NEWS RELEASE

The National Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue · Williamsburg, Virginia  23185

Contact:
Lorri Montgomery
Communications Manager
The National Center for State Courts
757.259.1525 or lmontgomery@ncsc.dni.us 

Ronald Olson Named Chair of
 Lawyers Committee of National Court Reform Organization

Williamsburg, VA (March 8, 2004) – Ronald L. Olson of the Los Angeles firm Munger, Tolles & Olson has been named chair of the National Center for State Courts’ Lawyers Committee, which involves prominent practicing attorneys in the National Center’s work and programs. Committee members serve in a leadership role with a commitment to support the National Center’s mission, to actively participate in outreach and support for the bench, bar, and the legal community, and to encourage support for the National Center’s programs and initiatives. Inaugural meetings were held recently in Washington, D.C. and in San Francisco in conjunction with the midyear meeting of the Conference of Chief Justices.

“Mr. Olson has the highest level of respect within the legal profession and business community, and we are extremely pleased to have someone of his reputation and experience committed to the work of the National Center,” said Chief Justice of California Ronald M. George, who serves as chair of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts and President of the Conference of Chief Justices.

Mr. Olson specializes in commercial litigation, including antitrust, securities, commercial contracts, and business torts and counsels executives and boards of directors. He currently chairs the Board of Trustees for the RAND Corporation and serves as a director for the Council on Foreign Relations and Southern California Public Radio among others. Mr. Olson started his legal career in 1967 as an attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, and in 1968 he served as a clerk to Chief Judge David L. Bazelon of the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia.

The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a non-profit court reform organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. The National Center, founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, provides education, training, and technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts. The National Center also is taking the lead on several key issues facing the justice system. For example, it has established a major civil justice initiative, a multi-year project that is examining best practices in civil case management and how complex litigation procedures can be improved. Other national initiatives being driven by the National Center include judicial selection reform and increasing citizen participation in jury service.

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