SANTA ANA, Calif.; May 8, 2023 – Judicate West, one of California’s leading providers of private dispute resolution services, has added Judge James L. Crandall, formerly with the Orange County Superior Court, to its roster of neutrals. Based in the Santa Ana office, he is available as a mediator, arbitrator and private judge for matters statewide.
“Judge Crandall is well-respected as a superstar trial lawyer and a seasoned judicial officer. He has more than five decades of combined courtroom experience, including spending the past decade on the Superior Court bench, and saw tremendous success from the other side of the bench, trying 164 cases to verdict. He has established a reputation as a trustworthy, well-liked, fair and professional judge with a vast array of innovative settlement skills,” said Var Fox, Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of Judicate West. “Bringing all of his experience to the table, Judge Crandall promises to be an outstanding resource for our clients, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome him to Judicate West.”
Appointed to the Superior Court bench in 2012 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, Judge Crandall served for more than a decade on the Orange County Superior Court bench. He received national attention for his 2018 ruling that the State of California’s sanctuary immigration law infringed on Huntington Beach’s local control as a charter city. Prior to his bench appointment, Judge Crandall was a partner at Crandall, Wade and Lowe for 36 years, where he defended insurance companies in excess liability and bad faith claims. In addition to trying 164 cases to verdict, he also took roughly 800 cases to mediation. Judge Crandall’s breadth of trial experience earned him the rank of “Diplomate” with the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the organization’s highest rank.
Judge Crandall was selected as the 2023 recipient of the Orange County Trial Lawyer Association Award for Judicial Excellence. In 2017, he was awarded the ABOTA George Francis Judicial Civility Award for his consistent display of courtesy and professionalism. He is a member of ABOTA and the Orange County Bar Association (OCBA), and he was selected for membership in the American College of Trial Lawyers. From 1980-1984, he enjoyed settling cases serving as a volunteer settlement conference officer for the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Judge Crandall earned his J.D. from Loyola Law School (1970) and his B.A. from San Jose State University (1967).
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 judges 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.