About the Gala

Queen's Bench Bar Association invites our Past Presidents, members of the judiciary in the Greater Bay Area, our membership, and colleagues to join us for our Gala at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco on November 19, 2026. This year, we combined our Past Presidents and Judges Dinner into a black-tie optional event to celebrate the leadership and legacy created by our bar association's prior leadership and judges who serve our community. This Gala also highlights several Queen's Bench programs, including our various scholarship programs, 2026 Merit Award recipients, and our annual auction benefiting the Queen's Bench Foundation.

2026 Keynote Speaker

Tap to flip Karen Musalo 2026 Keynote Speaker Tap to flip back

Karen Musalo

Professor of Law, UC Law San Francisco
Founding Director, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies

Queen's Bench is honored to welcome Professor Karen Musalo, a globally recognized leader at the forefront of women's rights and asylum law. As the Bank of America Foundation Chair in International Law at UC Law San Francisco and founding director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, Professor Musalo has devoted her career to advancing legal protections for women fleeing gender-based violence.

For more than three decades, Professor Musalo has shaped the legal framework recognizing persecution such as female genital cutting and domestic violence as grounds for asylum—transforming how courts understand gender-based claims to refugee protection. Through landmark litigation and scholarship, her work has been instrumental in securing protections for women whose experiences were historically excluded from asylum law.

Her advocacy sits at the critical intersection of human rights and immigration, demonstrating how the law can respond to the realities faced by women seeking refuge—and why that work remains urgent today.

Join us at the Gala to hear directly from one of the architects of modern gender-based asylum law.

2026 Merit Award Recipients

Queen's Bench recognizes select members via our Merit Awards Ceremony. The Merit Awards recognize select members of the bar association for their achievements and contributions to Queen's Bench, the legal profession, and the Bay Area legal community. Awardees are nominated by the Board of Directors and selected by the Awards Committee.

• The Lifetime Achievement Award is bestowed upon a Queen's Bench member for outstanding contributions and achievements over the course of a distinguished career in the law.
• The Service Award recognizes a member who provides outstanding service to Queen's Bench and the Greater Bay Area.
• The Rookie Award is awarded to a new member who demonstrates talent, leadership, and dedication to Queen's Bench during early years of membership.

2026 Scholarship Recipients

Each year, the Queen's Bench Scholarship Committee awards the Mildred W. Levin Scholarship and the Agnes O'Brien Smith Scholarship to second- and third-year law students with financial need who demonstrate academic achievement, leadership, determination, and commitment to the community. Congratulations to our 2026 recipients, who will be recognized at the Gala. Learn more about our scholarship programs.

Stross Wess Cutcher & Levin LLP is sponsoring the Gala tickets and awards ceremony for our 2026 scholarship recipients.

Annual Auction

The evening features our annual auction benefiting the Queen's Bench Foundation, our 501(c)(3) charitable arm. Auction items are generously donated by our members, sponsors, and friends of Queen's Bench.

Donated items so far include:

• Ali Wong Live — tickets to the San Francisco leg of the comedian's nationwide tour, December 2026
• Additional items will be announced as donations are confirmed

New this year: for the first time, we will be accepting advance silent auction bids via Zeffy. More information will be announced in the fall, closer to the event date.

To donate an auction item, please contact auction@queensbench.org.

Gala Committee

Our Gala committee includes Queen's Bench members who are familiar with our organization's history, traditions, and initiatives highlighted at this year's Gala. Committee members include Past Presidents, prior Merit Award recipients, committee chairs, and members of the Boards of Directors for Queen's Bench Bar Association and our charitable arm, the Queen's Bench Foundation.

Gala Committee Co-Chairs

Gala Committee Members

An asterisk (*) indicates that the committee member also serves on the Board of Directors for the Queen's Bench Foundation.

Our committee seeks volunteers to assist with day-of event coordination and operations. Those interested in joining the Gala Committee can sign up for our biweekly committee meetings. If you are interested in assisting the Committee, please contact us via the information at the end of this page.

Sponsorships

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for this year's Gala. Our sponsors' contributions enable Queen's Bench to host events like the Gala throughout the year and continue various initiatives such as scholarships, mentoring programs, merit-based awards, and MCLEs. Register on our 2026 sponsorship page or review our 2026 Gala sponsorship brochure and email us to become a sponsor. We encourage prospective sponsors to participate in our new Underwriter Program to maximize year-long business development benefits for your firm, company, or organization.

We also sincerely thank our current sponsors for their continued support of Queen's Bench Bar Association.

Underwriter Sponsors

Sponsor logo

Stross Wess Cutcher & Levin LLP Scholarships Sponsor

Sponsor logo

Signature Resolution Cocktail Hour Sponsor

Counsel Table Sponsors

Sponsor logo

Trucker Huss, APC

Media Sponsors

Sponsor logo

Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area MBC Affiliate

Sponsor logo

SMCBA Women Lawyers Section CWL Affiliate

Event-Related Inquiries

General inquiries may be directed to the 2026 Gala Committee Chairs at gala@queensbench.org.

Sponsorship inquiries may be directed to sponsorships@queensbench.org.