Edward F. Novak, the new president of the State Bar of Arizona, is a 1976 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law and a member of the Illinois State Bar Association.

The Phoenix attorney started his one-year term last month with priorities that include diversity initiatives and information and education for consumers. The association is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

Admitted to the Arizona bar in 1979, Novak practices in white-collar criminal defense and complex and commercial litigation.

He is a judge pro tempore for the Superior Court of Arizona and an adjunct faculty member at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

A member of the bar association board since 1999, Novak is a past chair of the Professionalism Task Force and former member of the Criminal Jury Instructions Committee. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.