At their December 10, 2005 meeting the State
Bar Board of Governors appointed Kenneth
W. Babcock to the California Commission on
Access to Justice as the legal services
representative. Mr. Babcock is the Executive
Director and General Counsel of the Public
Law Center (PLC) in Santa Ana, a pro bono
law firm committed to providing access to
justice for Orange County's low-income
residents.

Mr. Babcock has worked closely with the
Commission since its inception, serving on the
Funding Committee and as past chair of the
Commission's Aranda Access to Justice Award
Selection Committee. He is a graduate of the
University of California at Santa Barbara (B.A.
1978) and the University of California, Davis
(J.D. 1981). Prior to joining the Public Law
Center in September 2000, Babcock spent 11
½ years at Public Counsel in Los Angeles and
7 years in private practice, where he regularly
handled pro bono cases - most of them
through Public Counsel.

He has engaged in various activities involving
the courts and legal services, including two
terms (1999-2005) on the Judicial Council's
Civil & Small Claims Advisory Committee
where he advocated for adoption of a variety of
different court rules and forms designed to
increase access to justice.

Mr. Babcock replaces Toby Rothschild as the
representative for legal services on the
Commission. Mr. Rothschild served on the
Commission from 2001 to 2005, and was Vice
Chair this year. He was liaison to the
Commission from the Legal Aid Association of
California as well as from the LSC Project
Directors Association, and will continue to work
with the Commission in an ex officio capacity.
He has spent his entire legal career working to
improve the delivery of legal services to the
poor and disadvantaged. We would like to
thank Mr. Rothschild for his service on the
Commission and extend our heartfelt
appreciation for his outstanding commitment to
the legal services community.