COSTA MESA, California, May 1, 2011 – More than $9,000 was raised for the Orange County Bar Foundation's SHORTSTOP® juvenile crime diversion program by team members from Rutan & Tucker, LLP, who participated in the recent OC Marathon. The Rutan team led a field of nine law firms involved in the marathon that collectively raised more than $64,000 in charitable donations to the Foundation.
"We are pleased that the efforts of Rutan attorneys and staff helped fund the Foundation's program to change the lives of young people and their families in Orange County for the better," said Ski Harrison, the firm's managing partner. Harrison said that the participants from the firm are far too numerous to name, since virtually all 300 Rutan employees, including attorneys and staff, had a hand in the effort in some way.
"Thank you to Rutan and to everyone else for making this the most successful OC Marathon yet for the programs of the Orange County Bar Foundation," said Nancy Garcia, associate director of the Orange County Bar Foundation. The Foundation had set a fundraising goal of $50,000. In the past three years, Rutan has raised over $30,000, which Garcia regards as a very impressive number.
Developed in 1980 for juvenile offenders and their families, SHORTSTOP is a cost-effective alternative to prosecution that teaches offenders to take responsibility for their actions through decision-making strategies designed to result in positive future choices. SHORTSTOP breaks the cycle that turns young people into repeat offenders by using three simple concepts: reach youth early; involve the parents; and use a graphic courtroom setting with legal professionals and actual prisoners.
About SHORTSTOP®
SHORTSTOPs a unique juvenile crime diversion program developed in 1980 for juvenile offenders and their families. As a cost-effective alternative to prosecution, SHORTSTOP teaches the offenders to take responsibility for their actions through decision-making strategies designed to result in positive future choices. SHORTSTOP breaks the cycle that turns young people into repeat offenders by using three simple concepts: reach youth early; involve the parents; and use a graphic courtroom setting with legal professionals and actual prisoners. Juvenile offenders, 11-17 and their parents participate in several sessions held at night in a courtroom where volunteer attorneys, legal professionals and wards from the Youth Guidance Center dramatically present the “legal facts of life”. Stop Short of Addiction diverts juvenile offenders as well as provides education to youth and parents on the legal aspects of drug related offenses and the negative life-style consequences of substance abuse. The program stresses family involvement by making parental participation mandatory. Parents are made aware of their child’s drug use and acquire a better understanding of the signs and symptoms of drug use as it pertains to their child. For more information, visit www.ocbarfoundation.org.
About Rutan & Tucker LLP
Rutan & Tucker is California's largest full-service law firm headquartered in Orange County, California with offices in Costa Mesa and Palo Alto. Primary practice areas include corporate and securities law, business and real estate litigation, labor and employment law, intellectual property, real estate, government and regulatory law, land use law, bankruptcy, condemnation and property valuation, environmental law, and taxation and estate planning. Detailed information about the firm is available at www.rutan.com.