The number of lawyers in the California Legislature continues to dwindle and has hit an all-time low. The percentage of all lawmakers with a California bar card has dropped to 17.5%, a marked decline from 1970 when nearly half of the Legislature was eligible to practice law, Cheryl Miller reported in The Recorder.
In the Assembly, only 15 of the 80 members are lawyers, although three more have attended law school (Curren Price, Anthony Adams, and Mike Eng) but are not licensed in California. Interestingly, only one of the licensed lawyers is a Republican -- Van Tran of Costa Mesa.
In the Senate, only six of the 40 members are California lawyers, although one more, Gil Cedillo, did attend law school at the Peoples' College of Law. Again, only one Republican Senator -- Tom Harman of Orange -- is a lawyer.
Lawyers in the Assembly
Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and graduated from Boston College School of Law. He worked as an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Counsel.
Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) graduated from California State University, Sacramento and went to law school at McGeorge School of Law. She practiced civil litigation at two different Santa Rosa law firms, and was a city council member before joining the Assembly.
Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) attended DePauw University, Harvard Law School and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He worked as a legal aid attorney for Legal Services of Northern California. He was a White House Fellow and also worked under Janet Reno. He plans to run for State Insurance Commissioner in 2010.
Alyson Huber (D-El Dorado Hills) attended Cornell University and received her law degree from University of California Hasting College of Law. She is a former business lawyer who specialized in business litigation and intellectual property law.
Alberto Torrico (D-Fremont) attended Santa Clara University and received his law degree from Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. He was a solo practitioner in his own law firm. He worked at a law firm different from his own, and also worked as a lawyer for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency.
Bill Monning (D-Monterey) attended University of California, Berkley and received his Juris Doctorate from University of San Francisco School of Law. He was a professor at Monterey College of Law, worked as a mediator, and ran a non-profit organization.
Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) attended University of California San Diego and is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law. She was a lawyer for California Rural Legal Assistance, and a founder of a small law firm.
Juan Arambula (D-Fresno) attended Harvard University and Stanford University. He completed his law degree at the University of California, Berkley. He has extensive local government experience, having served on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) attended California State University, San Bernardino and completed his law degree at University of California, Davis. He was a deputy district attorney and a civil litigator, representing nurses and health care practitioners.
Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) attended Claremont Men's College, and graduated from Harvard and from Harvard Law School. The new chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee worked as Executive Director of Bet Tzedek Legal Services. He has taught at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.
Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank) attended the University of Southern California and received his law degree form the University of California, Berkley. He practiced business, entertainment and intellectual property law in the law firm Fisher & Krekorian.
Charles Calderon (D-Whittier) attended California State University, Los Angeles, and University of California at Davis School of Law. Before entering politics, he worked as a prosecutor in the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. First elected to the California Assembly in 1982, he was the first Latino lawyer elected to the Assembly.
Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) attended Stanford University and received his law degree at Georgetown University. He worked as military prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General Corps, and clerked for a Ninth Circuit Judge.
Van Tran (R-Costa Mesa) attended University of California, Irvine and received his law degree at Hamline University. The Vice-Chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee was managing partner of his own law practice.
Martin Block (D-San Diego) attended Indiana University and received his Juris Doctorate from DePaul University College of Law. He was a college professor and dean at San Diego State University.
Lawyers in the Senate
Darrel Steinberg, Senate Pro Tem (D-Sacramento), received his undergraduate degree in economics from University of California at Los Angeles and his law degree from the University of California, Davis. He practiced law for 10 years as an employee-rights attorney for the California State Employees Association and also represented the Maloof brothers, Sacramento developers and owners of the Sacramento Kings.
Ellen Corbett, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee (D-San Leandro), attended Chabot Community College, California State University Hayward, and graduated from University of California, Davis. She received her law degree from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. She was a plaintiff's lawyer in private practice.
Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) studied economics at California State University, Fullerton and graduated from law (and business) school at California State University, Los Angeles. He worked as an investment banker.
Tom Harman (R-Orange) graduated from Kansas State University and graduate d from Loyola of Los Angeles School of Law. He practiced law at the law firm Lucas & Deukmejian.
Denise Moreno Ducheny (D-San Diego) attended Pomona College and received her law degree form Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles. She practiced law in San Diego before entering politics.
Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) attended Colorado College and Stanford University. He received his Juris Doctorate from University of California Berkeley's Boalt Hall. He has worked as an attorney for public schools.