San Diego
Two small San Diego law firms were picked to be among 17 firms nationwide that will play host starting this fall to young Soviet lawyers studying the American legal system.
Dorazio, Barnhorst & Bonar, an 18-lawyer firm, will host Anna Meschanskaya of Moscow, said the firm’s managing partner, Howard J. Barnhorst. She will arrive in January, following a three-month stint with the public defender’s office in West Palm Beach, Fla., and will spend three months with the San Diego firm.
Cleary & Sevilla, a two-member criminal defense firm, will host Vladimir Zakhvataev from the Ukraine. He is expected to spend part of his six months in San Diego with the county and federal public defender’s offices and at the California Western Law School, Charles M. Sevilla said.
Two San Francisco firms also were among those chosen to welcome the Soviet lawyers. No Los Angeles firms were selected. Other sites ranged from Maine to Oregon.
The American Bar Assn., which is sponsoring the program, estimated it will cost firms taking part up to $2,800 per month per Soviet lawyer. The Soviets, all under 35, were tested for English proficiency and chosen from a field of 162 who applied, bar officials said.
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