SPEAKERS

Monica Bachner

Judge Bachner has garnered an outstanding reputation over the course of her impressive four-decade legal career. As a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge for over 20 years, she sat in criminal and civil departments, during which she presided over a civil unlimited independent calendar and trial court for the last seven years.

Prior to her appointment, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where she served in a variety of managerial positions, including as chief prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Orange County office.

While serving as a bench officer, Judge Bachner was settlement-oriented and often assisted attorneys in resolving discovery disputes, facilitating their progress toward trial. Judge Bachner describes her approach to private dispute resolution, with the following, “My role as a neutral is to assist the parties in finding mutual agreement. It is important to understand the legal issues and the litigants’ motivations while ensuring that all parties are heard. I will always be fair to all sides and consider the facts and the law presented.”

Margaret Morrow

Following 18 years of distinguished service on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California bench and five years as President and CEO of Public Counsel, Judge Margaret M. Morrow has retired and is available as a mediator, arbitrator, and private judge, including special master and neutral appellate and trial assignments.

During her judicial tenure, Judge Morrow developed the Central District Court’s ADR program, overseeing it for 10 years. She also chaired the court’s committee to secure funding for, design, and build a new federal courthouse, which opened in 2016. Before her appointment in 1998, Judge Morrow spent 24 years in private practice, handling a variety of civil trial and appellate litigation matters, mediating cases, and assisting clients with the arbitration process by filing motions to compel, vacate, and confirm. Throughout her career in practice and on the bench, she has been dedicated to finding creative ways to resolve disputes that often cannot be achieved through litigation.

Dedicated to helping ensure access to justice for all and to minimizing the impact of wealth disparities between parties, Judge Morrow most recently served as President and CEO of Public Counsel Law Center, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm that serves low-income communities and individuals.

Judge Morrow’s commitment to the administration of justice and the legal community is evidenced by the various roles she played in the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the State Bar of California. She was the first woman president in the State Bar’s history and devoted much of her time on the State Bar Board of Governors and in the leadership of the County Bar to improving our court system and increasing access to justice. One of her many accomplishments was the sponsorship of a successful ADR Pledge Campaign directed to lawyers, law firms, and businesses statewide. Judge Morrow also helped draft and lobby the original California court mediation statute and was one of the authors of a bench-bar guide on court-related ADR.

With ADR experience at every level of her professional career, Judge Morrow has been praised by bar associations, lawyers, and clients for her class, fairness, intelligence, and integrity. One attorney commented: “Margaret is thoughtful, compassionate, extremely bright, and has dealt with lawsuits, disputes, and controversies from many angles, including as a talented and successful big law partner and a highly regarded federal judge. She applies rare insight and problem-solving skills to all aspects of her work and will be outstanding in assisting parties in resolving their cases.”