Interim Chief Trial Counsel Named

From the September 2011 California Bar Journal:

Jayne Kim, a former State Bar prosecutor and current assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, was named interim chief trial counsel last month. She said her goal is to achieve a “zero/zero” goal — eliminating the discipline backlog while assuring zero tolerance for attorney misconduct in California. Kim replaces James Towery, who resigned in June after less than a year on the job.

The comment of David Cameron Carr is worth reading. Whether “zero tolerance” is rhetoric or policy, it does ignore the principle that the bar should educate its members as well as punish those who present a danger to the public. Perhaps the comment will trigger some useful debate about the proper role of professional disciplinary regulators.

(Mike Frisch)