David Pasternak Appointed to State Bar Board of Trustees

August 28, 2012

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California Supreme Court Appoints David Pasternak to the State Bar Board of Trustees

San Francisco—The California Supreme Court announced the appointment of Attorney David Pasternak to the State Bar Board of Trustees. Pasternak’s term will commence October 14, 2012, and end at the conclusion of the annual board meeting in 2015.

This is the Supreme Court’s first appointment 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 or Trustees will include a total of five appointments by the Supreme Court, one this year and two each for the next two years. The legislation (see Business and Professions Code section 6010 et seq.) changed the board membership from a total of 23 members, 17 elected attorneys and 6 public members appointed by the Legislature and Governor, to a 19-person board.  The newly composed board ultimately will include 5 attorneys appointed by the Supreme Court, 6 attorneys elected by districts determined by the Courts of Appeal districts, 6 public members, and two attorneys appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Committee on Rules.

Pasternak is a member of Pasternak, Pasternak & Patton, a law corporation in Century City. Since 1982, he has been appointed as a state and federal court receiver, provisional director, partition referee, special master, and bankruptcy court custodian, and has represented and advised other receivers and provisional directors in hundreds of other cases. He also served at the request of the California Attorney General's Office as the Receiver of California Research and Assistance Fund, the multi-million dollar non-profit benefit corporation established through insurance company contributions after the Northridge earthquake.

Pasternak has served in a number of capacities in national, state, and local bar associations, focusing on diverse issues including continuing legal education, the administration of justice, minority employment, and the independence of the Judiciary. He has served as past president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association,  a former chair of its Litigation Section, and a former president of its Barristers Section. He has chaired many committees for the American Bar Association, and has served on its House of Delegates Select Committee and as an American Bar Association Fellow. At the Beverly Hills Bar Association, he serves on the Board of Governors, and has chaired or been a member of numerous committees.  

In addition, Pasternak served as a member of the Judicial Council from 2002 to 2005, and as a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council for a three-year term. He is a member of the California Access to Justice Committee. Pasternak served as President of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, where he continues on the board. He presently serves as Vice-President of the Chancery Club. 

Mr. Pasternak graduated from University of California Los Angeles, cum laude, and received his J.D. from Loyola Law School, cum laude.