Former Rancho PV Mayor Appointed to the Bench

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA - A former Rancho Palos Verdes city councilman and mayor was among four people appointed Wednesday as Los Angeles Superior Court judges by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Thomas D. Long, 58, a partner at Nossaman LLP since 1991, served on the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council from 2003 to 2011 and was mayor in 2007 and 2011.

Also appointed to the bench were:

• Francis B. Bennett II, 50, who has been a deputy alternate public defender with the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender’s Office since 1995;
• Joel L. Lofton, 44, who has been a deputy public defender with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office since 2005 and a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps since 2011; and
• David A. Rosen, 59, who has been a partner at Rose, Klein and Marias LLP since 1988.

The four fill vacancies created by the retirement of Superior Court Judges Patricia M. Schnegg, Rand S. Rubin, Ronald H. Rose and Patrick J. Hegarty.

--City News Service, photo courtesy of Nossaman LLP