Candidate says experience is key
Karen S. Kim
GLENDALE -- California State Bar Court Judge Paul A. Bacigalupo said
judicial experience is what makes him most qualified for filling the seat
of retiring Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Finkel.
Bacigalupo, 42, is running against three candidates for Finkel’s seat
in March’s countywide election.
“I believe strongly and passionately that as a judge in the Superior
Court, I can make a difference in our community and in individual lives,”
Bacigalupo said. “I think I can bring tremendous, critical energy and
experience to the position.”
The Encino resident, who has been a state bar court judge since 2000,
serves on a panel of five trial judges. In November, Bacigalupo was
appointed to be the supervising judge of the panel, he said.
The panel hears and decides cases involving attorney discipline and
regulatory matters of the state bar. The bar receives more than 100,000
complaints filed against attorneys by other attorneys, clients and judges
each year, Bacigalupo said.
“I thought it was an exciting opportunity to be involved in a court
that’s committed to protecting the administration of justice and the
legal profession,” Bacigalupo said.
Bacigalupo said he has also been appointed to supervise a court
program for attorneys accused of substance abuse. Before his service
behind the bench, Bacigalupo spent over 10 years as a private-practice
attorney, has served as a volunteer judge pro-tem and worked as an
arbitrator and mediator for several courts in Los Angeles County from
1994 to 2000, he said.
Bacigalupo faces Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Steven
Lubell, Los Angeles Dist. Atty. David Gelfound and insurance defense
litigation attorney David Crawford in the March 5 primary.