Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the appointment of George F. Bird, Frank J. Menetrez, Michael C. Small and Kevin P. Stennis to judgeships in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Bird, 58, of Palos Verdes Estates, has been a criminal trial attorney at Bird and Bird since 1993. He has served as mayor of the City of Palos Verdes Estates since 2015, where he was mayor from 2012 to 2013 and has served as a member of the City Council since 2009. Bird was a senior associate at Anderson, Ablon, Maseda and Lewis from 1991 to 1993 and at Jagiello and Pech from 1990 to 1991. Bird served as a deputy public defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office from 1986 to 1990 and served in the U.S. Navy from 1974 to 1980. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School Los Angeles and an Associate of Arts degree from California State University, Northridge. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Joseph S. Biderman. Bird is a Republican.

Menetrez, 49, of Claremont, has served as an appellate judicial attorney at the California Court of Appeal, Second District since 2005. He was an associate at Horvitz and Levy from 2004 to 2005 and at Sidley Austin from 2001 to 2004. Menetrez served as a law clerk for the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit from 2000 to 2001. He earned Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Arts degrees in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University. Menetrez fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John V. Meigs. Menetrez is a Democrat.

Small, 54, of Los Angeles, has been senior counsel at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld since 2002. He was chief counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California from 1999 to 2000 and a visiting professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law from 1997 to 1999. Small served as a deputy associate attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Associate Attorney  General from 1996 to 1997 and as an attorney-advisor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel from 1993 to 1996. He was an associate at Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering from 1987 to 1993. Small earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Wendy L. Kohn. Small is a Democrat.

Stennis, 58, of Los Angeles, has served as a deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office since 1999. He was acting deputy county counsel at Auxiliary Legal Services in 1999. Stennis earned a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Candace J. Beason. Stennis is a Democrat.

The compensation for each of these positions is $184, 610.