In Our Community: Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo

AALRR’s commitment to our community truly sets us apart. Though some firms sponsor community events for minorities, we go beyond that. We have spearheaded major initiatives and programs to support children and teens from communities with large minority populations, created organizations to help minorities succeed in their careers, and continue to host dozens of annual engagements that bring individuals together to learn, network, and thrive. Here are just a few of the ways we give back to our local communities:

Student Enrichment

AALRR is the largest law firm representing school districts in California’s diverse public school and college/university system. We understand the value of supporting students and have implemented several core outreach initiatives in order to help them succeed into adulthood.

The firm holds Student Enrichment Days several times a year, in which attorneys and staff spend the day with students from middle schools and high schools with large minority populations at our Cerritos office with the aim of demonstrating that people from all walks of life can become successful in the legal field. Our minority attorneys and paralegals discuss their paths to success and the importance of education and hard work, and the students participate in a mock investigation. Through this program, we hope to inspire and empower students to pursue their goals.
We also support students in our community through sponsoring statewide student art scholarships, and making presentations at career fairs for underrepresented students during which we speak about the field of law as a viable career option.

Community Sponsorships

We work hard to promote equality and diversity in the community and to support our clients as they do so. The firm encourages and underwrites the efforts of many of our attorneys who organize community and in-firm groups and events for minorities. We staff, fund, and host a variety of community events onsite. Associations we sponsor and support include the following:

AALRR has been a leading sponsor of the Association of California School Administrators Women in Leadership conference for the past three years.
We were the first law firm to sponsor the California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA), and remain a leading sponsor of the group. We provide free legal counsel to the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS), a national organization serving Latinos, as well as to the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators (CALSA).
AALRR regularly contributes to the California Minority Council Program (CMCP), California Latino School Boards Association (CLSBA), Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF).
Partner Elizabeth Zamora-Mejia collaborated with CALSA to form Hermanas Leading Network in 2013. Its mission is to increase the number of Latina educational leaders to reflect and better serve California students and communities. She also founded the Equity Initiative for Women in Educational Leadership, aimed at promoting and supporting women leaders in education.

Attorney Involvement

Our attorneys are active in a variety of local and national organizations, diversity initiatives, and diversity bar associations that help promote diversity and inclusion. Many of our attorneys have leadership roles in these organizations. These include: