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David Wheeler Newman

Partner, through his Professional Corporation - los angeles

Spotlight

Two early experiences transformed David Newman. He was exposed to the world outside of his life by his mother, an LAUSD educator, who organized a year of educational European travel. And he joined the Boy Scouts where he was introduced to community service by the adult troop leaders, LA firemen, who were the heroes of his economically mixed neighborhood. David became the youngest Eagle Scout in the LA area before he was thirteen (which taught him that if he set a goal, he had a chance of achieving it). His troop was a diverse group of boys, many of whom would have limited opportunities in life, which galvanized his lifelong commitment to social justice.

These lessons have stayed with David throughout his life and career. As a volunteer board member of Santa Monica mental health organization Step Up on Second, he helped configure creative financing for low-income housing with crucial programming space to serve the mentally ill. He went on to co-found New Roads School, with a curricular emphasis on social justice, where he chaired the board of directors for ten years. He was one of the organizers, and continues as pro bono general counsel, of Farhang Foundation, the premier Iranian cultural organization in Southern California. He serves on the board of Abode Communities, a developer of affordable housing, and volunteers at the LA Regional Food Bank because, as a third-generation Angeleno, it makes him crazy that there are residents of a wealthy metropolis who lack shelter and food security. Finally, David is able to work for systematic change to improve Los Angeles as a member of the board of the California Community Foundation.

When he is not serving the charitable sector, you can find David and his wife Mahnaz at museums, public gardens and classical music concerts. And he continues to travel:  in the last few years he and Mahnaz have visited every continent except Antarctica. 

Admissions

  • U.S. Tax Court, 1979
  • California,1978

Education

New York University School of Law, LL.M. Taxation, 1979

University of California Los Angeles School of Law, J.D., 1977

Claremont McKenna College, B.A., 1973; cum laude

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