Nuts and Bolts of Arbitration: Insights for Success

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

Hon. Elizabeth Allen White (Ret.) retired as a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court in July 2020, after serving 23 years on the bench. Judge White also served as a justice pro tem of the California Court of Appeal, 2nd District in 2004 and again in 2020. Her judicial career began in 1997 on the Los Angeles Municipal Court, and she was elevated to the Superior Court in 2000 following court unification. Before her judicial service, Judge White worked as a trial attorney, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in employment and general business litigation.

During her tenure, Judge White presided in Department 48, an independent civil calendar court at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. She served as the chair of the Judicial Education Seminars Civil Law Subcommittee from 2016 until her retirement in 2020, leading efforts to develop judicial education for civil judges in Los Angeles County. Prior to this role, she chaired the Civil Law Education Committee for the Judicial Council’s Judicial Education and Research Department.

Judge White has been a frequent lecturer for judicial education across California and has extensive teaching experience. She served as adjunct faculty at USC Gould School of Law, teaching Constitutional Law and Professional Responsibility in its LL.M. program. She also taught Civil Discovery at Loyola Law School and was an instructor for UCLA Extension’s Paralegal Training Program.

Judge White earned her undergraduate degree from UCLA and her J.D. from Loyola Law School in 1981.