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James E. Towery Appointed Chief Trial Counsel for California State Bar

By Hoge Fenton | 06.14.2010 | Firm Post

We are pleased to announce that our colleague James E. Towery has been appointed as the California State Bar’s Chief Trial Counsel.  If confirmed by the State Senate, Towery will head up the office of 250 attorneys, investigators and support staff that disciplines California lawyers for professional misconduct.

Towery, a renowned expert in legal ethics, has a decades-long history of commitment to the legal profession and to the California State Bar in particular, including chairing the Board of Governors Discipline Committee in 1994, serving as its President in 1995-96, serving on the California Chief Justice’s Commission on Multi-Jurisdictional Practice, and chairing its Task Force on Insurance Disclosure.  In 2008 he was selected as a Lawyer Representative to the federal Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.  Towery also served in the American Bar Association House of Delegates for 10 years and has been selected to the American Board of Trial Advocates.  Towery was named a “Northern California Super Lawyer,” as chosen by his peers and through the independent research of Law & Politicsmagazine, every year since 2005.

At Hoge Fenton, Towery has demonstrated a similar commitment to leadership, previously serving on the firm’s Executive Committee, acting as its risk management counsel, and most recently chairing its litigation practice group.  He has been an important mentor to young litigators and has been instrumental in ensuring that the firm’s associates are afforded a high level of ongoing training in trial advocacy skills.

“It has been a very difficult decision for me to leave Hoge Fenton,” said Towery.  “I have been here for 21 years, and I love the firm — its people and traditions — dearly.  One of the reasons I originally came to Hoge Fenton was the firm’s tradition of public service, as shown by so many lawyers who started at the firm and later became judges in state and federal trial and appellate courts.  I view my departure as one more step in that same tradition.  I will always be indebted to this firm’s commitment to professional values and its high ethical standards.  And I will miss my friends and colleagues at Hoge Fenton very much.”

Dan Ballesteros, a shareholder and member of Hoge Fenton’s Executive Committee, commented, “It has been a privilege to practice with Jim for 21 years.  He is a prime example of our firm’s commitment to the community and this job will be an excellent capstone to his career.”

Steve Siner, the firm’s Managing Shareholder, said, “Any firm with a history such as ours, of having its attorneys elevated to the Bench, inevitably faces these bittersweet moments.  While we will miss Jim greatly, the prestige of his appointment – both for Jim personally and for Hoge Fenton – is significant.  We wish him the very best in this next phase of his career.”

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