Monday, August 23, 2004
Page 1
Legal Aid Lawyer Elected Superior Court Commissioner
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Harvey A. Silberman, an attorney with San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services, was elected a Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner in balloting by the court’s judges, officials said Friday.
Silberman, 44, said he was “honored and humbled” to have been chosen for the post. The selection to succeed retired Commissioner Michael M. Duffey came in a runoff election with John Murphy, a retired municipal court commissioner who sits on assignment with the Superior Court.
It was the third time this year that Murphy has lost a runoff election.
Silberman said he applied for the commissioner’s post because it “is another form of public interest work.” He said he expects to take the bench in two weeks, but does not know where he will be assigned.
He is interested in family law, he said, but added that “wherever they send me, I’m honored to serve.”
The New York native graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, then came west to attend law school at USC, where he now teaches family law. Admitted to the State Bar in 1992, he worked as director of legal services at Aids Project Los Angeles, then joined the Glendora family law firm of Stettner, Eisenberg & Morris.
He joined Pacoima-based SFVNLS in 1998 and coordinated its family law and domestic violence program before moving to the Van Nuys Self Help Legal Access Center earlier this year. The center is a joint project of the Superior Court, the San Fernando Valley Bar Association, and SFVNLS that assists self-represented litigants in civil and family law matters.
Silberman’s election moves Referee Anthony Trendacosta to the top of the rankings for future commissioner openings. The rankings by a judicial panel are not binding on the judges who do the voting, but every vacancy in the last few years has been filled by the highest-ranked candidate.
The order of rankings, after Trendacosta, is Munger, Tolles & Olson staff counsel Anthony B. Drewry, Referee Steff Padilla, Santa Monica attorney James N. Bianco, Century City attorney H. Jay Ford III, Referee Pamela A. Davis, Lancaster attorney and former Referee David Bianchi, Court of Appeal attorney Mary Lou Katz, Alliance for Children’s Rights attorney Amy M. Pellman, Los Angeles attorney Graciela Freixes, Santa Monica lawyer Susan Weiss, Referee Alan H. Friedenthal, Los Angeles attorney David J. Cowan, Long Beach attorney Tamila Ipema, Murphy, former Referee Laura Hymowitz, Referee Daniel Zeke Zeidler, Covina attorney Rocky Lee Crabb, and former Referee Joel Wallenstein.
They are followed by Deputy County Counsel Catherine Pratt, Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Zuzga, Deputy District Attorney Lori-Ann Jones, Los Angeles attorney Robert Harrison, Referee Stephen Marpet, Deputy District Attorney Lia R. Martin, Los Angeles attorney Paul Ted Suzuki, Manhattan Beach attorney Michele Flurer, Deputy District Attorney William J. Woods, Los Angeles attorney Adrienne L. Krikorian, and Referee Jacqueline H. Lewis.
Zeidler and Jones are both in November runoffs for election to open seats on the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Copyright 2004, Metropolitan News Company