California Supreme Court Names Chair, Vice-Chair of State Bar Board of Trustees

The Supreme Court of California on Friday announced appointments to the State Bar Board of Trustees and the Committee of Bar Examiners.

The court named Ruben Duran as chair of the Board of Trustees for a one-year term. Duran was appointed to the board in 2018 by the Speaker of the Assembly and served the past year as the board's vice chair. He is a partner at Best Best & Krieger, LLP in Ontario.

The court appointed Brandon Stallings, a Kern County Deputy District Attorney, as vice chair of the Board of Trustees for a one-year term.

The court also made appointments to the Committee of Bar Examiners. The committee oversees development and administration of the California Bar Exam and reviews the moral character determination and admissions processes for attorneys. The committee also accredits state law schools and registers unaccredited state law schools.

The court made the following officer appointments to the committee for one-year terms:

• Alex Lawrence, assistant dean of MBA admissions at UCLA, as chair. Lawrence currently serves as vice-chair and was reappointed by the Governor to a third term on the committee this year. He has served since 2014 as a public member.
   
• Attorney Paul Kramer as vice chair. He has been a member of the committee since 2016, originally appointed by the Board of Trustees.

Re-appointed to four-year terms are:

• Alex Chan, a partner with Devlin Law Firm LLC;
   
• Judge James Herman of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court;
   
• Esther Lin, Orange County Deputy District Attorney;
   
• Bethany Peak, attorney with LimNexus LLP in Los Angeles.