OCBA Past President Dean Zipser, co-founding partner of Umberg Zipser LLP, will serve on Governor Newsom’s Judicial Selection Advisory Committee. The public listing of the members of the eight regional committees is a result of Governor Newsom’s commitment to increasing transparency in government. The JSACs are comprised of attorneys and judges, selected by the Judicial Appointments Secretary, who are in good standing with the State Bar of California and are diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender, as well as substantive legal practice areas. Zipser and his fellow committee members will provide preliminary, non-partisan feedback on candidates and help promote a diverse and inclusive nomination process for California’s judiciary.

In a press release distributed by the Governor’s office, Governor Newsom says, “Judges make decisions every day that affect every Californian. The people of our state have little insight on the process by which judges are chosen, it is only fair that the public knows who is helping to select the people who will serve them. I thank the new members of the Judicial Selection Advisory Committees for taking on this essential function of our democracy.”