Friday, January 18, 2008
Page 3
Former Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn Joins ARC’s Panel
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Former Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn has joined private conflict resolution provider Alternative Resolution Centers, LLC’s panel of neutrals, the firm announced yesterday.
Hahn, 57, will focus on resolving disputes involving business, finance, public policy and personal injury issues, the firm said.
Hahn served as the city’s 40th mayor from 2001 to 2005, after serving four terms as Los Angeles city attorney, and one term as city controller of Los Angeles. As mayor, he is credited with reducing crime, reinstating the community policing program, and markedly improving police department morale, ARC said in its release.
He also led the effort to defeat secession in the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and San Pedro and led mayors statewide in negotiating with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and passing measure 1A protecting local government revenues in 2004, the firm noted.
Hahn graduated from Pepperdine University in 1972, and then attended the university’s law school, graduating in 1975. He was admitted to the State Bar of California that year, and began his career as a prosecutor in the city attorney’s office.
He entered private practice in 1979, but returned to public service in 1981 when he was elected to become the city’s fifth, and youngest, controller.
In 1985, he was elected as city attorney where he pioneered the use of civil injunctions against street gangs and drug dealers, created the citywide nuisance abatement program, and sponsored numerous laws dealing with domestic violence and gang violence. Hahn went on to serve a record 16 years in the office until his 2001 election as mayor.
After he was defeated in his 2005 bid for re-election as mayor by current Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Hahn became managing director and partner at Chadwick Saylor & Company, a real estate investment banking and capital management firm with offices in Los Angeles and Atlanta.
Praising the integrity of ARC’s neutrals, Hahn said that he was pleased to be joining the panel.
“In my roles as Mayor, City Attorney and Controller of a city the size of Los Angeles, I had to use negotiation and mediation skills to deal with significant issues virtually every single day,” Hahn said in a statement. “Now I’ll be putting those abilities to use to resolve disputes in the public and private sector.”
ARC President Amy Newman said that the firm was “delighted” that Hahn would be joining its panel, calling him “a nationally-recognized figure who brings a global perspective and an abundance of experience dealing with every imaginable public and private entity.”
“As a lifelong politician and public servant,” Newman said, “[Hahn] is a natural mediator, and he should do well in a wide range of practice areas.”
ARC offers customized programs featuring panelists with subject-specific expertise in complex commercial litigation, corporate law, entertainment, employment, health care, construction defect, personal injury, intellectual property and other areas. It has two Los Angeles locations, Century City and downtown, and provides services throughout the United States.
Copyright 2008, Metropolitan News Company