Biography

RICHARD A. LEWIS, ESQ.

Woodland Hills Attorney

A Trusted Law Firm For Your Choice

December 7, 1988 – Admitted to the California State Bar and the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

OVERVIEW AND EXPERIENCE

Richard A. Lewis, J.D., is a sole practitioner with a general legal practice in Woodland Hills. Admitted to the California State Bar, the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and the United States Supreme Court, Mr. Lewis currently represents clients in the areas of Probate (Decedent Estates), Conservatorships and Guardianships, Estate Planning (Wills and Trusts), and Family Law. Mr. Lewis assisted clients in the administration of Trust Estate and has represented Trustees in Trust litigation. Mr. Lewis has also represented clients in contested court trials and proceedings. Mr. Lewis has argued probate cases in the Appellate Court and has a published opinion to his credit.

Mr. Lewis is a Past President of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association, a current Director of the Valley Community Legal Foundation and is a former Trustee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, a past Director of San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., a legal services organization funded by the Federal Legal Services Corporation, which provides legal services to low-income persons, and a past member of the Legal Services Managing Committee of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a legal services organization located in West Los Angeles. Mr. Lewis is also a past member of the executive committee of the Family Law Section of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association.

Mr. Lewis is a current member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service and of the Beverly Hills Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service. Mr. Lewis is a former member of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service, formerly serving as co-chair of the managing committee for the Referral Service and also on the panels for Family Law, Probate, and Estate Planning. Mr. Lewis also serves on the various modest means panels of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service- panels devoted to providing low-cost legal services to low income and modest means individuals.

Mr. Lewis is a current member of the Wills and Estate panels of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the Beverly Hills Bar Association.

Mr. Lewis is a family law mediator in the Van Nuys Court and has served as a Judge Pro Temp in the Van Nuys and San Fernando Courts.

Mr. Lewis was admitted to the California State Bar and the United States District Court for the Central District of California in 1988, after receiving his Juris Doctorate degree from Southwestern University School of Law. While attending Southwestern, he was honored as the recipient of an Exceptional Achievement Award and as an alternate finalist in the Second Year Moot Court competition. Since he began practicing law, Mr. Lewis has continued to update and enlarge his legal education and knowledge through seminar courses in various specialties, and through other programs presented by Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the San Fernando Valley Bar Association.

On October 15, 2007, Mr. Lewis was admitted as an Attorney and Counselor of the United States Supreme Court of the United States.

Prior to embarking on his legal career, Mr. Lewis was a lending officer and operations supervisor with Security Pacific National Bank, and a respected school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, as well as a reserve officer in the United States Army Reserves and the California National Guard. A veteran of the war in Viet Nam, he has traveled widely since his military service, traveling on four continents as well as the Middle East (Israel) and in the islands of the Caribbean and the South Pacific. He is an avid jazz fan and enjoys travel, cooking, genealogy, photography, and chess. He and his wife, Julie, and their son, Matthew, reside in Granada Hills.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

• » Order of Distinguished Attorneys
• » Former member, Rotary Club of Los Angeles (LA5)
• » Former Member, Woodland Hills-Tarzana Chamber of Commerce Pro Bono Services
• » Past volunteer, Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law
• » Past volunteer, Maynard Toll Center
• » Past volunteer, Family Law Center, San Fernando Neighborhood Legal Services

PRACTICE AREAS

• » Probate Law
• » Conservatorships & Guardianships
• » Estate Law / Wills & Trusts
• » General Practice
• » Family Law

EDUCATION, MEMBERSHIPS AND BAR ADMISSIONS

→ LAW SCHOOL

HONORS

• » Southwestern University School of Law | Los Angeles, CA Juris Doctorate – May 1988

→ EDUCATION

• » California State University at Los Angeles
• » Masters of Arts in Education, 1979
• » Elementary Education Credential, 1978
• » Graduate studies, Political Science and Political Philosophy, 1977
• » Bachelors of Arts in Political Science, 1971

→ ADMITTED TO PRACTICE

• » U.S. Supreme Court
• » U.S. District Court, Central District of California
• » U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
• » State of California Superior Court

→ MEMBERSHIPS

• » U.S. Supreme Court Bar
• » California State Bar
• » Los Angeles County Bar Association
• » San Fernando Valley Bar Association
• » Beverly Hills Bar Association
• » Probate & Trust Section, L.A. County Bar Association
• » Probate & Trust Section, San Fernando Valley Bar Association
• » Probate & Trust Section, Beverly Hills Bar Association
• » Family Law Section, San Fernando Valley Bar Association
• » Lawyer Referral Service, Los Angeles County Bar Association
• » Lawyer Referral Service, Beverly Hills Bar Association

HONORS

• » Honoree, LA Law Library Oral History Project honoring outstanding lawyers and judges
• » Super Lawyer 2012
• » 2007 Nominee, “25 Top Lawyers in San Fernando Valley”
• » Alternate Finalist, Second Year Moot Court Competition
• » Exceptional Achievement Award (Future Interests)

