On March 27, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed LACBA members Sarvenaz Bahar and Cherisse Heidi Alcantara Cleofe to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Highly regarded for their leadership and legal expertise, they are two of the governor’s fifteen statewide appointments.

LACBA Immediate Past President Sarvenaz Bahar has been the owner of the Bahar Law Office since 2008. She worked as an Associate and Of Counsel at Morrison & Foerster from 1993 to 2008. Bahar worked as a Sophie Silberberg Fellow at Human Rights Watch from 1992 to 1993. Bahar received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale University. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Jacqueline H. Lewis. Bahar is a Democrat. 

LACBA Litigation Section Chair Cherisse Heidi Alcantara Cleofe, of Orange County, has worked as a Partner at Kiesel Law since 2023 where she held previous roles including Senior Associate from 2021 to 2023 and Associate from 2014 to 2021. Cleofe worked as a Contract Attorney for Providus in 2014. Cleofe received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Stuart M. Rice. Cleofe is a Democrat.

Read the official press release.