For Bloom, it’s all in the family as he takes on new challenges
Councilman Richard Bloom’s worlds are about to collide — and he couldn’t be happier.
As an attorney practicing family law, Bloom enjoys the interaction he has with his clients, as well as the ability to help resolve complex and often highly emotional conflicts within families that may have otherwise caused them to disintegrate if left untreated.
As a representative of Friends of Sunset Park and as a member of the Santa Monica City Council, Bloom has been able to solve conflicts on a much larger scale, and in turn make the lives of the community better, much like he has done with his private practice.
With his new job as executive director of the Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center, the 52-year-old Bloom now has the opportunity to practice law, while at the same time serve the public by providing low-cost legal advice to families in need.
“What is remarkable about family law is that we see families in crisis, and my focus has always been on trying to find the best way to relieve that crisis and find a way to make families function better,” Bloom said. “Having been elected to Friends of Sunset Park and the City Council, I have developed a love for public service.
“Levitt & Quinn is really an opportunity to combine the love of my profession with a newfound love for serving the public.”
His various lives — private, public and professional — will finally intersect Saturday at the Santa Monica Art Studios, where Levitt & Quinn is holding a reception in Bloom’s honor. Colleagues from the legal field, councilmembers and Bloom’s family are expected to be on hand to celebrate his “new gig.”
“There is a certain amount of stress associated with practicing family law while running your own business and being on the council too, so in the long term, yes, stress could be an issue, but that’s not why I took the job,” said Bloom, a graduate of Loyola Law School, who opened his own practice right after graduation in 1978.
The councilman opted to dissolve his private practice in order to accept the Levitt & Quinn post.
“I think I was just ready for something new in my life, with the most important factor being the ability to serve,” explained Bloom. “I was in private practice for 27 years and I guess it was just time for a new challenge.”
Levitt & Quinn was formed in 1980 after government funding for family law services was withdrawn from Legal Aid, a service providing legal services for those in need. Volunteer attorney Ethel Levitt and paralegal Ziva Naumann assumed responsibility for hundreds of family law files that otherwise wouldn’t have been completed. The two opened and financed a modest storefront office to provide low-cost family law services to the community.
Attorney Grace Quinn joined the pair and they developed a delivery model of legal service that continues today. In 1988, the law firm was incorporated as a charitable organization. To date, the center has brought more than 30,000 cases to completion, with roughly 800 new clients every year.
As executive director, Bloom is responsible for continuing that legacy, which includes ensuring that services are delivered and that funding levels increase so more can be served.
“Richard is the right person for the job,” said Dinah Ruch, president of the board of directors for the center. “He has the right combination of talent and experience. Not only has he served in family law, he is highly visible in the community and is able to elicit support for our organization.”
“Above all else, he has the public’s best interests in mind and has proven himself in terms of working for the underprivileged of the community,” Ruch added.
Now 30 days into the job, Bloom said he has adjusted well and is looking forward to instituting some of the initiatives he has designed to increase the center’s reach.
“We currently have four attorneys on staff, but I’m confident that we will be bringing on more in the future because there is such a need,” Bloom said. “Over half of the family law cases are not represented by attorneys. For many of those families, this is their first experience with the legal system, and it can be daunting, especially when you are dealing with life and death situations, as many of our clients are. There is extraordinary emotion and pressure, and they need someone there to help.”
Bloom said he has other ideas that “are not yet ready for prime time, but I will say that there are opportunities for us to expand into the community and into the courthouse.”
With the new job comes new responsibilities, but Bloom said he will not let these conflict with responsibilities associated with his seat on the council.
“I’m very fortunate because the board of directors are very supportive of my work and are very interested in what we are doing,” Bloom said. “There is this great cross-pollination, if you will. They always want to know what we’re up to … I think everyone realized very early on that like the line in ‘Casablanca,’ ‘this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.’”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 8, 2006. Read the original PDF.