L.A. Lawyer Named Head of State Bar

Los Angeles attorney Alan I. Rothenberg was elected president of the State Bar of California on Saturday.

Rothenberg, 50, is a senior partner of Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg & Phillips. He was elected by state Bar leaders on a seventh ballot after they deadlocked Friday.

“I offer no magic formulas or solutions, just a pledge to provide energetic and effective leadership,” he told his colleagues.

During his campaign, Rothenberg stressed lawyer and public education, minority access to the profession and the Bar, the battle against substance abuse and improving the status of the Bar among state legislators and the public.

Rothenberg is a vice president and treasurer of the Bar and formerly served as a member of the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Bar Assn. He has also served as president of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team and on the board of directors of the National Basketball Assn.

After multiple ballots Friday by the Bar’s 21-member board of governors, attorney Kevin Culhane of Sacramento had 11 votes and Rothenberg had 10 votes. Twelve votes were needed for election.

Three other candidates--Frank Winston of San Francisco, John McDonnell of Oakland and Patricia Phillips of Los Angeles--were eliminated in early balloting. The board normally has 22 members, but one seat was vacated when Darrell Stevens of Oroville was appointed to a judgeship.

After a second ballot between Culhane and Rothenberg produced the same result, the meeting was adjourned until Saturday.

The one-year term of Colin Wied of San Diego as president of the 117,000-lawyer organization ends in September. Rothenberg will be inaugurated at the Bar’s annual meeting in San Diego in September.