Member Spotlight

This month, we are highlighting the achievements of former BLS member, David Gurnick.

David Gurnick who recently passed away unexpectedly was a long time member of the Business Law Section.  He previously served on the BLS’ Franchise Law Committee.  He went to UCLA for his undergraduate studies where he graduated at the top of his class, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and then studied law at the University of California Berkley, School of Law.  While in law school, David served as a judicial extern to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  He was certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law—the very first year the specialization became available.  He was the author of not one but two treatises, both of which were published by the prestigious Juris Publishing.   The first treatise was Franchising Depositions (on taking and defending depositions in franchising cases) and the second treatise was Distribution Law of the United States, first published in 2011 with a second edition published in 2015.

David wrote countless articles for the Franchise Law Journal, the scholarly journal of the ABA Forum on Franchising as well as Valley Lawyer, the publication of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association, among others.  His articles on franchising and cooperatives were cited in California Supreme Court and California Court of Appeal decisions. He served as an adjunct professor of law, teaching franchising at the UC Irvine School of Law and other places.  He testified as an expert in franchising, and was a frequent panelist at the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising and at International Franchise Association Legal Symposiums.    He has the single distinction of serving not once but twice as San Fernando Valley Bar Association President and chaired its Business Law and Litigation Sections. He served as trustee of the University of West Los Angeles College of Law, was the president of the Valley Community Legal Foundation, and was a trustee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He also served as a director of the Valley Bar Mediation Center, a charitable organization devoted to solving disputes through mediation. 

The BLS would like to recognize David Gurnick for his service to the Section, to the franchise legal community and to the legal profession generally.   David, you will be missed.