Dordick aims to diversify ABOTA LA Chapter as next president

Gary A. Dordick, who will be sworn in as president of the American Board of Trial Attorney's Los Angeles chapter on Saturday, says he hopes to grow the chapter with an infusion of younger, diverse blood during his term.

"It's very difficult, and has been very difficult, to become a member of ABOTA," Dordick said in a phone interview Wednesday. "The requirements, particularly of being the lead trial lawyer for 10 or 20 trials, has made it such that the majority of the members, both locally and nationally, actually have been older white males, and that's not good for any organization."

It was with this disparity in mind, he said, that the board's national committee recently reduced the number of required jury trials from 10 to 7.

"We've created diversity committees both locally and nationally, and we've made great progress in expanding the organization to include tremendous lawyers from all over the country that are younger, more diverse and a lot more women," Dordick said.

Still, the owner and managing attorney of Dordick Law Corporation in Beverly Hills said the board's Los Angeles chapter - the largest in the nation and one of three nominees for 2024 Chapter of the Year - won't start admitting just any attorney.

"It's one of the very few organizations that you can't just sign up," he said. "You can't pay a membership fee and get in. There's no way into ABOTA without meeting the requirements and going through a very, very extensive background to make sure that the members of the organization have both experience and adhere to the principles of professionalism and civility in the practice of law."

Dordick, in his 30th year as a member of the chapter's board, is succeeding outgoing President James R. Rosen of Rosen Saba LLP in El Segundo, who praised his successor in a phone call on Wednesday.

"I think that Gary will be a terrific president," Rosen said. "He's obviously a successful trial lawyer. He gets along well with everybody. He's high profile and a natural leader, and I think he's perfect for the role as chapter president.

"His priorities of what he wants to do as president are consistent with all of the things that ABOTA needs and has been trying to accomplish, especially with respect to diversity and opportunities for women, minority lawyers and younger lawyers," Rosen continued.

Deborah Chang, founder and partner of Chang Klein LLP in El Segundo and former LA-ABOTA president, agreed.

"Because of his leadership qualities, he's been kind of like a leader in the bar," Chang said in a phone call on Wednesday. "Defense attorneys respect him, plaintiffs' attorneys respect him, and he is a born leader, and he will listen to both sides, and he will be someone that I think the entire membership knows. He's one of us."

Chang, who will accept the 2025 Lee B. Wenzel Civility Award at Saturday's ceremony, said Dordick's commitment to diversity fulfills hopes that she has had for the board since joining.

"When I went to my first ABOTA meeting, I looked around and thought, 'Do I really even want to be here?' Chang said. "The famous way we always refer to it as is pale, stale and male, meaning they're all white, they're elderly, and they are all male, and it wasn't the funnest room in town, let me tell you."

With Dordick's presidency and the revision of trial requirements for ABOTA membership, Chang said she's optimistic that the board can diversify, pointing to the nomination of Beverly Hills attorney John E. Sweeney for CAL-ABOTA trial attorney of the year.

"He's an amazing attorney of color, and I love him, and I think he's like the future face of ABOTA: dynamic, fabulous, involved, passionate, excellent in the courtroom and very active in ABOTA in both a local and national level," Chang said of Sweeney.

Sweeney also welcomed Dordick as the next president, praising his leadership skills in a phone call on Wednesday.

"You can want to be a leader all you want, but you can't be a leader unless somebody is willing to follow you," Sweeney said. "We all follow Gary without reservations, because we know of his 40-year reputation, and he has the full backing of ABOTA because we want to follow him, and we know this year that he is leading us he's going to take us to new heights."