“Judge Robertson’s vast legal knowledge and experience successfully managing a broad range of complex federal civil cases is invaluable,” said JAMS President and CEO Chris Poole. “We are proud that Judge Robertson has joined our panel.” JAMS has more than 20 retired federal judges on its roster of 250 neutrals with Judge Robertson as the most recent addition.
“I spent 15 years on the bench striving for efficiency in the resolution of disputes,” said Judge Robertson. “Joining JAMS will allow me to continue the important work of helping attorneys and their clients resolve complex and challenging cases.”
Selected as a legal “Champion,” by the editors of the National Law Journal on June 7, Judge Robertson was recognized for “guiding Justice and Interior department attorneys and plaintiffs’ lawyers toward resolution of litigation that began more than a decade ago” in Cobell v. Salazar, a class action over alleged mismanagement of billions of dollars in Indian trust account money. The feature explained that Champions are those who have upheld the legal profession’s core values through public service, pro bono efforts and advocacy for civil liberties. Judge Robertson received praise for his role in bringing the attorneys together and keeping them at the negotiating table, for his wisdom to recognize what he could do as a judge and what was best left to the parties to work out themselves as well as for his “graceful touch” when it came to overseeing the Cobell litigation. One attorney noted: “We wouldn’t have a settlement, in my opinion, unless Judge Roberston took the active and judicious role in the process that he had taken.”
Judge Robertson joins the JAMS panel after having served with distinction as a United States District Judge for the District of Columbia for more than 15 years before his retirement June 1. He has presided over more than 1,000 civil cases involving patent, antitrust, securities, construction, banking, contract, environmental, food and drug, labor, international arbitration, employment and regulatory issues. The judge mediated many cases to settlement and provided clear and candid early evaluations of many others to facilitate their negotiated resolution. Judge Robertson served on the Judicial Conference Committee on Information Technology for eight years and was its chair from 2003 to 2005.
Prior to Judge Robertson’s appointment to the federal bench, he was in private law practice for 25 years with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. He served in various capacities with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and was president of the Board of Governors of the D.C. Bar. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Law Institute.
Judge Robertson received his A.B., cum laude from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1959 and his LL.B. in 1965 from George Washington University, where he served as editor-in-chief of the George Washington Law Review.
About JAMS, The Resolution Experts
Founded in 1979, JAMS, The Resolution Experts is the largest private provider of mediation and arbitration services worldwide. With Resolution Centers nationwide and abroad, JAMS and its 250 exclusive neutrals are responsible for resolving thousands of the world’s important cases. JAMS may be reached at 800-352-5267.