Metropolitan News-Enterprise

 

Thursday, April 27, 2017

 

Page 1

 

State Bar Names Bay Area Prosecutor to Chief Trial Counsel Post

 

By a MetNews Staff Writer

 

The State Bar Board of Trustees has named Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Steven Moawad as the next chief trial counsel, the State Bar said yesterday in a release.

“I’m pleased to welcome Steven Moawad to the Chief Trial Counsel position,” State Bar President James P. Fox said. “He has dedicated his career to public service, and will now turn his significant prosecutorial and management experience to the bar’s public protection mission of ensuring that attorney misconduct is appropriately and vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”

Gregory Dresser is currently filling the post of chief prosecutor for the State Bar discipline system on an interim basis. He replaced Jayne Kim, who resigned last May in the face of employee criticism of her management of the office, which was said to make it unlikely the state Senate would confirm her for a second four-year term.

Moawad has been a prosecutor for two decades, serving as deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County since 1997, as a manager of the District Attorney’s Special Operations Division since 2012, and as a senior deputy district attorney since 2014.

The release noted his extensive prosecutorial experience includes consumer protection, environmental protection, insurance fraud, as well as criminal cases. He also served as the project manager for the implementation of a new case management system for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

His responsibilities include government corruption cases, and he recently secured the conviction of a former member of the county Board of Education for falsely declaring in his candidate statement that he had a college degree.

He was also successful, along with San Francisco prosecutors, in a civil action against a large metal recycling company, which agreed to pay $4.1 million in penalties and costs, and to implement operational reforms, after a sting operation resulted in employees buying what appeared to be stolen materials from undercover investigators.

Moawad is a graduate of UC San Diego and University of San Francisco School of Law. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from St. Mary’s College of California in 2003.

He said in a statement:

“Everyone should be confident that when they need help with a legal issue, the attorney in whom they place their trust is competent and ethical. I am both humbled and honored to join the Office of Chief Trial Counsel in carrying out its mission to protect the public and enhance the administration of justice.”

State Bar Executive Director said she was “delighted to welcome Steven Moawad to the executive leadership team of the State Bar.” She said Moawad “joins the bar at a pivotal time and will help the agency implement crucial reforms,” including implementation of new ethics rules now pending before the state Supreme Court.

The State Bar said Moawad will begin his new duties sometime in the next six weeks. The state Senate must confirm him within one year of his taking office.

 

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