Steven Nissen, who also joined the Davis
administration after 16 months heading the bar.
Gersick, 48, departs March 3 for London, where he will serve as
managing director of California’s Europe, Middle East and Africa international trade
and investment offices.
In his new post, Gersick is expected to generate foreign investment
in California, with an anticipated creation of new jobs in the state. He will earn
$94,576. Although the bar board repeatedly asked Gersick to assume the top job, he just as
frequently spurned its overtures.
In December, the board hired executive search firm Korn/Ferry
International, which is expected to bring final candidates for the job to the board for
selection at the end of the month. The board hopes a new executive director will be in
place by June 1.
In a switch from earlier policy, the new chief executive need not be
an attorney to qualify for the job. Instead, the board is looking for “an exceptional
manager,” preferably with legal, legislative and political experience.
When asked what qualifications he is looking for in a new bar leader,
president Andrew Guilford said that he wants “someone just like (Jeff Gersick).”
Although he personally thinks the bar leader should be an attorney,
Guilford said the board has placed a high premium on business acumen.
“The legislature requires us to be very efficient in our
operations,” Guilford noted.
The bar president lauded Gersick’s leadership during a
tumultuous year when the bar operated on a shoestring. “In an arena where everyone is
quick to criticize, I have not heard one criticism of Jeff Ger-sick,” Guilford said.
“He brings an incredibly unique combination of talents to the bar.”
He said the salary for a new executive director is negotiable; Nissen
earned nearly $200,000, but that compensation drew criticism from some quarters, including
the legislature.
Moffat has worked in the bar’s Office of General Counsel since
1978 and has served as counsel to the committee of bar examiners and the Commission on
Judicial Nominees Evaluation (JNE). She also was chief labor and employment counsel for
the bar for seven years.
A graduate of the University of San Francisco law school, Moffat was
admitted to the bar in 1974 and worked in the Alameda and Fresno public defender’s
offices for three years before joining the bar staff.
Quiet and unassuming, the 51-year-old Moffat is well-respected by bar
staff. “She brings a very human quality to her lawyering skills,” said senior
attorney Larry Yee, who described Moffat as “thoughtful and caring.” |
