VENTURA, CA, November 04, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ -- Gabriella Navarro-Busch, a graduate of the Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law and local champion of immigration and civil rights law, has been honored by Women Lawyers of Ventura County with the prestigious Holly Spevak Memorial Award.
Named in remembrance of Ventura College of Law alumna Holly Grace Spevak, the annual award honors an attorney who exemplifies a commitment to serve others and provide "access to justice" through pro-bono work in the same spirit of Spevak who died in 2007. Last year's recipient, Deborah Jurgensen, is also a graduate of the Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law.
Since 2001, Navarro-Busch has been practicing immigration and civil rights law and has assisted many individuals and families facing deportation orders. She donates considerable time in her law practice to pro bono work, including helping women who are victims of domestic violence. Navarro-Busch is a former president of the Ventura County chapter of the Mexican-American Bar Association and sits of the boards of California Rural Legal Assistance and the Ventura County Bar Association. Over recent years she has also served as mentor to interns from the Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law.
In 2004 Navarro-Busch was awarded the State Bar of California President's Pro Bono Service award for donating more than 700 hours of pro bono legal services. Seven of the past ten recipients of this award are graduates of the Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law, which stresses a commitment to "service to others" throughout its curriculum.
"We are very proud of Gabriella and all of our other graduates who understand that civic responsibility is an important ingredient in practicing law," says Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law Dean Heather Georgakis. "Gabriella's passion toward others epitomizes the values we work to instill in our students and her commitment to the community helps make Ventura County a better place to live."
Currently celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law offers a State Bar-accredited part-time evening program leading to the awarding of a Juris Doctor degree and academic eligibility to sit for the California State Bar Examination. With a faculty comprised of working professionals who bring real-world experience into the curriculum, its classes are taught in a supportive and practical learning environment that encourages students to fulfill their dreams while adhering to the highest levels of ethics, professional responsibility and civic duty. Its more than 1,600 graduates include judges, court commissioners and numerous elected officials as well as hundreds of lawyers practicing throughout California. Further information on the law school and its programs may be obtained at http://www.CollegesOfLaw.org.
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