paddling out between sets.
On June 11, the inaugural meeting of the Surfing Lawyers Association took place when nine lawyers convened at Topanga State Beach to trade in their briefcases and depositions for wet suits, wax and surfboards.
Twenty more attorneys joined the group later at a Santa Monica restaurant for the first official gathering. Lawyers who are interested in surfing - and interested in catching new clients along with waves - can join the organization, aimed at raising money for charities.
However, potential members may have to ride one in before they are allowed to join, according to David Olan, who helped form the group.
The group's purpose goes beyond networking with other lawyers and tasting a little saltwater. The goal is becoming a nonprofit organization that raises money for "water-based" charities, such as Surfrider Foundation and Heal the Bay. The group also may choose to become involved in environmental litigation, Olan said.
"It's an opportunity to identify with professionals in your field," Olan, who has his own practice in Los Angeles, said.
The group also plans to assist lawyers with Mandatory Continuing Legal Education.
"Law is very stressful, and surfing is very relaxing. It's a good combination," Olan said. "There's nothing I look forward to more after a long day of depositions than ... jumping in the water and going surfing."
The idea of putting together such a group came from members who have surfed together for years.
"I'm involved in Surfrider on its executive committee, and I know a lot of lawyers involved in environmental causes," Olan said.
For other members, it's just the opposite. Some know one another professionally but never knew that one another surfed.
"It's a fun thing to do and an opportunity to get lawyers together to do something fun," Richard Hamar of Hamar & Hamar said. "It's also an opportunity to get to know lawyers in other fields and from diverse backgrounds."
Hamar has been a diehard surfer for five years, so it's no coincidence that he practices in California, Hawaii and Florida. When he travels, he brings his laptop, suitcase and long board.
"It's a question of relieving stress and being out with the dolphins. It's great," he said. "I get a lot of wonderful thoughts in the ocean that really help with the litigation.
Areas of expertise among the surfing lawyers range from federal litigation to entertainment. Some are veterans, and others are just getting their feet wet in the legal system.
In the water, they're just as diverse, with some having five years' experience and others 35 years' experience.
And, of course, there are the jokes.
"You'll hear from my lawyer," Olan tells one of his buddies when their boards accidentally bump together.
There's also a bit of "harassment" among the domineering long boarders and the lone short boarder, but it's all in good fun.
"We don't discriminate," Olan said. "We've got our token short boarder."
The social events the group plans include a beach and surf party, a fund-raiser at the legendary surfer hangout Duke's in Malibu and travels abroad.
"We want to have surf trips and be able to write them off," Olan joked. "We want to go to the Galapagos Islands and surf with the sea turtles."
But the group is very serious about its purpose.
"I think what is very significant is the power the group has and the love we have for the environment," Olan said.
On July 29, the group will take part in a golf tournament at Malibu Country Club for Life Rolls On, an organization that raises money for spinal cord injury research.
Jesse Billauer of Life Rolls On attended Tuesday's meeting to talk about the event. Billauer was an aspiring professional surfer but was paralyzed in a surfing accident as a teen-ager.
So far, there's been a big response to the group. Sixty potential members from Santa Barbara to San Diego have contacted Olan and his wife, Sharon Olan, who is helping start the group. Its next meeting will be in August, and its e-mail address is surfinglawyers@aol.com.
Still, there are things the group needs to work out, including writing bylaws, figuring out dues, electing officers and perhaps changing the name.
"We didn't discuss changing the name," Olan said of the coincidence that the group's initials were also used by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
"I thought it was ironic in the beginning, and I thought it was funny. I like the irony," he added.
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Leslie Simmons
Daily Journal Staff Writer
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