Lisa Specht Explained

Lisa Specht
Nationality:	American
Alma Mater:	University of West Los Angeles
Occupation:	Lawyer Civic leader Journalist

Lisa Specht is an American lawyer, civic leader, and former television journalist. She is emeritus chair of the board of the Los Angeles Music Center.

Early life and education

Raised in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Specht graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale and was the first female editor of the law review at the University of San Fernando College of Law.^[1]

Career

Specht is a partner at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips in Los Angeles,^[1] providing legal advice to businesses.^[2] She has served as a judge pro tem in the West Los Angeles Small Claims Court, and in 1985 ran unsuccessfully for city attorney against James Hahn.^{[1] [3] [4]}

She worked for KABC-TV for ten years starting in 1979, after getting the idea for legal segments on news broadcasts from the medical segments presented by her friend Art Ulene.^[1] In 1991 with Robb Weller, she co-presented the NBC reality show Trial Watch, in which she covered a variety of courtroom cases and interviewed defendants, prosecutors, and jurors.^{[5] [6]}

Civic positions

Specht became chair of the nonprofit board of the Los Angeles Music Center in 2013,^{[7] [8] [9]} In October 2019 she was succeeded by former city councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski and named chair emeritus;^[10] the welcome pavilion at its redesigned plaza was named for her.^{[11] [12]} She also served as Chair of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission and as a Commissioner on the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission, and is a trustee of Pitzer College.^[13] The weekly Los Angeles Business Journal newspaper named her among the leaders in its August 2017 edition of "The Los Angeles 500: The Most Influential People in Los Angeles".

Personal life

Specht was married to Ron Rogers, a public relations executive who died in 2016. They owned a cattle ranch in Colorado.^[14]

Notes and References

1. News: Steven Herbert . Can You Be Bumped? Is the Cleaner Coming Clean? Ask Lisa Specht . Los Angeles Times . June 15, 1991 . October 28, 2019 .
2. Web site: LA500: Lisa Specht . . July 30, 2018 . August 20, 2019.
3. Kevin Roderick . On Hold: Why Mayor Jim Hahn's In Danger of Losing His Job, When He Should Be the Favorite . Los Angeles magazine . September 1, 2004 . November 1, 2019 .
4. News: Specht for City Attorney . Los Angeles Times . editorial . March 28, 1985 .
5. News: Irv Letofsky . TV Reviews: 'TrialWatch' Turns Into a Trial for Viewers. January 28, 1991. Los Angeles Times. August 21, 2019.
6. Book: Hal Erickson . Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtroom, 1948–2008 . Jefferson, North Carolina . McFarland . 2009 . 9780786438280 . 266 .
7. News: David Ng . Lisa Specht named Music Center's new board chair . Los Angeles Times . April 24, 2013 .
8. News: Proposed upgrades would give Pavilion a $350-million face lift. Los Angeles Times. November 14, 2014. July 25, 2019.
9. Web site: Lisa Specht, Chair, The Music Center Board of Directors.
10. News: Deborah Vankin . Music Center chief Rachel Moore's contract extended through 2024 . Los Angeles Times . October 17, 2019 . November 1, 2019 .
11. News: The Music Center Plaza Re-Opens August 2019. Broadway World. June 11, 2019. July 25, 2019.
12. Web site: Civic and Community Leaders Dedicate the Newly Renovated Music Center Plaza, Officially Opening the Accessible Outdoor Venue as 'The Plaza For All'. Los Angeles Music Center . press release . August 28, 2019 . March 3, 2020 .
13. Web site: Pitzer College Board of Trustees. Pitzer College. February 5, 2020.
14. News: Joel Rubin . Ron Rogers dies at 72; public relations executive was influential in L.A. civic affairs . Los Angeles Times . February 21, 2016 . November 1, 2019 .