[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 150 (Monday, September 19, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E949]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING MRS. DIANE MESSER DODDS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DAVID G. VALADAO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 19, 2022

  Mr. VALADAO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mrs. Diane 
Messer Dodds, for receiving the Bench and Bar Award, Kern County Bar 
Association's most prestigious award.
  A graduate of Yale Law School, Mrs. Dodds was sworn into the 
California State Bar in 1975 and began her lifelong commitment to 
provide outstanding legal services to those in need. She started her 
legal career working with the Legal Aid Office in Long Beach, 
California. After a year there, she began clerking for U.S. District 
Judge Harry Pregerson. Following her clerkship, she would go on to work 
at the Western Center on Law and Poverty in Los Angeles.
  After her time with Western Center, Mrs. Dodds moved to Kernville 
after marrying her husband, Patrick. For 12 years, she would provide 
important legal services to the elderly throughout her community as she 
and Patrick raised their young children. This work led to her meeting 
Pat Jennison, an attorney in Bakersfield, who has been a dear friend 
and important legal partner. The two would go on to open the law office 
of Jennison and Dodds in 2007.
  For decades, Mrs. Dodds has provided vital legal services to clients 
throughout the Valley. Mrs. Dodd's pro bono work has earned her special 
recognition from the California State Bar, as a recipient of the Wiley 
M. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services. Mrs. Dodds has dedicated 
thousands of hours to legal clinics for self-represented litigants 
through the Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance and the Kern County 
Law Library--even teaching a monthly class at the library for self-
represented litigants for the past 15 years.
  Mrs. Dodds has rightfully received the praise of fellow attorneys, 
Judges, Bar Associations throughout California, and most importantly--
her clients. She has accomplished all of this while being a dedicated 
wife and loving mother to three children, and I cannot think of a more 
deserving recipient of this prestigious award than Mrs. Dodds.
  I ask my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives to 
join me in recognizing the incredible work of Mrs. Diane Messer Dodds 
for her accomplishment of receiving the Kern County Bar Association 
Bench and Bar Award.

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