Los Gatos Councilwoman Barbara Spector Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Los Gatos Councilwoman Barbara Spector has received the 2013 John George Lifetime Achievement Award from the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association.

The award is named after John George, who was a member of SCCTLA and an excellent lawyer who was known for his commitment to his clients, his family and the community.

Spector was presented to Spector during the organization's Dec. 13, 2013 holiday party.

"I'm pleased to be recognized for my lifetime achievements by this distinguished group of lawyers," Spector said about the recognition.

Spector served as the first woman president of the SCCTLA in 1992. She has been a civil trial attorney since 1978 and is a member of the San Jose-based Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel law firm. 

Her trial work focuses on commercial, employment, real estate and personal injury matters in state and federal courts, and includes argument before the California Supreme Court.

She has conducted more than 300 mediations, arbitrations and settlement conferences, and has been selected to serve in various alternative dispute resolution capacities, the association said in announcing the award. 

Spector has been serving on the the Los Gatos Town Council Spector for more than 20 years as mayor, vice mayor, council member and planning commissioner.  

Spector is also the recipient of the Santa Clara County Bar Association's Bryl Salsman Award for outstanding volunteer service to the legal profession and to the community. 

In 1973, Spector settled in Los Gatos with husband, Ira. She was a member of the Los Gatos Planning Commission between 1980 and 1988.

She's a Northern California native who grew up on a farm in Stockton where she went to the same one-room school house that her father had attended.

She moved to the Bay Area and obtained bachelor's degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley in 1966 and secondary and community college teaching credentials from San Jose State University in 1968 and 1974. 

She also received a master's degree in political science from San Jose State University in 1974 and earned her law degree magna cum laude from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in 1978.

Spector has also earned mediator and negotiation certifications from Harvard Law School.

Formerly a high school English teacher, Spectos has been an attorney since 1978. 

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