O’Hare honored by civil rights group

Laguna Beach attorney William S. O’Hare, administrative partner of Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.’s Orange County office and a member of the firm’s commercial litigation group, has been honored by the Anti-Defamation League of Orange County/Long Beach as one of three recipients of the 2009 Marcus Kaufman Jurisprudence Award.

O’Hare is the husband of Laguna Beach Board of Education member Theresa O’Hare.

The honorees were named at the league’s 2009 Jurisprudence Awards Dinner on Nov. 18 at the Islands Hotel in Newport Beach. The League presents the award to outstanding legal professionals for leadership in the legal community and their long-term commitment to the League’s mission.

“I support the Anti-Defamation League’s mission of fighting bigotry and hate, with education serving as the primary weapon,” O’Hare said. “I and my wife have made support of education a top priority in our lives through service to Laguna Beach public schools, as president of a public school endowment and a countywide youth diversion program, and leadership on the UC Irvine CEO Roundtable. I am very grateful that the ADL has recognized, through this award, the contributions of each of the recipients to the legal profession and our community at large.”

O’Hare serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the UC Irvine Chief Executive Officer Roundtable. He is a board member and past president of the Orange County Bar Foundation and received the Robert Samuel Barnes Award in 2008.

O’Hare is president of the Laguna Beach Foundation Endowment Fund and a recipient of the President’s Pro-Bono Service Award from the State Bar of California. His commitment to pro bono legal work is reflected in Snell & Wilmer being honored as “Firm of the Year” by the Public Law Center of Orange County.

The Anti-Defamation League is a nationwide civil rights organization dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism and bigotry.

“The Anti-Defamation League is thrilled to honor Bill at our Jurisprudence Awards Dinner,” said Kevin O’ Grady, regional director of the organization. “Our mission, ‘to secure justice and fair treatment for all people,’ has been the cornerstone of Bill’s career. As we strive to fight bigotry and discrimination in the community, it is reassuring to know that leaders of Bill’s stature support our work.”

O’Grady said that O’Hare’s commitment to the league includes a decade of volunteer and leadership work, which has played a key role in the organization’s mission of fighting anti-Semitism and bigotry through education, legislation and inter-group dialogue.

O’Hare is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is listed among the “Best Lawyers in America,” “Southern California Super Lawyers,” and Franchise Times’ National List of the “Top 101 Franchising Lawyers.” In addition, he has been recognized twice on the listing for “Top Ten Defense Verdicts in California” by the Los Angeles and San Francisco daily journals.