Palisadian Named President of Beverly Hills Bar Association

By JENNIKA INGRAM | Reporter

On September 26, Palisadian lawyer Michael Sohigian became the next president of the Beverly Hills Bar Association in a ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It’s a one-year volunteer appointment for the Chautauqua Boulevard resident, who is committed to the development of younger generations.

“My focus for the year is to try and communicate to younger lawyers,” he explained to the Palisadian-Post. “We need to let them know, as a young lawyer, the benefit of being an active member of the bar association.”

Sohigian has been a member of the BHBA for more than a decade and a sole practitioner with more than 25 years of experience in civil litigation, emphasizing business law.

Sohigian wants to expose the new generation to all the opportunities BHBA has to offer, such as room to create new relationships, exposure to senior lawyers, an avenue to improve self-confidence, job opportunities and business referrals.

He is an advocate for all the things you can learn outside of work that can apply to work—for example, developing communication skills, organization and how to get things done. He’s a big proponent of working together and joining committees and more.

“That’s the best way to really forge a relationship that can lead to better opportunities,” Sohigian said.

Sohigian has moved up the ranks, from his initial appointment as secretary-treasurer to president-elect over a four-year span. He was sworn in, along with five other members.

He is also a former member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar’s Litigation Section, for which he has co-authored the “Insurance Law” chapter of the Bar’s annual Litigation Review for the past six years, as well as publishing on a wide variety of legal issues.

His other plans include utilizing BHBA’s top-of-the-line website to connect their lawyers with nonprofits in the community, as well as helping to replace and train their current longtime CEO, who is retiring this year.

“One of the things that will be a big job in my year is working with that person because he or she will need a lot of help because he or she won’t have the 16 years of experience that our current CEO has,” Sohigian explained.

Michael and Katherine Sohigian moved to Pacific Palisades about a year-and-a-half ago when their son Adam began at Paul Revere Charter Middle School. He previously attended Palisades Charter Elementary School.

The father and son team are part of the local Palisades Scouts BSA Troop 223. Sohigian participates as an assistant scoutmaster, and Adam is in his third year with the troop. This past summer, they went on a two-week backpacking and kayaking trip to Alaska with over 100 other Scouts.

“It’s a big part of our lives,” said Sohigian, who still managed to find time to run his first-ever LA marathon this past February.

Sohigian holds a JD from Hastings College of Law after earning a Bachelor of Arts in history from UC Berkeley.