R. Rex Parris
R. Rex Parris | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Lancaster, California | |
| Assumed office April 2008 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1952 (age 73–74)[1] Lancaster, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Carrol Parris |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Southwestern School of Law (J.D.) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Website | https://www.parris.com/ |
R. Rex Parris is an American attorney and the current mayor of Lancaster, California.[2]
Early life and education
Raymond "Rex" Parris Jr., the third of four boys, was born in 1952 to Raymond Parris and Jeanne Powers in Palmdale, CA. After losing his leg in a motorcycle accident, the elder Parris left the family when Rex was 11, leaving his mother, a waitress, to raise her sons on her own. Rex Parris began working at age 14 while still in school; he quit attending in 10th grade to work full-time as a busboy.[3] Parris recalls this time in his life as being very dark; he turned to drugs and nearly went to jail.[4]
A few years later, Parris began attending Antelope Valley College before eventually transferring to the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he was accepted into the Scholar’s Program and majored in Law & Society. He went on to receive his Juris Doctor from Southwestern School of Law in 1980.
He has been a member of the California State Bar since 1980. [5]
Career
Law
In 1985, R. Rex Parris founded the PARRIS Law Firm with his wife Carrol in Lancaster, California. Today the firm's practice covers most areas of personal injury law, including car accidents, workplace injuries, premises liability, toxic torts, environmental law and employment class actions.[6]
In 2009, Parris was lead counsel in obtaining a $370 million jury verdict against Georges Marciano, founder of Guess.[7]
In 2021 he obtained a $120 million dollar verdict in a traffic accident case. [8]
In 2021, the PARRIS Law Firm, together with Panish, Shea & Boyle and other plaintiffs’ counsel, settled with Southern California Gas Company and its parent company Sempra Energy for $1.8 billion. The case stemmed from a gas blowout in 2015 and subsequent misconduct. The leak spewed close to 100,000 tons of methane and other gases into the air for 112 days resulting in more than 8,000 people fleeing their homes in what was the largest-known release of methane in U.S. history. The settlement compensates more than 35,000 plaintiffs.[9]
Since its founding and as of 2021, the PARRIS Law Firm has recovered $3.2 billion in verdicts and settlements.
Parris regularly speaks at trial lawyer associations and continuing legal education (CLE) seminars throughout the United States. He frequently is the keynote speaker at events sponsored by the Trial Lawyers University. [10]
Awards
Parris was named Plaintiff's Lawyers Trailblazers by National Law Journal in 2020, [11] Best Lawyers by U.S. News & World Report 2014-2020, [12] Daily Journal Top Plaintiff 2020 and Super Lawyers 2008-2020 [13]. The Metropolitan News, a legal newspaper in Los Angeles, named Parris the 2018 Person of the Year, [14] and Best Lawyers named him 2018 Lawyer of the Year. [15]
Philanthropy
R. Rex Parris High School in Palmdale, California is named for the philanthropy of Parris.[16]
In 2014, Parris and his wife Carrol established the Parris Institute for Professional Excellence at Pepperdine University with a gift of $2.2 million.[17][18]
PARRIS Cares is a charity arm of the Parris Law Firm that contributes to education, safety and health in the Antelope Valley.[19]
Rex and Carrol are significant donors for longevity research at USC. [20]
Other business interests
R Rex Parris is the Chairman of the Board for CarthroniX a biotech that has several drugs in the pipeline. They will soon start human trials for one drug that cures osteoarthritis in large animals. Another drug in pipeline appears to stop pulmonary fibrosis in mice. Rex and Carrol were the angel investors which enabled CarthroniX to develop the revolutionary drugs that may change the way medicine is delivered throughout the world.[21]
Mayor of Lancaster, California
Elections
R. Rex Parris was first elected mayor of Lancaster, California in April 2008. He was subsequently re-elected in April of 2010, 2012, 2016, and 2020.[22] In 2020, Parris won a fifth term as mayor with 69 percent of the vote. [23]
Tenure
Since his election, Parris has taken steps to make Lancaster a "Net Zero City." In 2015, Lancaster became the first city in the world to generate more clean energy than it consumes and require all new housing to be net zero.
In July 2010, the City of Lancaster partnered with SolarCity to launch the Solar Lancaster program, a solar financing program for homeowners, business owners and nonprofit organizations.[24] In 2015, Parris and the City of Lancaster launched Lancaster Choice Energy, a nonprofit locally-run energy company for Lancaster businesses and residents.[25]
As mayor, Parris in 2010 launched an economic development division that attracted manufacturing company BYD (makers of electric buses and advanced battery technology).[26] Lancaster’s Antelope Valley Transportation Agency is the first public bus agency with 100% of their fleet electric buses. [27]
Parris was involved with many city initiatives, including the Lancaster Wellness Homes [28] and YOLO Lancaster. [29] He has made it his mission to reduce crime.
Supported by a unanimous 2021 vote by the City Council, Parris led efforts to start a public health agency specifically for Lancaster. These efforts came after a vote of no confidence was issued against the LA County Department of Public Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.[30]
Throughout his tenure, Parris has been known for a history of controversial remarks.[31][32]
- He once proposed a $32 million, 10-story Buddha statue complex to help welcome Chinese companies.[33]
- In 2011, with the city shouldering a disproportionate share of Section 8 housing, Parris accused the Los Angeles County Housing Authority of using the city as a dumping ground for the poor and homeless. [34]
- He has strong views on mask wearing and advocacy of mandatory COVID-19 vaccines.[35]
- He told Vice magazine in 2017 that increasing the Asian population and members of the LGBTQ can help bring down crime rates and increase education levels. [36]
Parris is a frequent keynote speaker on climate change at conferences throughout the world. The United States Environmental Protection Agency the city of Lancaster in 2019 with its Greenpower Leadership Award. [37]
Parris is a founder of the Lancaster Child-Abuse Task Force, the Antelope Valley War on Gangs and the Valley Volunteers Program. He also has served as chairman of the Antelope Valley Hospital Community Benefits Advisory Council.
