This issue is our bench-bar issue. The cover story features the SCBA Judge of the Year, Superior Court Presiding Judge Michael Virga. The magazine also includes profiles of two of the newest additions to the local bench, Superior Court Judges Alan Perkins and Laurie Earl. All three judges were honored at the bench-bar reception held in June. Congratulations to each of them on their achievements.

For the "bar" part of the bench-bar issue, we have articles that are a little different than our usual fare. First, we have an article about Candice Fields, an attorney with Segal and Kirby who took a break from her practice to participate in a reality television show, Cowboy U: Texas (as in Cowboy University), on the Country Music Television Channel. The premise of the show is that a group of city slickers are brought together to be turned into cowboys and cowgirls. Then they get to compete against each other for prize money. Since the show is being aired through the month of July, I have no idea as I write this whether Candice won. Hopefully, she will successfully defend the honor of lawyers and Sacramentans. If not, she can always move to Yreka.

This issue also features an article about Eugene Henderson and Robert C. Tronvig, Jr., two longtime participants in the SCBA's Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program. Although the magazine often profiles bar leaders, we do not often enough take the opportunity to thank bar members who perform such thankless tasks. I almost fell off my chair when I read that Henderson had arbitrated more than 150 fee arbitration cases through the years. Any way you figure it, that involves listening to a lot of whining, finger-pointing and manureshoveling. With that kind of intestinal fortitude, maybe Henderson ought to try out for Cowboy U. He's certainly got plenty of experience mucking out the stables, so to speak.

Finally, this issue features many of the recent events that have brought our bench and bar together. These events include: the SCBA Law Day celebration, the Operation Protect and Defend Dinner, the fantastic art show at the Sacramento County Public Law Library, the Sacramento Child Advocates fundraiser, and the Volunteers In Parole recognition luncheon. Each of these events involved significant efforts by members of our legal community who are dedicated to the greater good. Let me say that, regardless of whether Candice Fields successfully upholds our honor, all of you who contribute to these activities make me proud to be a Sacramento lawyer.