George Kieffer, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, has been elected chair of the University of California Board of Regents.

Kieffer’s election is the culmination of a long history of service to the University of California and higher education. He has served as the president of the U.C. Santa Barbara Alumni Association, as chair of the U.C. Santa Barbara Foundation, as the President of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as a founding member of the California Community Colleges Foundation, and as a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission for Review of the California Master Plan for Higher Education.

“George has great experience leading public organizations and significant civic projects,” said William T. Quicksilver, Manatt’s CEO and managing partner. “He’s widely trusted and respected both inside and outside the firm. He’s very diplomatic, he listens and he gets things done. He’ll be a great chair of the Board of Regents.”

In addition to his work in higher education, Kieffer has played a crucial role in several other civic initiatives. He served as chair of the appointed commission charged with rewriting the Los Angeles City Charter for the first full revision in 75 years. He is also the former chair of the board of directors for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and headed the mayor’s Economic Impact Task Force following the events of 9/11. He currently serves as chair of the Los Angeles Civic Alliance.

For his service, Kieffer has been honored as one of the top 100 lawyers in California in 2000 and 2010 by the San Francisco Daily Journal and the Los Angeles Daily Journal, and as one of the 500 most influential people in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Kieffer himself is a graduate of two University of California campuses, with a B.A. from U.C. Santa Barbara and a J.D. from UCLA. He is the author of The Strategy of Meetings, a contributing author to Governing Public Colleges and Universities and a composer.

About Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, is one of the nation’s leading law and consulting firms, with offices strategically located in California (Los Angeles, Orange County, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Sacramento), New York (New York City and Albany), Chicago and Washington, D.C. The firm represents a sophisticated client base—including Fortune 500, middle-market and emerging companies—across a range of practice areas and industry sectors. For more information, visit www.manatt.com.