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Longtime Pleasanton resident Meera T. Parikh, a career lawyer and former member of the city’s Human Services Commission, reached a new professional height on Friday when Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed her as a judge in the Alameda County Superior Court.
Parikh worked as a partner and litigation attorney at Castro Valley-based Poniatowski Leding Parikh PC since 2007, specializing in business and real estate cases. She had also served as a judge pro tem for the Alameda County court for the past four years.
“I am honored by the Governor’s appointment and grateful for the trust placed in me,” Parikh told the Pleasanton Weekly on Monday.
“After more than 20 years of practicing law in this community, I was inspired to broaden my impact by serving Alameda County from the bench,” she said. “I have always aspired to a career of service, and this role is the next step in that journey. Building trust in the courts begins with assuring that people feel seen, heard, and respected, and my goal is to ensure justice is both fair and accessible to all.”
A graduate of the Santa Clara University School of Law, Parikh began her legal career in 2001 as a patent attorney. She sat on the Pleasanton Human Services Commission from 2015 until 2023, including leading as chairperson in 2019.
She fills the vacancy on the bench created after Judge Mark McCannon moved to the San Mateo County Superior Court in February.
As part of his judicial appointments Friday, Newsom also named Gregory Brown to the Alameda County Superior Court to succeed retiring Judge Stephen M. Pulido.
An Alameda County resident, Brown had worked for the California Attorney General’s Office as a supervising deputy attorney general since 2019.
A graduate of the University of Chicago School of Law and former clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Brown’s career as an attorney began in private practice and then moved to become a public prosecutor in 2008 – which included time as a deputy attorney general and a deputy solicitor general.
Up Interstate 680, Andrew R. Verriere was appointed to the Contra Costa County Superior Court.
Verriere, who took his seat on the bench Tuesday in Department 11 at the George D. Carroll Courthouse in Richmond, had served as a court commissioner since 2023. Before that, he was a shareholder for six years at the firm bearing his name – Hartog, Baer, Zabronsky & Verriere.
“I am incredibly grateful to Governor Newsom for this opportunity. It is an honor to serve the members of the community,” Verriere told the Weekly on Sunday.
Verriere is a former member of the Danville Planning Commission, sitting four years as an alternate before completing one term in a regular seat from 2017 to 2020.
An alumnus of the UC Berkeley School of Law, Verriere began his legal career as an associate at Jones Day from 2009 to 2011 and then had stints at Barr & Barr Attorneys (2009 to 2011), Morrill Law Firm (2011 to 2012), Seyfarth Shaw (2015 to 2017) and Hartog, Baer, Zabronsky & Verriere (2017 to 2023).
As a commissioner for the Contra Costa County Superior Court since May 2023, Verriere focused on traffic, unlawful detainer, small claims, and domestic violence and civil harassment restraining order matters, according to a press release from the county court Tuesday.
Verriere was elevated to a full judgeship to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Brian F. Haynes.
The trio, who are all registered Democrats, were among seven new judges appointed to Bay Area benches and 15 total across the state. Others in the area included Bobby Luna and Ai Mori in the San Francisco County Superior Court, Mandy Tovar in Santa Cruz County and Matthew Siroka in Marin County.
Additionally, Alameda County resident Kendall Hannon, a deputy attorney general with the California Attorney General’s Office was named as a judge in the Siskiyou County Superior Court in the far north part of the state.
The salary for each of the judicial positions is $244,727, the governor’s office said.
