Judges and Judiciary
Aug. 17, 2002
Appointments In Mendocino And Sonoma
SAN FRANCISCO - Gov. Gray Davis appointed two veteran civil trial lawyers to the Mendocino and Sonoma County superior courts Thursday. Gary Nadler, a litigator, will fill a new post on the Sonoma County bench, while Leonard LaCasse will replace Judge Conrad Cox, who retired from the Mendocino bench.
Gary Nadler, a litigator, will fill a new post on the Sonoma County bench, while Leonard LaCasse will replace Judge Conrad Cox, who retired from the Mendocino bench.
Nadler, 48, represented both plaintiffs and defendants in construction, personal injury, employment discrimination, environmental and general business cases.
For the past year, he was a partner at Lanahan & Reilley, Santa Rosa's largest civil law firm. Before that, he practiced with Petaluma's Williams, Wester, Hall & Nadler, and with Hirschfield & Nadler, as well as with Santa Rosa's Abbey Weitzenberg Hoffman & Emery. He began his career in San Francisco in 1980 as an associate with the late Mayor Joseph Alioto.
"It's wonderful," Santa Rosa trial lawyer and former partner Bart Weitzenberg said on hearing the news. "I don't know who made the decision, but this is absolutely brilliant. He's a perfect candidate."
In the 1980s and '90s, Nadler and his former partner, Frederic Hirschfield, "pretty much owned Petaluma civil trial practice" along with Lounibos Lounibos & Tinney, another civil firm, Weitzenberg said.
Nadler is an adjunct professor teaching discovery at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he earned his law degree in 1980. He has served as a discovery referee in Sonoma County and was a president of the county trial lawyers association.
He wrote the Continuing Education of Bar guide to the California Civil Discovery Act of 1986 and co-wrote a handbook on civil discovery in California.
With Nadler's appointment, there are now 18 judges and four commissioners on the Sonoma County bench. Assistant Presiding Judge Robert Boyd said Nadler is likely to be assigned to a criminal department. The appointment, he added, may allow the court to assign another judge to the busy family law department.
Boyd said Nadler "has a good demeanor, good patience and has a very good way with people."
Nadler said he was "pretty happy" with the appointment. Public service "is a very noble thing to do," he added.
LaCasse, 55, was a sole practitioner in Ukiah, specializing in insurance and general commercial liability defense. He also defended public agencies and police in civil rights actions. LaCasse is a past president of the Mendocino County Bar Association.
"He's a very straightforward, reasonable sort of person," said Ukiah general practitioner Philip DeJong. "I can't imagine a better choice."
LaCasse began his legal career in 1972 as a deputy attorney general in Sacramento. In 1973 he joined the Mendocino County district attorney's office. Five years later, he joined Ukiah's Bell, Cox, Mannion & LaCasse. He opened his own office in 1991.
Nadler and LaCasse will each earn $139,476 a year.
Erik Cummins
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