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.