Carmen Ramirez
“People love to hate lawyers. But the first time they’re in trouble, who do they
call? Us.â€
AGE: 49
HOME: Oxnard
PROFESSION: Lawyer and executive director of the nonprofit Channel Counties Legal Services in Oxnard.
LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: President of the Ventura County Bar Assn. for 1998. As lead attorney and administrator at Channel Counties since 1982, Ramirez has represented the poor of Ventura and south Santa Barbara counties. Recently, the five-lawyer group successfully waged an uphill battle to keep Social Security benefits for hundreds of disabled and elderly people.
GOALS FOR 1998: As bar president, Ramirez hopes to foster greater public understanding of the role of attorneys in our society. There is confusion about lawyers’ responsibilities to their clients in civil cases and to unpopular criminal defendants such as murder suspect Michael Dally, she said. The county bar, along with local judges, will host community forums next year to more fully explain the judicial system.
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