Supreme Court of California Names Two to the State Bar Board of Trustees

July 18, 2014

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Supreme Court of California Names Two to the State Bar Board of Trustees

Attorneys James Fox and Terrance Flanigan will sit on board that oversees State Bar

SAN FRANCISCO—The Supreme Court of California announced the appointments of Attorneys James P. Fox and Terrance W. Flanigan to the State Bar Board of Trustees. They will be sworn in at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting this September and will serve three-year terms.

These are the Supreme Court’s fourth and fifth appointments to the State Bar Board of Trustees, made pursuant to Legislation effective January 1, 2012, changing the composition and name of the State Bar Board of Governors. The new Board of Trustees now includes five appointments by the Supreme Court, starting with one in 2012 and two each in 2013 and 2014, and turning over every three years.

The Supreme Court was assisted in selecting appointees to the State Bar Board of Trustees by its seven-member State Bar Trustees Nominating Committee. The work of the committee is governed by Rule 9.90 of the California Rules of Court, which describes the factors to be considered in soliciting, reviewing, and recommending to the court potential appointees to the board, as well as the general operation of the committee.

James P. Fox is a San Mateo attorney who is also a member of the Judicial Council. He began his legal career in the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office in 1970, left for private practice in 1974 and was elected as District Attorney of San Mateo County in 1982, taking office in January of 1983 and serving through December 2010, when he retired. In 2009, he received one of the Judicial Council’s Distinguished Service Awards—the Bernard Witkin Amicus Curiae Award, which honors individuals other than members of the judiciary for their outstanding contributions to the courts of California.

Mr. Fox served as a member of the State Bar of California’s Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation from 1980–1982. He has also served as a member of several Judicial Council advisory committees, including the Criminal Law Advisory Committee, the Court Profiles Committee, and the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Cameras in the Courtroom, as well as a member of the California Commission for the Fair Administration of Justice.

Mr. Fox earned his undergraduate degree in psychology and his law degree from the University of San Francisco.

Sacramento attorney and lobbyist Terrance W. Flanigan co-founded the Flanigan Law Firm with his brother, Tim, in 1991. Prior to that, he served as appointments secretary to Governors George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson, where he assisted with the appointment of California’s judges, agency and department personnel, as well as members of many state boards and commissions.

He has served as the chief lobbyist for the State Bar of California as well as the California Manufacturers and Technology Association. As a lobbyist for the County Supervisors Association of California, he concentrated on law enforcement and court administrative issues. In the 1990s, he served on a State Bar advisory commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation.

Before settling in Sacramento 34 years ago, he was a partner in the San Diego law firm of Bamberg, Flanigan & Flanigan and served as a prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the Office of the San Diego City Attorney.

Admitted to the practice of law in 1974, Mr. Flanigan received his law degree from the University of California, Davis and his undergraduate degree from San Diego State University. He also was a trustee on the California State University Board of Trustees. He is a professional artist and registered lobbyist with the State of California.

The legislation that altered the State Bar board’s composition (see Business and Professions Code section 6010 et seq.) changed the board membership from a total of 23 members to a 19-person board. The board ultimately will include five attorneys appointed by the Supreme Court, six attorneys elected by districts determined by the Courts of Appeal districts, six public members, and two attorneys appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Committee on Rules.