Metropolitan News-Enterprise

 

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

 

Page 3

 

Alpert, Nelson, Philibosian to Be Saluted as ‘Persons of the Year’

 

By a MetNews Staff Writer

 

San Fernando Valley attorney and civic leader Lee Kanon Alpert, Los Angeles County Bar Assn. President Gretchen Nelson, and former Los Angeles District Attorney Robert H. Philibosian, now of counsel to Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, will be honored by the Metropolitan News-Enterprise as “Persons of the Year” for 2007.

MetNews Co-Publisher Jo-Ann W. Grace commented that all three are “universally respected and able attorneys whose interests are broad and whose accomplishments are mulitudinous and stellar.”

Alpert is founding partner of the law firm now known as Alpert, Barr & Grant. He is a past president of the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn., a past chair of the Los Angeles County Commission on Judicial Procedures, and a past president of the Valley Community Legal Foundation.

Alpert has served on a myriad of city, county, and state commissions, chairing several of them.

Nelson is a partner in the law firm of Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, where she handles complex civil litigation. The LACBA chief is a past Chair of the association’s Litigation Section and is a member of the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles.

She is also active in the Cowboy Lawyers, frequently acting as “ride boss.”

Philibosian served as chief deputy attorney general before becoming district attorney in 1983, then entered private practice. He has served as chair of the California Council on Criminal Justice 1983-1991and is a trustee of Southwestern University Law School.

The lawyer provided commentary on the O.J. Simpson murder trial on ABC and has appeared on various news programs including World News Tonight, Nightline, Good Morning America, and 20/20.

He served as emcee at the past 11 annual “Person of the Year” dinners. This year’s emcee, Grace announced, will be former Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lawrence Crispo, now a private judge.

Grace said that the honorees will be profiled in a special section of the MetNews, and will be honored at a black tie dinner on Jan. 25 at a downtown private club.

Former persons of the year include the late Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Mildred Lillie, 1983; the late California Supreme Court Justice Stanley Mosk, 1984; the late Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Lester Wm. Roth, 1985; the late Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathleen Parker, 1986; then-Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Billy G. Mills (since retired), 1987; then-Los Angeles Superior Court Executive Officer Frank Zolin, 1988 (now retired); then-Court of Appeal Justice Lynn “Buck” Compton (since retired), 1989; Court of Appeal Justice Miriam Vogel and then-State Bar President Charles Vogel, 1990; Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Vaino Spencer (now retired), 1991; Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Joan Dempsey Klein, 1992; then-Los Angeles Superior Court Presiding Judge (now Court of Appeal Justice) Robert Mallano, 1993; Court of Appeal Justice Norman Epstein (now presiding justice), 1994; and then-California Attorney General (now Congressman) Dan Lungren, 1995.

Others honored were California Chief Justice Ronald George, 1996; Los Angeles Superior Court Judge (then-Assistant Presiding Judge) Victor E. Chavez, 1997; U.S. District Court Judge Ronald S.W. Lew, 1998; Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca, 1999; then-Judicial Appointments Secretary (now Los Angeles Superior Court Judge) Burt Pines, 2000; then-State Bar President Karen Nobumoto, 2001; Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, 2002; Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke, 2003; then-State Bar President John Van de Kamp and then-Los Angeles County Bar Assn. President John Collins, 2004; then-Los Angeles Superior Court Presiding Judge William MacLaughlin and then-Assistant Presiding Judge (now Presiding Judge) J. Stephen Czuleger, 2005; and political consultant Joseph Cerrell, U.S. District Judge George Schiavelli of the Central District of California and Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Paul A. Turner, 2006.

 

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