The Alta Group, a global financial consultancy, is pleased to announce that Paul Bent, a Senior Managing Director of the firm and the head of Alta’s Legal Support Services Practice, has been named the Long Beach, California, Lawyer of the Year for 2012.  The award will be presented by the Long Beach Bar Association during its 96th annual Installation of Officers on January 25, 2013.

The Long Beach Bar Association was founded in 1917 as an association for attorneys, judges, and legal professionals in the City of Long Beach, California (a city of 500,000 near Los Angeles), and communities throughout the greater Los Angeles area.  Its mission is to serve its nearly 400 members and the legal profession by providing educational opportunities for lawyers, creating avenues for interaction with the judiciary, and providing assistance and education to the public as they seek to access the legal system.  The Association’s Lawyer of the Year award has been presented every year since 1984, with past honorees including public officials, former presidents of the State Bar of California, and other leading members of the legal community.

Paul Bent has been an active member of the California Bar for nearly 35 years.  An honors graduate of UCLA in mathematics and computer science and a law review graduate of Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, he began his legal career in the field of computer law (then in its infancy) and is a former president of the International Technology Law Association.  Having served two terms on the Board of Governors of the Long Beach Bar Association, he continues to chair its Technology Committee and remains active in the Association’s work and programs.  He has been elected a Master of the Bench in the Long Beach chapter of the American Inns of Court, where he is a member of the Executive Committee and has served since 2005 as Inn Treasurer.  He is a former Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, was a member of the board and treasurer of the Southern California Mediation Association, and serves annually as a judge in the finals of the Southwestern Law School national negotiation competition.

“The Alta Group is proud to extend our congratulations to Paul Bent upon his receipt of this prestigious and exceptional award,” said Alta CEO John C. Deane.

Since 1992, The Alta Group has represented equipment leasing and finance companies, banks, manufacturers and service providers.  Alta’s Legal Support Services Practice includes expert witness and litigation support, alternative dispute resolution, compliance reviews, and a range of related services to the equipment leasing legal community.