• » Past President, San Fernando Valley Bar Association (SFVBA)
• » President, San Fernando Valley Bar Association
• » President-Elect, San Fernando Valley Bar Association
• » Secretary, San Fernando Valley Bar Association
• » Treasurer, San Fernando Valley Bar Association
• » Former Trustee, San Fernando Valley Bar Association
• » Former Trustee, Los Angeles County Bar Association
• » Former Affiliate Trustee (SFVBA), Los Angeles County Bar Association
• » Former SFVBA Representative, MultiCultural Bar Alliance
• » Former Director, Valley Community Legal Foundation (VCLF)
• » Former Member, VCLF Scholarship Committee
• » Former Member, VCLF Fundraising Committee
• » Fee Dispute Arbitrator, San Fernando Valley Bar Association Fee Dispute Program
• » Past Director, San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc
• » Past Member, Legal Services Managing Committee, Bet Tzedek Legal Services
• » Former Member, Executive Committee, San Fernando Valley Bar Association
• » Former Member, Executive Committee, Family Law Section, SFVBA
• » Past Chair, SFVBA Diversity Committee
• » Past Chair, SFVBA Past Presidents Council
• » Past Chair, Pro Bono Legal Services to Military Committee, SFVBA
• » Past Co-Chair, SFVBA Lawyer Referral and Information Service Managing Committee
• » Past Member, LACBA Lawyer Referral and Information Service Managing Committee

RECOGNITIONS

• » Certificate of Recognition, California State Senate, Senator Tom McClintock
• » Certificate of Recognition, California State Senate, Senator Sheila James Kuehl
• » Certificate of Recognition, California State Senate, Senator George Runner
• » Certificate of Appreciation, California State Assembly, Assemblyman Keith S. Richman
• » Certificate of Recognition, Assembly Member, Fran Pavley
• » Certificate of Recognition, Office of City Attorney, Rockard J. Delgadillo
• » Proclamation from the Attorney General, State of California, Bill Lockyer
• » Certificate of Appreciation, City of Los Angeles, Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Mayor
• » Letter of Recognition, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
• » Letter of Recognition, Senator Dianne Feinstein
• » Letter of Recognition, Congressman Henry A. Waxman and Congressman Howard Berman
• » Letter of Recognition, Assemblyman Robert M. Hertzberg
• » Letter of Recognition, Office of Attorney General, State of California, Bill Lockyer
• » Certificate of Recognition, Los Angeles County District Attorney
• » Certificate of Recognition, County of Los Angeles, Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Michael Antonovich

OTHER EXPERIENCE

• » Classroom Teacher, Grades 3 through 6 (1978 – 1989)
  Los Angeles Unified School District
  Taught multiple subjects to students; prepared and presented lessons; wrote and graded exams.
  Served as faculty chair, faculty treasurer, grade level chair, testing coordinator, and United Teachers of Los Angeles representative.

• » Past Chair, SFVBA Long-Range Planning Committee
• » Former Member, SFVBA Facilities Committee
• » Former Member, LACBA Diversity Summit Planning Committee
• » Former Member, SFVBA Bench-Bar Committee
• » Former Member, LACBA Diversity in the Profession Committee
• » Former Member, LACBA Diversity Summit Planning Committee
• » Former Member, LACBA Shattuck-Price Award Committee
• » Former Member, LACBA Nominating Committee
• » Family Law Mediator, Van Nuys Superior Court
• » Former Judge Pro Temp, Van Nuys Superior Court
• » Former Judge Pro Temp, San Fernando Municipal Court
• » Former SFVBA Representative, Los Angeles Superior Court Bench-Bar Committee
• » Speaker for Bridging-the-Gap program in the area of Family Law 1996-1998
• » Speaker for the Law Day Ask-a-Lawyer program
• » Guest Panelist, SFVBA Lawyer Referral & Information Service Cable Program on Divorce
• » Past Volunteer, SFVBA Annual Blanket-the-Homeless day
• » Past Volunteer at the Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law
• » Past Volunteer for Family Law Center, San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Service
• » Member, Southwestern University School of Law Black Law Student Advisory Committee

ARTICLES FEATURED IN

• » Heart and Soul Practitioners,” California Lawyer, September, 1998
• » San Fernando Valley Business Journal, November 21, 2005

PUBLISHED OPINION

• » In re Estate of Coplan, 123 Cal App. 4″ 1384, 20 Cal.Rpt.3d 686

MILITARY EXPERIENCE

• » 1972 – 1976 U.S. Army Reserve
• » 1968 – 1969 U.S. Army (Republic of Viet Nam)
• » 1964 – 1968 California National Guard
• » Rank: 1 Lt. Served with 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, U.S. Army (Republic of VietNam)
• » 18th Armored Cavalry Regiment, California National Guard
• » Awarded Purple Heart – August, 1969
• » Graduate: California Military Academy, August 4, 1967

• » Classroom Teacher, Grades 3 through 6 (1978 – 1989)
  Los Angeles Unified School District
  Taught multiple subjects to students; prepared and presented lessons; wrote and graded exams.
  Served as faculty chair, faculty treasurer, grade level chair, testing coordinator, and United Teachers of Los Angeles representative.

• » Lending Officer/Operations Supervisor (1971-1976)
  Security Pacific National Bank
  Supervised branch operations; supervised and trained branch staff; interviewed loan applicants; reviewed and evaluated loan applications, and made loan and credit approvals; evaluated and purchased loan contracts from auto dealers for branch office; handled loan collections; negotiated new terms for problem loans.
  As operations supervisor, received and processed legal documents regarding bankruptcy, death and garnishments.
  Dealt extensively with depositors, including individuals, small businesses and corporations.