Chatsworth Lawyer to Head Bar Group

A Chatsworth attorney specializing in franchising and trademark law has been made president of the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn.

David Gurnick, 34, officially took charge of the 900-member legal trade group Friday, saying he would fight to improve the reputation of lawyers and the courts.

“This is a profession that serves the public,” Gurnick said Monday. “This is an opportunity to re-instill the pride of being a lawyer.”

A partner in the Woodland Hills office of the law firm Kindel & Anderson, Gurnick said he planned to expand the bar association’s lawyer referral and information service, which matches potential clients with Valley lawyers best suited to their needs.

He also plans to hold seminars to improve public knowledge of how the legal system works, and numerous “Talk to a Lawyer” sessions in Valley malls, in which residents receive free five-minute consultations with attorneys.

A Los Angeles native and Valley resident for 14 years, Gurnick graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA in 1981. He received his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley in 1984.

Bar association Treasurer David R. Hagen said he expects Gurnick to bolster the association’s membership, which includes only about one-tenth of the attorneys practicing law in the Valley.

“This is a real opportunity for us,” Hagen said, noting that the association enjoyed a significant membership gain when Gurnick held the position of trustee in charge of new members.

“One of the things we’ll focus on is really making it worth someone’s while to join the bar.”

Gurnick, who replaced outgoing president Thomas Trent Lewis, will serve for one year as president.