President Donald Trump visited the city of Lancaster on February 18, 2020, accompanied by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. [38] Parris met with Trump, and described him as "incredibly charming" and having a "magnetic personality". After the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Parris reflected on the experience, describing himself as being "horrified" and his view of the Capitol as "almost sacrosanct." [39]
Personal life
Parris is married to his wife Carrol, with whom he has four children. They have six grandchildren.[1] Their son, Rutger Parris, was sworn into the California State Bar by his father in December 2017.[18] Their son Khail Parris passed the bar in 2015 and is now a leading attorney in the firm often serving alongside his father in trials. [40] Parris’ brother, Robert Parris, a former CHP officer, has been an attorney with the firm since 1992. [41] Parris purchased a home previously owned by Lee Iacocca in Laguna Beach, California in April 2020 for $6.6 million.[42] The home is now valued at $10.3 million after an extensive remodel.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Hometown Values". Our Rex, Our Mayor.
- ↑ "Contact Your City Council | City of Lancaster". www.cityoflancasterca.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
- ↑ "Overcoming Adversity, He Became a Mega-Star Trial Lawyer, Accomplished Mayor". www.metnews.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
- ↑ Facebook; Twitter; options, Show more sharing; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; Email; URLCopied!, Copy Link; Print (2009-09-20). "Politically correct, he isn't". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
- ↑ "R. Rex Parris # 96567 - Attorney Licensee Search". apps.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ↑ "Practice Areas | Parris Lawyers". www.parris.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
- ↑ Facebook; Twitter; options, Show more sharing; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; Email; URLCopied!, Copy Link; Print (2009-07-29). "$370 million verdict goes against Guess co-founder". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ "Calif. Driver Gets $120M In Trial Marred By 'Discovery Abuse' - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ↑ Twitter; Instagram; Email; Facebook; Twitter; Instagram; Email; Facebook; Twitter (2021-09-27). "SoCalGas agrees to pay up to $1.8 billion in settlement for 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ "Trial Lawyers University - Bizzabo". events.bizzabo.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ "National Law Journal 2020 Plaintiffs' Lawyers Trailblazers". images.law.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ "PARRIS - Firm Overview". bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ "Top Rated Lancaster, CA Personal Injury Attorney | Rex Parris". Super Lawyers. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ "Kabateck, Parris, Salvo Are 2018 'Persons of the Year'". www.metnews.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ "R. Rex Parris - Lancaster, CA - Lawyer". www.bestlawyers.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ "Home". R. Rex Parris High School.
- ↑ "Parris Institute for Professional Excellence". Pepperdine University. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Parris Institute Founder, Mayor R. Rex Parris, Swears in Rutger Parris (JD '16) to California State Bar". Pepperdine Surf Report. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ↑ "Parris Cares | Parris Lawyers". www.parris.com. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ "USC arthritis researcher Denis Evseenko receives $50,000 donation from Rex and Carrol Parris". USC Stem Cell. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ Firm, PARRIS Law. "CarthroniX President/Chairman of the Board R. Rex Parris and Carrol Parris Donate $50,000 in Support of Life Extension Research". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ "Mayor R. Rex Parris". City of Lancaster, CA. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ↑ "Lancaster semi-final election results: Parris, Mann, Dorris prevail". The Antelope Valley Times. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ "Alternative Energy | City of Lancaster". www.cityoflancasterca.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
- ↑ "About LCE". Lancaster Choice Energy. Archived from the original on 2021-07-19. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
- ↑ "BYD (Build Your Dreams) Motor Factory - Lancaster, CA". lancaster.chamberofcommerce.me. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
- ↑ "4 Lessons From a California Transit Authority's Bus Electrification Rollout". www.greentechmedia.com. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ "Lancaster's Holistic Approach to Healthy Neighborhoods". Western City Magazine. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ↑ News, AV Daily (2016-02-25). "YOLO Lancaster is back for its second year". avdailynews. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ↑ "Unhappy with L.A. County COVID-19 response, Lancaster to form its own public health agency". The Los Angeles Times on Yahoo!.
- ↑ "Mayor's remarks spark outrage". Antelope Valley Press.
- ↑ Magnier, Mark. "Mayor R. Rex Parris delights in rattling cages, putting Lancaster, California, on the map in China and beyond". South China Morning Post.
- ↑ "Mayor R. Rex Parris delights in rattling cages, putting Lancaster, California, on the map in China and beyond". sg.news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ Medina, Jennifer (2011-08-10). "Subsidies and Suspicion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ Stallworth, Leo (2021-07-13). "Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris wants to require city employees be vaccinated". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
- ↑ Sheehan, Matt (2017-05-31). "A California mayor hopes China will save his town from meth labs and neo-Nazis". Vice News. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ↑ US EPA, OAR (2021-05-14). "Green Power Leadership Awardees". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ↑ "Trump greeted by Lancaster mayor during visit to Los Angeles area". The Antelope Valley Times. 2020-02-19. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ↑ "Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris reflects on meeting President Trump". Daily News. 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ↑ "Khail A. Parris | Attorneys | PARRIS Law Firm". www.parris.com. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ "Robert A. Parris | Attorneys | PARRIS Law Firm". www.parris.com. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ Flemming, Jack. "Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris drops $6.6 million on Laguna Beach home". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
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