SANTA ANA, Calif., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Judicate West, one of California’s leading providers of private dispute resolution services, has added Justice Laurie D. Zelon, former associate justice in California’s Second District Court of Appeal, to its roster of neutrals. She will be based in the Orange County office and available as a private judge statewide focusing on arbitration, special master, private judging, neutral analysis and appellate matters.
“While many tout collegiality, scholarship and integrity as Justice Zelon’s hallmarks, we believe Judicate West clients will most appreciate her compassion and tenacity. Throughout her illustrious career – as a civil litigator for 23 years, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, and Court of Appeal Justice – she has proven, no matter how big or small a case, she goes above and beyond to make sure litigants are given a fair and legally sound result. She has also made community service a staple through the vast majority of her long and distinguished legal career, improving access to justice for all, including our state’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Rosemarie Chiusano Drohan, Executive Vice President of Business Development with Judicate West.
With a legal career spanning 45 years, Justice Zelon was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2000 by then-Governor Gray Davis, and in 2003, she was elevated to the California Second District Court of Appeal (Division Seven) until her retirement in August 2020. Prior to her judicial tenure, Justice Zelon was a partner with two different Los Angeles-based law firms, where she focused on complex litigation involving business/commercial, land use and geotechnical, and fiduciary obligations-related disputes.
Justice Zelon is widely recognized for her work expanding and improving access to justice for low-income citizens. She was the founding chair of the California Commission on Access to Justice and has served on numerous California Judicial Council committees devoted to this cause. Among her volunteer efforts, Justice Zelon co-chaired the Council’s Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness and served on its Task Forces on Self-Represented Litigants and Language Access Plan Implementation. She has also written and presented extensively on pro bono, public service, legal ethics and legal education.
For her dedication, Justice Zelon has received the Benjamin Aranda Access to Justice Award (2010), sponsored jointly by the Judicial Council, California Justices Association, State Bar, and California Commission on Access to Justice; the Shattuck-Price Outstanding Attorney Award (2009), the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s highest honor; the Loren Miller Legal Services Award (2000) from the State Bar of California; the Charles Dorsey Award (1999) from the National Legal Aid & Defenders Association; and the William Reece Smith, Jr. Special Services to Pro Bono Award (1993). Additionally, in 2000, Justice Zelon was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award, given by the Pro Bono Institute of Washington, D.C.
Active in the legal industry throughout her career, Justice Zelon is a past president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and has served on its Board of Trustees and is a past chair of its Federal Courts, Judiciary and Access to Justice Committees and its subsection on Real Estate Litigation. She was also a member of the American Bar Association and has served as chair of the standing committee on Lawyers' Public Service Responsibility, chair of the standing committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants, as a member of the Consortium on Law and the Public, and as chair of the national Law Firm Pro Bono Project.
Justice Zelon earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School (1977) and her undergraduate degree from Cornell University (1974).
About Judicate West
Judicate West is one of California’s leading providers of private dispute resolution services with a distinguished roster of proven neutrals, including retired state and federal court Justices plus professional attorney mediators and arbitrators from a wide variety of practice areas. Founded in 1993, the firm prides itself on maintaining the utmost integrity in delivering innovative solutions to all types of civil disputes. The firm’s successful formula involves top-tier neutrals, a great company culture and an experienced team of ADR professionals dedicated to delivering gold standard service in alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Judicate West has offices in Santa Ana, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco.
Contact:
Traci Stuart / Michael Panelli
Blattel Communications
415.413.4522 / 415.413.4527
traci@blattel.com / mpanelli@blattel.com
