Errol Jay Gordon

Background
Errol Jay Gordon was admitted to practice law in the State of California on January 15, 1970, following his graduation from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, California.  He immediately commenced the practice of law at the Western Center on Law and Poverty through the University of Southern California (USC), where he was initially employed as a research assistant.  While at the Western Center, he worked on major litigation law reform projects.

Thereafter, Mr. Gordon was employed as the directing attorney for a neighborhood legal service office with the Long Beach Aid Foundation.  There, the law firm conducted a practice directed toward low income individuals in all areas of the law.  The firm was also active in community projects in the area of education, human rights and the delivery of efficient low cost legal services.

In 1971, Mr. Gordon entered the private practice of law in a partnership with Carl E. Jones, Esquire, the former Los Angeles County Alternate Defense Counsel.  The firm handled criminal, civil and family law matters.  During that time, Mr. Gordon also became counsel to numerous non-profit community development organizations working in the area of drug rehabilitation, education, civil rights and economic development.  In late 1972, Mr. Gordon formed his own law firm, the Law Offices of Errol Jay Gordon, A Professional Corporation, which was located in the downtown Wilshire area of Los Angeles.  The firm’s name subsequently changed to GORDON | GORDON LAWYERS.  However, since 1973 the firm’s office location has remained the same.

Trial Experience
Upon forming his own firm, Mr. Gordon continued the general practice of law, with heavy emphasis on litigation in both civil and criminal cases.  He has tried over forty (40) jury trials, including ten (10) homicides.  He tried the first double jury trial in a criminal case in the State of California.  In addition, he has tried over a thousand cases in the Superior and Federal Courts, including criminal, family law, personal injury, real property and business matters.  Mr. Gordon has tried numerous domestic violence and civil harassment cases.  He has also tried probate cases involving competency determinations, will contests, spousal benefits and creditor claims.  He has also litigated contested guardianship and conservatorship proceedings.

Certified Family Law Specialist
Mr. Gordon is a Certified Family Law Specialist, having been certified by the Board of Legal Specialization on July 15, 1980.  This was the first group of Certified Family Law Specialists to be certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization of the California Bar.  He has been re-certified every five (5) years thereafter through the present.  Mr. Gordon has received the highest peer review rating through Martindale Hubbell’s bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.  In this regard, he has received an AV rating in the areas of legal ethics and professional services.  He has also been designated a super lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine Super Lawyers Edition.

Mr. Gordon maintains his high level of proficiency in the area of family law and family law politics through regular scheduled meetings with other established and experienced attorneys.

Mediation
Mr. Gordon has extensive experience as a family law mediator.  He has mediated a full range of family law issues, including matters pertaining to child custody, visitation, child and spousal support, community property division, and domestic violence.  He has been a Court appointed mediator for the Los Angeles Superior Court for the past thirty (30) years.  He is currently designated as a Mandatory Settlement Conference Mediator through the Los Angeles Alternate Dispute Resolution Department.  This mediation panel is assigned high conflict and complex family law cases.

Mr. Gordon has also  mediated private family law matters which involved high conflict and complex family law issues.  He has experienced a high level of success in resolving the court appointed and private mediation cases he has handled.

Mr. Gordon has also been appointed as a temporary judge through the Los Angeles Superior Court Temporary Judge Program.  In his capacity as a Judge Pro Tem, he has acted as a judicial officer in family law and domestic violence matters.

Appeals
Mr.  Gordon has practiced extensively in the Appellate Courts of the State of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal.  He has represented clients in over forty (40) appeals in criminal and civil matters.  He has had four (4) opinions published.  Of the family law appeals he has instituted, he has obtained three (3) reversals.  He has represented a client in a civil matter to and through the California Supreme Court.

Professional Affiliations
Mr. Gordon has served as:

   * A member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, where he served as a board member of the barristers section.
   * A board member of the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section.
   * A member of the advisory counsel for Levitt and Quinn, a non profit low income law firm.
   * As a general counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Long Beach Chapter.
   * A board member of the Southern California Chapter of the Christian Leadership Counsel (SCCCLC).
   * Vice President and board member of the Southwestern Law School Alumni Sssociation.
   * A Trustee of the Bradley Scholarship Fund at the Southwestern Law School.