Over 300 business executives attended the final Business Journal event of the year last week: the 14th annual General Counsel Awards.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, hosted the evening—virtually, as he tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the day—as master of ceremonies, entertaining with jokes and introducing sponsored speakers.

Chemerinsky served as dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law for nearly a decade before stepping down in 2017 to take the same post at UC Berkeley. Chemerinsky is founding dean of the Irvine law school, and a well-known professor and author with a focus on First Amendment law.

The Nov. 16 event was held at the Irvine Marriott. This year’s five winners hail from a diverse industry base—from healthcare to hot tubs—and were selected from a nomination base of more than 50 individuals and companies.

5 Honorees

This year’s five honorees are:
– Paul Dechary, executive vice president and deputy general counsel of Monster Beverage Corp. (Nasdaq: MNST), in the Public Company category.
– Jason Weintraub, chief legal officer of Irvine-based Jacuzzi Inc., in the Private Company category.
– Ryan Lindsey, vice president of Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW), in the Specialty Counsel category.
– Christina Whittaker, senior director of legal affairs at Alteryx Inc. (NYSE: AYX), in the Rising Star category.
– Hyundai Motor America, in the In-House Legal Team category.

For more from this year’s event, as well as write-ups on each of the winners, see next week’s print edition of the Business Journal.