Hugely Successful Year for Secret Santa! 6 Jan 2016, 2:30 am

The O’Brien, Watters & Davis Law Firm hosts the annual Secret Santa Giving Tree for their entire building and its tenants.  OWD believes in giving back to the community and its attorneys, paralegals, secretaries and staff thoroughly enjoy spreading some Holiday cheer!

Read the Hugely successful year for Volunteer Center of Sonoma County’s secret Santa program article.

From: ANGELA HART
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | December 24, 2015

Organizers for Sonoma County’s largest Secret Santa gift drive are extra jolly this year.

The Volunteer Center of Sonoma County is distributing gifts worth $160,000 this Christmas, surpassing last year’s total by $20,000, said Buffy Welch, the Secret Santa program’s coordinator.

“This has been such a successful year thanks to all of the generous donations,” Welch said. “Sonoma County is such a great place to live, but there are a lot of people who are struggling to get by. … So many can’t afford to splurge and buy that Christmas gift, so this helps them put that gift under the tree.”

The Volunteer Center coordinates holiday gift-giving by connecting donors with local nonprofits. Nonprofits request gifts for people, jotting down the requests on paper hearts, which are then used to decorate more than 200 “gift trees” throughout the county. People who want to donate pick a heart, purchase the desired gift and put it under the tree. At the end of December, volunteers distribute the gifts to nonprofits that asked for them.

Nonprofits then give the gifts to low-income families, elderly people and working adults to brighten their holiday.

One of the Secret Santa gifts this Christmas went to a 101-year-old woman who requested a Safeway gift card and a warm soft blanket.

Marrianne McBride, president and chief executive officer for the Council on Aging, which provides services for elderly people, including the Meals on Wheels program, said the gifts are especially meaningful for elderly people who are low-income or who may not have a social support network.

“Many people we serve are frail, isolated and some may not have family nearby, so many would not be receiving anything for the holidays,” McBride said. “Because of the generosity of the people in our community, we are able to give people a gift on Christmas — it’s pretty special.”

Nearly 140 local businesses and organizations have donated cash or gifts, enabling the Volunteer Center to fill more than 15,000 wishes this month, Welch said. The donations were just short of this season’s goal of giving gifts requested by nonprofits to 15,762 people.

The organization also partners with local radio station KZST for a marathon gift-giving drive. Most of the gifts are toys for kids and warm clothes or shoes for adults, she added.

Jason Carter, program manager for Youth Connections, which helps people who have not completed high school get their GED and provides them with career mentoring, said the Secret Santa gifts are especially welcome for young parents enrolled in the program.

“Many of our students have young children, and they are socially and economically disadvantaged,” said Carter, pointing out that most of the gifts they receive are children’s toys and books. “When we give them the gifts, it’s a really good moment wrapping up a year’s worth of hard work.”

Kellie Cronin of Santa Rosa said the gift donated to her 22-month-old grandson Dayton made his Christmas Eve.

“I wish whoever bought him these gifts could see his joy opening them up,” Cronin said in an email after he opened one of them Thursday night. “We feel so blessed that people are so kind.”

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25 Years as Martindale-Hubbell® AV-Rated Attorney 6 Oct 2015, 10:28 pm

Michael G. Watters and O’Brien, Watters & Davis, LLP celebrate 25 years+ as Rated AV^® Preeminent (5.0 out of 5.0) from Martindale-Hubbell®.  Other founding partners, John R. O’Brien and Daniel E. Davis also carry the prestigious Rated AV^® Preeminent (5.0 out of 5.0) from Martindale-Hubbell®.

The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada. The first review to establish a lawyer’s rating usually occurs three years after his/her first admission to the bar.

Martindale-Hubbell facilitates secure online Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings surveys of lawyers across multiple jurisdictions and geographic locations, in similar areas of practice as the lawyer being rated. Reviewers are asked to assess their colleagues’ general ethical standards and legal ability in a specific area of practice. The ratings appear in all formats of the Martindale-Hubbell® Law Directory, in the online listings on martindale.com®, Lawyers.comSM, on the Martindale-Hubbell services, on Martindale-Hubbell mobile apps.

Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings reflect a combination of achieving a Very High General Ethical Standards rating and a Legal Ability numerical rating. A threshold number of responses is required to achieve a rating.

The General Ethical Standards rating denotes adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities.

Those lawyers who meet the “Very High” criteria of General Ethical Standards can proceed to the next step in the ratings process – Legal Ability.

Legal Ability ratings are based on performance in five key areas, rated on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest). These areas are:

• Legal Knowledge – Lawyer’s familiarity with the laws governing his/her specific area of practice(s)
• Analytical Capabilities – Lawyer’s creativity in analyzing legal issues and applying technical knowledge
• Judgment – Lawyer’s demonstration of the salient factors that drive the outcome of a given case or issue.
• Communication Ability – Lawyer’s capability to communicate persuasively and credibly
• Legal Experience – Lawyer’s degree of experience in his/her specific area of practice(s)

The numeric ratings range may coincide with the appropriate Certification Mark: AV Preeminent® (4.5-5.0) – AV Preeminent® is a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.

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Best Places to Work 2015 5 Oct 2015, 10:38 pm

O’BRIEN WATTERS & DAVIS, LLP

EIGHT-TIME WINNER

SANTA ROSA – As the managing partner for the law firm, Michael G. Watters knows that it’s people with experience in the law that counts, as well as providing excellent client service, that makes O’Brien Watters & Davis a Best Place to Work. Established in 1982, Today the company has several attorneys with more than 40 years experience. Average tenure among the practice’s 17 employees is 14 years.

“We have many long-time employees and promote from within. With 50% of the firm comprised of minorities and women, there is plenty of opportunity for advancement.”

“The partners know and remember our children’s names and spouses and significant other’s birthdays, as well as anniversaries and major victories among the staff.”

The firm offers incentives such as flex time, income disability insurance coverage as well as paid vacations, sick days, holiday and personal days off along with 401K, health and dental coverage.

“We all pitch in when a case needs attention. There’s a sense of belonging and a welcoming feeling that is woven into the firm’s culture. Everyone is committed to do the best for our clients. By the way, while I was preparing my input for this survey, the staff threw a mid-day impromptu office party. What a team!”

Read the full article on The North Bay Business Journal’s Best Places to Work 2015.

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