John Van de Kamp, Esq.
John K. Van de Kamp, Esq. has had a long and distinguished career in the legal profession and in public service. Mr. Van de Kamp was California's Attorney General from 1983 through 1991, during which time he oversaw multiple complex matters, which places him in a unique position to be able to mediate and arbitrate complex areas of the law. Before serving as California's Attorney General, Mr. Van de Kamp served as LA County DA the Central District's first Federal Public Defender and in the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's Office (including a stint as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California), and later as Director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys in Washington, DC under Deputy Attorney General Warren Christopher. He has been with the Los Angeles Office of Dewey Ballantine since 1991 where he now serves as Of Counsel.
Mr. Van de Kamp has been a mediator and arbitrator since 1993. He has arbitrated disputes in a variety of matters, including: arbitrating a dispute between an NBA team and a foreign team over player contracts; a dispute with an international clothing manufacturer and an affiliate whose authorization was terminated; an anti-trust and contract dispute between a national building controls manufacturer and a supplier and a distributor; a dispute between a home purchaser and a title company over a disclosure issue; he mediated a dispute between The California State Bar and The Attorney General's Office regarding the conduct of an organization promoting living trusts.
Areas of Expertise
- General Business / Commercial Contract
- Employment
- Complex Litigation
- Discovery Reference
- Environmental/Toxic Tort
- Franchise
- Legal Malpractice
- Official Misconduct
- Antitrust
Education
Dartmouth College (BA - 1956)
Stanford University (JD - 1959)
Legal Experience
Primarily engaged in litigation, involving both governmental entities, and various areas of the law. Extensive experience in criminal law issues. Involved with litigation relating to governmental entities representing such clients as the California Wellness Foundation and IBM Pension Trust. Has represented clients with consumer problems with various public entities. As California Attorney General, oversaw work of entire office, including Anti-trust, consumer and environmental protection, government law, and insurance regulation.
- Of Counsel, Dewey Ballantine, LLP, 1991 - Present
- Attorney General, State of California, 1983 - 1991
- District Attorney, County of Los Angeles, 1975 - 1983
- Federal Public Defender, Los Angeles, 1971 - 1975
- U.S. Department of Justice, 1960 - 1969
Professional Associations
California Bar, Los Angeles County Bar, American Bar Association (Task Force Examining Federalization of Criminal Law, 1997), Institute for Corporate Counsel (Advisory Board), the State Bar of California (Board of Governors 2001-2004 and President 2004-2005)
Alternative Dispute Resolution Training
ACE001 - Arbitration Awards
Safeguarding, Deciding & Writing Awards, December, 2004
Arbitrator Update, 2003, Los Angeles, December, 2003
AAA Commercial Arbitrator II Training, San Francisco, April, 2003
Various AAA trainings
Published Articles
California Bar Journal, monthly articles November 2004 - September, 2005
"Financing the Right to Counsel in California," Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, December 1995
"Criminal Justice in Crisis," ABA Special Committee in Criminal Justice in a Free Society, 1988
"The Good Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule - A Warning Letter to Prosecutors," South Texas Law Journal, 1985
Honors and Awards
For outstanding leadership in public service and the legal profession and because of his contribution to equal justice, John Van de Kamp, Esq. was presented the 1995 Maynard Toll Award by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. And, in 2005, he received the Shattuck-Price Award from the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
In 1999 he was appointed with two other former Attorneys General (Frohnmayer and Cody) by NAAG to allocate $8 billion of the tobacco settlement proceeds as a member of The Strategic Contribution Fund Allocation Committee.
This page was last modified in June 2007
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