Kevin Pimentel

I first met Kevin when my law school friends and I started a small free legal clinic in O.C.  He brought with him not only his expertise in family law, immigration, and estate planning but also his invaluable and inspirational approach to serving those in need.  He treated our clients with respect and honesty.  He was never afraid or ashamed to say he didn't know an answer to a question, though his years of experience also gave him the confidence that inspired trust.

I heard this morning that he had passed away last Friday.  It hasn't been that long--not more than 2 weeks--since we last spoke.  It was just one of those phone calls we routinely had--me calling him to ask for help.  I gave him a call to see if he's interested in helping out a now-indigent senior recover some of the money her relatives defrauded out of her through a divorce proceeding.  He did a quick research while we were on the phone and determined that there's a fighting chance for her.  We promised to connect after I discover additional facts.  As I proudly shared with my wife that evening, his calm yet firm response to my request was: "That's not right.  Let's see what we can do to fix that."  The man was moved by a sense of justice and fairness.  I was, and am, proud to call him a friend.

UPDATE:  I went to a public viewing following his funeral service last week, and quite a few APABA members came to show their respect.  And APABA posted an obit for Kevin on their website.  To quote, "Kevin’s death is a tremendous loss for our communities and for APABA.  We will miss him dearly."