Hon. James L. Smith (Ret.), in 1997 after 26 years as a trial court judge, retired from the Orange County Superior Court to become a full-time arbitrator, discovery referee, and mediator. To this day, he is the only Orange County Judge, active or retired, to have been assigned to all of the Court's calendars. In addition to serving two terms as Presiding Judge of the Court, Judge Smith was Presiding Judge of the Probate Department, Supervising Judge of the Criminal Panel, and assigned to the Complex Litigation Panel, Family Law Panel, Criminal Trial Panel, Law and Motion, Civil Trials, Juvenile Court, and General Trials.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
The breadth of Judge Smith's experience is one of the strengths he brings to the table as a mediator, arbitrator, or discovery referee. He has presided over thousands of settlement conferences and trials as a judge, and since his retirement has worked on over 1,500 cases as an arbitrator, mediator, or discovery referee, with an emphasis on complex litigation.
Representative Matters
- Arbitrator in a high 10-figure government contract binding arbitration, a high 8-figure complex business binding arbitration, and over 200 other cases of varying levels of complexity
- Discovery Referee and/or Special Master in 8-figure litigation involving the home mortgage loan industry, a major pension fund fraud action, numerous construction defect cases, several estate and trust matters, and other complex litigation proceedings
- Mediator in over 500 matters including complex civil litigation, major personal injury actions, real estate disputes, and estate and trust proceedings