Candidate for
Judge-Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 131

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jim Baklayan is a first generation Armenian American. He is the youngest of four boys of Armenian parents who were granted US Visas in the late 1950's. Jim's father worked as a mathematical engineer for TRW in their Aerospace Division throughout the 1960s.

Jim got his Bachelor's Degree at California State University Northridge, his Juris Doctorate Degree at the University of La Verne College of Law, where he received two College of Law Recognition Awards for his achievements, participated in Moot Court, and Moot Court Honors, and in his final year, interned for the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, Family Division, as a certified law student, making court appearances and representing the State. He also attended Loyola University, Chicago Rome Center's program in International Law.

He has been a practicing attorney since May of 1997 and went on to work for a large firm in Glendale primarily doing Insurance Defense litigation before starting up his own practice doing Construction Defect Defense Litigation as well as all types of Civil Litigation.

Since 2006, his volunteer work includes work for the City of Los Angeles as a temporary judge, where he has been awarded three Certificates of Appreciation for his work in 2006, 2007, and 2008. He has also volunteered his time to the Better Business Bureau as an Arbitrator in their Resolution Program over defective vehicles.

A strong believer in public service and community involvement, Jim has represented many indigent clients on a pro bono basis, has volunteered his services to the court system as a temporary judge hearing and deciding over 300 small claims cases. He and his partner of twelve years have, together, volunteered their time to organizations in an effort to maintain equal rights and equality for all. They live in Studio City, California with their 14 month old son, Benjamin, and their dog.