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John Sullivan Biography
John H. Sullivan,
President of the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC), has
headed the Association since 1995. He oversees a lobbying, research, and
appellate program that is supported by a broad group of businesses,
individuals, and local government groups.
Sullivan launched CJAC's
comprehensive legal and legislative work to reform the state Unfair
Competition Law (Business and Professions Code 17200). In 2001-02 he
organized the research and planning that led to the initiative campaign
"Californians to Stop Shakedown Lawsuits - Yes on 64," and co-chaired
the campaign that won passage of Proposition 64 by a solid 59% to 41%
margin on the November 2004 statewide ballot.
Sullivan chaired a civil
justice working group for newly-elected Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,
developing a set of short and longer-term legal reform options for the
new Administration.
Sullivan was a co-chair
of the 2000 referendum campaign (Proposition 30- 31) that blocked a law
to re-establish costly third-party insurance litigation.
He was a co-chair of the
successful 1996 campaign against Proposition 211, the California
initiative sponsored by plaintiffs' securities lawyers, and also chaired
the campaign that defeated Proposition 207, which would have locked into
law a generous contingency fee system.
He was an advisor to
Governor Pete Wilson's Council on California Competitiveness, whose
investigation included a review of excessive legal costs. Sullivan has
received the American Tort Reform Association's "Civil Justice
Achievement Award" and in 2001 was elected to the ATRA board of
directors.
Sullivan served
two-and-a-half years as chief deputy director of the state Department of
Fish and Game and from 1986 to 1991 was Undersecretary of the state
Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency.
He served on the
post-election transition teams of both former Governor Pete Wilson and
former Governor George Deukmejian.
Sullivan was legal
counsel and legislative director for the California Taxpayers'
Association from 1977 to 1986. He is a Journalism graduate of the
University of California at Berkeley and worked in the newspaper and
public relations fields before earning a law degree at the University of
Pacific's McGeorge School of Law. He has served as a director of the
Sacramento Symphony Orchestra and has received the President's Award
from California Fly Fishers Unlimited for conservation work on the
American River in Northern California.
He is married to Dr.
April Halliday-Sullivan, a Sacramento area veterinarian.
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