Hon. Gregory C. O'Brien, Jr.
Recently retired after a distinguished twenty-year judicial career, Judge O'Brien is now available as a mediator, arbitrator and discovery referee. His last assignment while on the Los Angeles Superior Court was to the Mandatory Settlement Conference Department where he assisted counsel in settling a wide variety of disputes and gained invaluable insight into the settlement process, allowing him to quickly address the necessary issues to achieve resolution. He is the 2005 recipient of ABOTA's "Civility Award", a reflection of his excellent personal demeanor, which combined with his extensive settlement skills and civil experience make him an ideal choice when selecting a neutral.
Judicial Experience
| 1987 - 2005 | Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge |
| 2004 - 2005 | Assigned exclusively to mandatory settlement conferences |
| 1994 | Supervising Judge, East District |
| 1985 - 1987 | Citrus Municipal Court |
| 1987 | Presiding Judge, Citrus Court |
Professional Experience
| 2004 - 2005 | Settlement Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge O'Brien was selected assigned as a Settlement Judge based on his extensive judicial experience, intelligence and personable demeanor.In this capacity he settled hundreds of cases ranging from thousands to millions of dollars in a wide variety of practice areas achieving an impressive settlement rate and party satisfaction. |
| 1978 - 1984 | In-House Counsel, Southern California Edison Company Represented Edison before the South Coast Air Quality Management District, California Public Utilities Commission, California Air Resources Board, California Coastal Zone Conservation Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. |
| 1972 - 1978 | Deputy, Los Angeles City Attorney's Office Four years specializing in land use environmental matters, including dozens of eminent domain cases and writ proceeding challenging CEQA compliance, planning and zoning decisions, and the issuance of subdivision maps; two years representing the Department of Water and Power in air quality and other environmental state and federal regulatory proceedings, primarily before the California Energy Commission and California Air Resources Board. |
Tried and argued cases at every level of State and Federal Trial and Appellate Courts, except the U.S. Supreme Court.
Publications
Columnist
2000 - 2002 Los Angeles Daily Journal, "Bench Press" monthly column
Editor
1995 - 2000 "Gavel to Gavel", the judicial newsletter of the Los Angeles Superior Court
1991 - 1995 "California Courts Commentary" (now, "The Bench"), quarterly news letter of the California Judges Association
Author
"Confessions of an Angry Judge," Judicature, March 2004.
"Speech May Be Free and Talk Cheap, But Judges Can Pay a Heavy Price for Unguarded Expression," 28 Loyola Law Review 815 (1995).
Lenin Lives (a novel) published by Stein & Day, 1984.
Awards
2005 Recipient, "Civility Award", Los Angeles Chapter of ABOTA
Memberships
1985 - Present California Judges Association
2002 - 2003 President, California Judges Association
2000 - 2002 Board of Directors, California's Judges Association
1987 - 1988 President, West Covina Rotary Club
1979 - 1980 Vice Chair, West Covina Recreation and Parks Commission
Education
1972 J.D., Whittier Law School
1968 A.B., USC School of Journalism
This page was last modified in March 2008
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