UPCOMING EVENTS
Thoughts from the Bench:
A "Fireside Chat" with Three Orthodox Judges
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT
Ever wonder what life and work is like on the other side of the bench? Join us for an informative discussion among three distinguished Orthodox judges at different stages of their judicial careers. Among the topics to be addressed are:
- What are some of the biggest joys and challenges of serving as a judge?
- How does one prepare to become a judge?
- How does being a person of faith affect being a judge?
- Advice for litigators from the perspective of a judge
- Advice for anyone interested in becoming a judge
Sign up below to attend the live Zoom session!
Honorable Nada Kosanovich Sizemore
Connecticut Superior Court (retired)
Judge Sizemore is a retired Connecticut Superior Court judge where she served as chief civil judge in a trial court in Meriden, Connecticut. Prior to the bench, she served as a judicial law clerk, a commercial litigator, and staff litigator in the Travelers Insurance Company for thirty years, where she was Vice President and Associate General Counsel. As a judge she handled all types of civil jury and court side cases including hundreds of settlement and mediation cases. She currently supports the Saints Cyril & Methodius Serbian Orthodox Mission parish in Connecticut as an executive board member and was previously a member of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Boston.
Honorable Steven Counelis
California Superior, Riverside County
Judge Counelis has served on the bench since 2011. Previously, he served as a Deputy District Attorney for seventeen years and prosecuted over 80 jury trials. Judge Counelis was invested as an Archon by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on October 31, 2021. Judge Counelis has served in both Family and Criminal Court assignments. Since 2016, he has presided over 120 jury trials. Judge Counelis was raised in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and currently serves on the Metropolis Council of the GOA Metropolis of San Francisco.
Honorable Rose Marie Karadsheh Preddy
Seventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida
Circuit Judge Rose Marie Karadsheh Preddy was appointed to the bench in Florida in 2023. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her Juris Doctorate from the James E. Beasley School of Law at Temple University. Judge Preddy was admitted to the Michigan Bar in 1995 and the Florida Bar in 1997 and worked in private practice, civil law, including probate, guardianship, and will and trust contests. She maintained an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and owned the Preddy Law Firm, P.A., from 2000 to her judicial appointment in 2023. Judge Preddy presides over a Unified Family Court division in Putnam County. She is a member of St John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church in Jacksonville, Florida. Her parents are immigrants from Madaba, Jordan. She is a proud wife and mother of three.
Chicago Area OCAN Luncheon
Friday, July 25, 2025, 11 am
Hyatt Regency O'Hare Chicago
9300 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Rosemont, IL 60018
All Orthodox attorneys in Chicagoland are invited! Come meet other attorneys from Chicago and around the country.
Although the luncheon is being held in conjunction with the 2025 Antiochian Archdiocese Convention, you do not need to attend the convention to join the lunch. The discounted cost of $20 per person is being subsidized courtesy of a generous OCAN sponsor.
Get your tickets now at the link below!
Friday, June 6th
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Heb. 10:24-25).
Register below for a Zoom link to the
OCAN Women's Coffee Hour
PAST EVENTS
OCAN Men's Fellowship Hour
Friday, May 2nd
12:00 noon ET / 9:00am PT
Throughout scripture, our prayers, and services, we ask for God’s kingdom to come, for the heavenly King to abide in us, and that we may receive the King of all. Clearly, our primary allegiance as Christians is to our Lord.
Join OCAN's Executive Director Dn. Ken Liu and other fellow attorneys in discussing these questions. What does allegiance to this kingship mean for our lives? What does it mean for our careers?
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Icon of Extreme Humility |
Thoughts on Humility
for Orthodox Christian Attorneys
Speaker: Lory Barsdate Easton
Thursday, April 10, 2025
In the Lenten prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian, we ask the Lord to give us the spirit of humility. What is humility, and what does it mean to be humble as a lawyer? This webinar will discuss the virtue of humility, touching on Orthodox teachings and recent psychological research, and will explore challenges for lawyers seeking to grow closer to Christ through humility.
