I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and went to grade school there and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I graduated from Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio, and then attended the University of Michigan, from which I received a B.A. (1975) and then a J.D. (1979). After that, I practiced law in Los Angeles for 30 years, including at the firms of Hughes Hubbard & Reed, Miller Tokuyama, Kralik & Sur and Kralik & Jacobs, as well as on my own as Kralik & Associates. In September 2009, I was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to be a Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court.