Metropolitan News-Enterprise

 

Friday, April 25, 2008

 

Page 3

 

Director Says LACBA Offices to Move Within 12 Months

 

By SHERRI M. OKAMOTO, Staff Writer

 

The Los Angeles County Bar Association will be moving its headquarters from its current location on Figueroa Street a few blocks southwest to 1055 West Seventh Street, trustees have been told.

Executive Director Stuart A. Forsyth said Wednesday night at the regular monthly Board of Trustees meeting  that the association had entered into a lease to rent the 40,000-square-foot  space on the 26th and 27th floors of the high-rise building. He said he anticipated that the move would occur as early as Oct. 1, or as late as April 18 of next year.

Forsyth explained that the move would save the organization $1,440,000 over the next 12  years, and that the new location offered more parking and easier access to the freeway and public transportation. He also said the building was located near 1,600 lawyers downtown, and that he was hoping the “convenience factor” would encourage those attorneys participate in LACBA events.

The lease was negotiated by the law firm of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP on a pro bono basis. The board unanimously voted to send a commendation to the firm.         

In other news, the board voted with one dissent to send a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Assembly Bill 1113, which proposes a statutory amendment that would include expert fees  in an award of attorney fees. The committee vote is scheduled for Tuesday.

Trustee Ellen A. Pansky and Scott J. Drexel, chief trial counsel for the State Bar of California, also moderated a discussion regarding proposed modifications to the Alternative Discipline Program, which would establish eligibility criteria for the program, permit judicial review of State Bar Court dispositions, and prevent participants from learning what their discipline will be until after they complete the program.

 

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