About Us

The San Joaquin County Bar Association (SJCBA) is a non-profit membership organization that has served the legal community of San Joaquin County since 1940.

The first SJCBA Board of Governors meeting took place on February 1, 1940 at a restaurant called Tiny's at 27 Sutter Street, right around the corner from the current SJCBA office.

In the early days, SJCBA founded the first legal aid program running from 1959 – 1966 when it became part of the California Rural Legal Assistance program. Later, the Bar Association started the Family Law Service Center.

In 1959, Adelle Barrett was hired as the first Executive Director and stayed with the Bar Association until 1997. One of the earliest programs, Lawyer Referral Service (LRS), started in 1959, and is still an SJCBA program. The SJCBA LRS is certified by the State Bar of California (cert. #0012).

In the late 1970s, SJCBA became a non-profit organization. In 1982, SJCBA became the conflict firm for the courts through the county with the establishment of the Court Assigned Counsel (CAC) program and continues to provide the courts with indigent defense to this day. The SJCBA has held the contract with the County of San Joaquin since 1983.

The SJCBA Board of Governors is the oversight body of the SJCBA. It has 13 voting members who serve 3-year staggered terms. The Board of Governors is responsible for setting the strategic vision of the SJCBA and assuring it remains financially viable.