Carmen A.
Trutanich
was elected
City
Attorney for
the City of
Los Angeles
on May 19,
2009.
Carmen, who
was born and
raised in
the South
Los Angeles
neighborhood
of San
Pedro,
attended
local
schools;
earning both
his
undergraduate
degree and
MBA at the
University
of Southern
California.
After
working
alongside
his father
at San
Pedro's
StarKist
tuna cannery
and teaching
at local
community
colleges,
Carmen
decided to
pursue a law
degree.
Upon
completing
his law
degree at
the South
Bay
University
College of
Law in 1978,
Carmen
joined the
L.A. County
District
Attorney's
Office,
where he cut
his teeth in
the "Hard
Core Gang
Division"
before
playing an
instrumental
role in the
formation
and success
of the
Environmental
Crimes/OSHA
Division.
Determined
to complete
an ongoing
gang
prosecution,
Carmen
became the
first and
only Deputy
D.A. to
secure a
death
verdict
while
assigned to
the
Environmental
Crimes/ OSHA
Unit.
Carmen was
also the
first
prosecutor
in
California
to obtain a
felony
conviction
for illegal
disposal of
hazardous
waste and
the first to
draft a set
of
court-approved
jury
instructions
for
environmental
crimes.
Carmen left
the District
Attorney's
Office in
1988 to work
in private
practice.
In 1998 he
formed
Trutanich-Michel,
LLP, where
he continued
to focus on
environmental
litigation.
Carmen has
been lead
trial
counsel in
more than
300 trials,
including
more than
100 jury
trials.
California
Lawyer
magazine
chose him as
one of the
top 10 in
the field of
environmental
law and land
use in his
roles as
practitioner
and
instructor.
Carmen has
been named a
Southern
California
"Superlawyer"
for the past
four years
in a row,
and has
received an
"AV" rating
from
Martindale-Hubell,
the highest
possible
rating, in
the areas of
legal
ability and
ethical
standards.
Carmen and
his wife
Noreen have
four
children:
Kristin is a
Deputy D.A.
currently
assigned to
Long Beach
Juvenile,
Nicholas
serves as an
Assistant
United
States
Attorney for
the Central
District of
California;
Kimberly is
an educator;
and Caitlin
is studying
at Santa
Clara
University.
