Garo Mardirossian installed as president of LA Consumer Attorneys Association

Published: Wednesday February 03, 2010

From left, Justice Marvin Baxter, Garo Mardirossian and Justice Carlos Moreno. Baxter and Moreno are Associate Justices of the California Supreme Court. Baxter administered the oath at the CAALA Installation Dinner where Mardirossian assumed the rank of President.

Beverly Hills, Calif. - Decorated trial attorney Garo Mardirossian was sworn in as President of the Consumer Attorneys Association (CAALA) at the group's 61th Annual Installation and Awards Dinner at the posh Beverly Wilshire Hotel on January 23, 2010.

Marvin Baxter, the second most senior Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, was on hand to administer the oath to the incoming Board of Governors of CAALA. In what can only be described as an extremely proud moment for the Armenian legal community, Mardirossian acknowledged his Armenian background, the struggle of his parents and grandparents to survive the Genocide, and his commitment to his community and the organization he will now head. He introduced Baxter, pointing out that in addition to being the highest ranking judicial officer of Armenian descent in the United States, that both share their ancestry from the region of Kharpert.

Baxter praised the great work and mission of CAALA, and emphasized that it was a special honor to swear in the Board, specifically Mardirossian. Baxter also pointed out that his lineage extended from Khokh, a village in the Kharpert region of Western Armenia. He reminded the audience of the struggle the Armenians endured, and what a tremendous accomplishment Mardirossian's elevation to the presidency of CAALA is in light of those challenges.

Also joining the Board of Governors of CAALA for the 2010 term were fellow Armenians Carney Shegerian and Armen Tashjian. In attendance to support Mardirossian were several Board members of the Armenian Bar Association, including Vice-Chairman Edvin Minassian, Treasurer Sara Bedirian, Federal Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian, Garo Ghazarian, Dean of the Peoples College of Law, John Lulejian, Hovanes Margarian, Nigol Manoukian, Past Chairmen Armen Hovannisian, Vicken Simonian, and Judge Zaven Sinanian, past Treasurer Saro Kerkonian and Judge Gregory Keosian. On many occasions, Mardirossian has been a special guest speaker at Armenian Bar meetings and seminars.

CAALA (formerly know as the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association) was formed in 1949, and with nearly 3,000 members is the largest association of Plaintiff's lawyers in the United States. Among its many goals, the influential group is active in the promotion of legislation intended to protect the rights and interests of consumers of the State of California.

Several members of the California judiciary were in attendance, including Baxter, Carlos Moreno, a fellow Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, two justices from the California Courts of Appeal, and Federal Magistrate Judge Chooljian. Forty-five judges from the Los Angeles County court system were also present, including Presiding Judge Charles McCoy, Assistant Presiding Judge Lee Edmon, Judge Sinanian, who sits at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles and Judge Keosian, who sits in the Van Nuys courthouse in the San Fernando Valley.

Also in attendance were numerous politicians, including California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, California State Controller John Chiang, seven California State Senators and 18 members of the California State Assembly. Ara Najarian, City Councilman and former Mayor of Glendale, was also in attendance. Najarian and Mardirossian are first cousins.

In 2000 Mardirossian was voted CAALA's "Trial Lawyer of the Year." He has been on the Board of Governors for 16 years, and is the first person of Armenian descent ever to become president of the prestigious organization. Mardirossian and his wife Kathy have been married for 23 years. Their daughter Ani is a junior at UCLA, Garo's alma mater. Daughter Nora is a sophomore at UCSB, and their son Kevork is in the fourth grade. Ani and Nora are both exceptional student athletes, achieving numerous awards while attending Marymount High School in West Los Angeles. As a possible precursor to following in her father's footsteps, Nora is a member of a law fraternity and competed in moot court. In 2009, Kevork was named in a select group of "Athletes of the Year" in the Palisadian Post, the Pacific Palisades local newspaper, for his feats in football and basketball.

The Mardirossians are the managing partners of Mardirossian and Associates, a seven-lawyer boutique personal injury firm, where Mr. Mardirossian achieved multi-million dollar jury verdicts in several cases over his 28 year career. Notably, a $24.85 million judgment rendered in the case of Dole v. County of Los Angeles in 1995 remains the largest police brutality verdict ever achieved in California. As recently as May, 2009, Mardirossian obtained a judgment of $21.6 million in the case of Pannu v. Land Rover North America, Inc. In that case, Mardirossian proved that a defective design in the Land Rover resulted in an accident causing his client to become paralyzed. Armen Akaragian, Mardirossian's nephew, and an associate in the firm, assisted in trying the Pannu case, and was on hand at the CAALA reception, along with his mother, Garo's sister, Salpy Akaragian.

"I am honored to lead this great organization of trial lawyers," said Mardirossian. "During my term as President, I will work with the Board of Governors to continue our efforts to increase our membership, form liaisons with other Bar Associations and defend the rights of the citizens of California against special interests seeking to erode the rights of the consumers of this great State," he said. Randy Mc Murray of the Cochran Law Firm the outgoing President of CAALA introduced Mardirossian at the reception.

Several awards were presented by CAALA at the banquet, and included:

Justice Laurence Rubin, Appellate Justice of the Year;
Bruce Minto, Trial Judge of the Year;
Arash Homampour, Trial Lawyer of the Year;
Sharon Arkin, Appellate Lawyer of the Year;
Amy Solomon, Ted Horn Memorial Award for significant contributions to the organization.