We will discuss some of the specific pitfalls for lawyers, including:
- the competitive and adversarial aspects of the profession,
- the encouragement to be self-promoting as "marketing,"
- the temptations of specialized knowledge, prestige, and power, and
- the dangers of stress and burnout
We also will consider some examples of humility in action in legal practice. Entering Holy Week, Orthodox Christians are brought face-to-face with the icon depicting the Extreme Humility of Christ. Join us before Lent ends to consider how our Lord Himself tolerated shame and injustice – to the grave – and what that means for us as lawyers.
Lory Barsdate Easton has worked as an ombudsman investigator for the State of Alaska before attending Yale Law School, and she then spent over 25 years in Big Law as a litigator in mass torts defense. After retirement, Lory earned her Masters in Clinical Psychology from Divine Mercy University, a Roman Catholic graduate school in Virginia.
About the Speaker: Lory Barsdate Easton
Lory worked as an ombudsman investigator for the State of Alaska before attending Yale Law School, and she then spent over 25 years in Big Law as a litigator in mass torts defense After retirement, Lory earned her Masters in Clinical Psychology from Divine Mercy University, a Roman Catholic graduate school in Virginia. Her leadership roles on the diversity and associate development committees at her multinational law firm sparked her interest in the psychological and spiritual aspects of cross-group interactions and personal/professional flourishing. In recent years she has presented at conferences of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and OCAMPR (Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion) on topics including humility for professionals, vocation as an aspect of identity, non-death loss associated with career change, and the integration of spirituality in psychotherapy. Her research interests include cultural humility, peer and coaching support for grief and loss, and identity development over the lifespan.
Lory and her husband Bob are Founding Supporters of OCAN. They have two children, an eighth grader and a high school sophomore. The Eastons are members of All Saints of North America Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Virginia, where Lory sings in the choir, teaches Sunday School, and leads charitable outreach projects. Lory is a founding board member of FOCUS North America (Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve). She also frequently presents reflections for the OCAN monthly Women's Coffee Hour.
Friday, Feb. 7th
Newport Grill Seafood Restaurant
OCAN board members and other Orthodox attorneys in Wichita, Kansas enjoyed a great get-to-know-each-other seafood dinner. Active, retired, and non-practicing attorneys, law students, and spouses are all welcome to OCAN events! Thanks to Psa. Nicole Sultani for hosting this fun evening. If you would like to sponsor an event in your city, please let us know so we can help.
Confidentiality of Confession
IN THE ORTHODOX CANONICAL TRADITION,
AND ITS LEGAL CHALLENGES
In a majority of U.S. states, clergy are considered mandatory reporters of child abuse. Generally, such laws have carved out an exception for information clergy learns during Confession. In recent years however, multiple states have removed, or made efforts to remove, this exception. This webinar will explore the canonical support and rationale for the confidentiality of Confession in the Orthodox tradition. An understanding of this will allow an evaluation and hopefully a response to these legal challenges.
Speaker: Archdeacon Justin Bosl earned his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law after studying philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville. For nearly 19 years he was a trial lawyer and shareholder at Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood in Oakland, California representing injured workers and consumers in toxic tort litigation. In 2023, he resigned from the firm to focus full-time on serving the Church. He graduated from the diaconate program at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and holds a M.Div. from the Antiochian House of Studies. He is currently enrolled in the Th.M. program at Holy Cross. He serves as the Archdeacon of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco as well as the chair of the Metropolis Legal Committee and serves on a variety of boards and committees for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops. He and his wife have four children and live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
If you missed the webinar or wish to share it with others, click below for the recording and presentation slides.
OCAN board members enjoyed some great meetings and dinner with other Orthodox attorneys this year. In July, OCAN members gathered in Alaska. Then, in September, we met in Washington, D.C. On November 8th, an enjoyable meal and networking in Chicago allowed us an opportunity to meet other attorneys in a variety of practice areas and Orthodox jurisdictions. We all look forward to future meetings.
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Alaska in June |
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Washington, DC in September |
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Chicago in November |
DISCLAIMER OF ENDORSEMENT
The Orthodox Christian Attorney Network is committed to serving as a forum for attorneys of various backgrounds to come together and explore how to live out our Orthodox Christian faith in our careers. The views or opinions of any speakers, panelists, or moderators are their own and do not necessarily state or represent the views of the Orthodox Christian Attorney Network. Any reference to any persons or organizations does not constitute or imply any endorsement, recommendation or approval of such persons or organizations, including their mission, activities, products, or services.