NEWS RELEASE
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
Contact: Judy Hammond, Director of Public Affairs, (213) 974-1363
Brian Lew, Assistant Director, (213) 974-1652
September 24, 2008
PUBLIC DEFENDER ON TOP 100 LAWYERS LIST
Los Angeles County Public Defender Michael P. Judge has been named by the Daily Journal as one of California’s top 100 lawyers in 2008.
Judge was cited for promoting diversity within the Public Defender’s Office and for being instrumental in the passage of the 2008 federal College Cost Reduction and Access Act.
The federal legislation relaxed repayment of student loans for law school graduates and forgives the unpaid balance after a decade of public practice, encouraging students to choose a career in public service.
Judge, 64, joined the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office more than 35 years ago and was named public defender by the Board of Supervisors in May 1994.
The Daily Journal recognition is not his first this year. His efforts on the student loan legislation prompted California Lawyer Magazine in April to name him as one of its Attorneys of the Year, and the State Bar of California in July selected him for its 2008 Diversity Award for his leadership in hiring and promoting women and minorities. In August it was announced that the Public Defender’s Office was part of a six-agency California team chosen to participate in a select national effort to improve the legal system for indigent youth.
The Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office is the largest criminal defense firm in the world. Women comprise more than 50 percent of the staff, and 40 percent of attorneys are men and women of color.
-- lacounty.gov --
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