By Diane Skouti Baiza, Alumni Liaison
Most highly accomplished people share traits in common that contribute to their success. They often exhibit multi-faceted talent and smarts, in addition to having reached a pinnacle of academic pursuit. The four newest inductees to the SJCL Hall of Fame share these attributes in spades.
The roster of their combined pre-law academics include: our beloved Fresno State, the University of Washington in Seattle, Biola College, UCLA, the California Baptist Seminary, the Andover Newton School of Theology at Yale, Claremont Graduate School, and Harvard. Before becoming lawyers they served as an MFC Counselor, taught high school, became a U.S. Air Force Instrument-rated pilot, a county assessor, a deputy sheriff/SWATand dive team member, police trainer, furnature builder, and manager for the vending machine company, Vendo.
Many of these roles continued full-time while they attended law school. Once established in their legal careers, these over-achievers climbed to ever greater peaks.
Donn Furman (Law ’93) was a lifelong environmentalist and advocate. His love for rivers, fly fishing, hiking, and all things water inspired him to become the Executive Director of The Committee to Save the Kings River. His testimony before Congress resulted in the protection of 92 miles of the Kings River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Among the many groups and organizations he led, Donn formed the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, and the Sierra Foothill Conservancy. He later became a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco and was considered one of California’s experts on water law. He served as the in-house attorney for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission until his retirement in 2014. Donn’s passion to save California rivers was matched by his interests as a writer, musician, traveler, and gardener. Donn Furman passed away in October of 2023.
Another posthumous inductee, Edward Hunt, served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Upon his discharge, he attended college and worked full time as the Fresno County Assessor in the real property division. He remained an assessor throughout law school and joined the Fresno County D.A.’s office upon passing the bar. With crime rates soaring in Fresno during this time, Ed took a tough stance against gangs and drugs. Upon his election as Fresno County District Attorney, Ed and former Sheriff Steve Magarian, established specialty prosecution teams like the Multi Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), which still operates today. Ed’s war on crime led to the Narcotics Task Force and the Three Strikes law. His down-home and folksy personality allowed Ed to serve as Fresno County’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer for five terms and a total of 20 years, longer than any DA in Fresno history. Ed Hunt passed away in April of 2012.
Another inductee whose legal career began in law enforcement, James Arendt (Law ’89), graduated from UCLA with a degree in political science. Upon returning to Fresno he enrolled in the Police Academy to become a Peace Officer. As a Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy, James served in several areas, among them: patrol, detective, SWAT team, boating enforcement, and dive team. He continued in law enforcement throughout law school with the goal of providing legal representation for those who serve the public. Upon establishing his legal career as an attorney, James continued to serve as a reserve officer for many years. With his insider’s experience in law enforcement James has successfully represented public entity employees like police officers, district attorneys, investigators, and judges, in addition to employees of cities and counties, school districts, and private business interests. In addition to his practice, James also serves as an instructor on civil liability in law enforcement at the State Center Regional Training Facility at Fresno City College. He is a board member of Crimestoppers and the Federal Bar Association. He is an adjunct faculty member who teaches Standards and Training in Corrections to supervisors, and has taught Peace Officers Standards and Training to supervisors and Field Training Officers. James is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences due to his expertise.
If there was an award for the most varied career path taken by an inductee, Leland Sterling would win it, hands down. From the start of his college career, Leland was a high achiever. He graduated cum laude from Biola College where he served as the Men’s President, the graduating class speaker, and the captain of the baseball team. He then graduated magna cum laude from the California Baptist Seminary, where he served as student body president and the graduating class speaker. Next, he earned a master’s in Sacred Theology from the Andover Newton School of Theology at Yale Divinity School, and he followed that up with graduate programs in psychology and counseling at both Claremont Graduate School, and Harvard. Leland served internships at four separate hospitals and obtained a MFC Counseling license. After serving as an ordained minister in several churches he provided counseling services at Lemoore Naval Air Station. That’s when he saw, first-hand, a gap between the needs of people in crises, and the ability of the legal system to address them.
When SJCL opened its doors in 1969, Leland enrolled to help fill that gap by studying law and the legal process. Throughout law school he worked as a high school teacher by day, and attended law classes at night. At SJCL he was active in student affairs, wrote for the school newspaper, won the faculty scholarship award (three years in a row), served as student body president, and was the valedictorian of SJCL’s very first graduating class.
Upon his admission to the bar, Leland began his career in law as a deputy district attorney for Fresno County. He became a skilled prosecutor and was assigned to several high-profile cases. He and two colleagues formed the first Sexual Assault Team and Victim Witness Program for the county. He became a speaker at mental health facilities, churches, and schools against domestic violence. He trained volunteers in counseling victims, and installed a red hotline phone at his home, so victims in trouble could call him 24-7.
Later, Leland worked as a litigator, at the firm of Brewer and Montgomery in Tustin, California. When his daughter Lisa graduated from Santa Clara School of Law, the two of them opened a practice in Newprot Beach: Sterling & Sterling. They handled both civil and criminal matters, some family law, and some entertainment law. Known for rarely turning down a case, Leland took many pro bono. Drafting contracts for entertainers, like the singer Gwen Stefani, was part of his daily routine. He served as a mediator for the Orange County Bar Association and sat as Judge Pro Tem while in Southern California. In addition, he joined a legal team on a radio show called “Talk to Terrell,” and Leland became known as “The Silver Fox of the Desert,” as he answered legal questions live on the air.
Upon returning to the Valley, Leland was selected out of 100 applicants to become the PA announcer of the Visalia Oaks minor league baseball team. Supposedly in retirement, he was invited to take a position with the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, where he worked another eight years. Upon his actual retirement due to failing eyesight, Leland continued to volunteer with the Tulare County Public Library Reading Center teaching adults to read.