Hon. Gregory O'Brien, Jr.
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
1995 - 2005 Central Civil Trials, Los Angeles
1994 Supervising Judge, East District
1985 – 1987 Citrus Municipal Court
1987 Presiding Judge, Citrus Court
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2004 – 2005 Mandatory Settlement Department, Los Angeles Superior Court.
Judge O’Brien was selected 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 proceedings; 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
“Anatomy of a Trial” (book review), The Bench (Winter 2009)
“Bienvenidos, Jeuces”, The Bench (Fall 2007)
“Good Settlements Take Effort”, CEB Civil Litigation Reporter (April
2006)
“The Magistrates” (book review), The Bench (Winter 2006)
“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.
Judge O’Brien is a frequent panelist on the subject of mediation and
judicial temperament at conferences of the California Judges
Association, has taught settlement techniques for the Center for
Judicial Education and Research, has participated in mock trial
exercises for law firm summer associates and has spoken on the subjects
of judicial ethics, mediation and arbitration before several major law
firms.
AWARDS
2009 Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Whittier College
2005 Recipient, “Civility Award,” Los Angeles Chapter of ABOTA
MEMBERSHIPS
2007 – Present Member, ADR Committee, State Bar of California
Member, ADR Committee, California Judges Association
President, Whittier Law School Leadership Council
President, Palos Verdes Sunset Ridge HOA
Member, Palos Verdes Peninsula Rotary Club
2007 - 2008 Chair, Retired Judges Committee of the California Judges
Association
2008 Chair, Retired Judges Conference
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
1975 – 1977 Board of Directors, Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce
EDUCATION
1972 J.D., Whittier Law School
1968 A.B., USC School of Journalism
This page was last modified in May 2009
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