OC trial lawyers gala raises $250K for charity

The Orange County Trial Lawyers Association drew more than 425 attorneys, judges and legal professionals to the Hyatt Regency Irvine Saturday for its annual Top Gun Awards Gala. The event honoring leading trial lawyers raised about $250,000 for the Jessie Rees Foundation.

The celebration recognized excellence in trial advocacy across multiple practice areas while spotlighting a charity that supports children battling cancer.

This year's gala saw the induction of Greg Bentley into the OCTLA Hall of Fame and honored six practitioners for standout achievements in trial work.

"Hall of Fame is a way to honor the work that an attorney has done over the years for the Orange County community and their clients," OCTLA President Aaron Hicks said.

The 2025 Top Gun recipients were Keith Bruno and Nick Rowley in the Medical Malpractice category, Tom Antunovich as Young Gun, William Shapiro for Distinguished Achievement and Greyson Goody for Personal Injury. OCTLA applies rigorous evaluation standards to nominations.

"All the personal injury, medical malpractice, anything like that has to be an actual jury verdict," Hicks said. "But there can be a body of work that can be considered for distinguished achievement or an outstanding result."

The gala's philanthropic focus centered on the Jessie Rees Foundation, known for its Never Ever Give Up campaign. The nonprofit creates "Joy Jars," small packages filled with toys and trinkets for children undergoing cancer treatment.

Hicks recalled how the effort began.

"There was a young girl here in Orange County named Jessie Rees. She was diagnosed with cancer. During her treatment, she decided that she wanted to do something for all the kids that were unable to come home from the hospital during their treatment."

Rees crafted and decorated toy-filled bags for patients at the Children's Hospital of Orange County, a gesture that eventually grew into a global program. "We got an email yesterday from them telling us that with our donation they will be able to create Joy Jars for at least 8,000 kids," Hicks said.

A keynote address came from a high school student in remission who had received Joy Jars during her own treatment. "She talked about how the Joy Jars kind of gave her hope and joy while she was undergoing her treatment," Hicks said. He noted that the student had helped assemble Joy Jars as a child, years before her diagnosis.

The foundation is run by Jessie's father, Erik Rees. "He's just a super awesome guy," Hicks said. "It was just a great charity this year. I'm so happy we raised so much money for them."

OCTLA selects a charitable partner annually through a formal review. "The board of directors vets several different charities and then at our board retreat in February, we select a charity by vote," Hicks said.