Beverly Hills Bar Association Installation Dinner

John K. Rubiner, principal of the Century City law firm Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg, APC, will be installed as President of the Board of Governors of the Beverly Hills Bar Association (BHBA) at the organization’s annual Installation and Awards Dinner on Thursday, September 27, 2012, 5:30 P.M., at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.  Rubiner, the BHBA’s 81st President, will be sworn in by The Honorable Howard Matz, Judge of the United States District Court, Central District of California.  The guest speaker is Tavis Smiley, host of the noted talk show Tavis Smiley on PBS and co-host of Smiley and West, named to TIME’S 2009 list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.”

Rubiner’s practice concentrates on complex civil litigation and white collar criminal defense with an emphasis on employment matters at the trial and appellate levels.  In addition, he handles litigation in a wide range of business disputes and internal investigations.  Rubiner has successfully tried employment cases involving allegations of wrongful terminations, discrimination, failure to accommodate a disability and harassment.  He has a long involvement with the Beverly Hills Bar Association and was honored with both the organization’s “Barristers Lawrence J. Blake Award” and the “Executive Director’s Award.”  Rubiner is the fifth past Barristers President to become BHBA President.  A graduate of the University of Illinois, he earned a J.D. at the University of California at Los Angeles. 

Judge Matz also installs Rubiner’s cabinet as well as the officers for the BHBA Barristers, the young lawyers’ section of the Bar Association, and the Beverly Hills Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the BHBA.  In addition, several BHBA awards will be presented for outstanding service.  The event comes on the heels of the BHBA’s dynamic 80th anniversary celebration and ribbon cutting for the organization’s new 9,500-square-foot office and conference center in Beverly Hills’ Rolex Building on Wilshire Boulevard held in June.

In addition to Rubiner, other Board of Governors officers being sworn in are President-Elect Diane L. Karpman, of Karpman & Associates, in Beverly Hills; First Vice-President Linda E. Spiegel, certified mediator-attorney at law; Second Vice-President Howard S Fredman, of Fredman Knupfer Lieberman LLP, in Century City; Secretary/Treasurer Howard S. Fisher, of the Law Offices of Howard S. Fisher in Beverly Hills; and Immediate Past President Lawrence H. Jacobson, of the Law Offices of Lawrence H. Jacobson in Beverly Hills.

The BHBA Barristers cabinet members to be installed are President Jeanine Percival Wright, of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, LLP, in Century City; President Elect Autumn Ronda, of Valensi Rose, PLC, in Century City; Treasurer Jonathan Dennis, of Rosen Saba LLP, in Beverly Hills; Secretary Megan Pietzke, of Cozen O'Connor in Los Angeles; and Immediate Past President Jaison Benjamin, of Clinton & Clinton, in Long Beach.

Beverly Hills Foundation leadership to be invested includes President Dawn Coulson, of Epps Yong & Coulson in Los Angeles; President-Elect Bonita Moore, of Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg, APC, in Century City; Co-Vice Presidents Development Stephen P. Webb, of Tilles Webb et al, in Beverly Hills, and Michelle J. Correll of the Law Offices of Michelle J. Correll; Treasurer/CFO Gillian N. Brown, of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP, in Los Angeles; Vice President Scholarship Robert Aronoff, of Law Offices of Robert C Aronoff, in Beverly Hills; Vice-President Grants Linda Blank, of Law Offices of Linda M Blank, in Century City; Secretary Marc A. Lieberman, of Fredman Knupfer Lieberman LLP, in Century City; and Immediate Past President Uzzi Raanan, of Danning, Gill, Diamond & Kollitz, LLP, in Century City.

Outstanding service awards are being presented to the following BHBA members: Doron F. Eghbali, of Law Advocate Group in Beverly Hills receives the President’s Award; Gary S. Greene of the Law Offices of Gary S. Greene in Los Angeles receives the Board of Governors’ Award; Robert M. Ashen, of Law Offices of Robert M Ashen in Beverly Hills, accepts the Executive Director’s Award; and the Barristers’ Lawrence J. Blake Award goes to Brian Smith, of Law Offices of Thomas J Smith in Encino, and Anton Labrentz of the Mark Rosenfeld in Beverly Hills.

Proceeds from the Installation and Awards Dinner support the educational and community outreach programs of the BHBA.

The Beverly Hills Bar Association, serving the Los Angeles region since 1931, is the fifth largest bar association in California with more than 5,400 members.  Its mission is to serve its members, to lead the legal profession and to advocate for justice in the community.

The Installation Dinner is sponsored by West LegalEdCenter, providers of online continuing legal education, and Matloff Life and Health Insurance.  Tickets to the dinner are $185 per person until September 17 and $200 thereafter.  The Four Seasons Hotel is located at 300 South Doheny Drive in Los Angeles.  For tickets or information call (310) 601-2422 or visit www.bhba.org.