Retired Judge William C. Beverly Jr. Joins JAMS

Thursday, August 7, 2003

Page 3

Retired Judge William C. Beverly Jr. Joins JAMS

By a MetNews Staff Writer

Retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William C. Beverly Jr. has joined JAMS as an arbitrator and mediator, the nation’s largest alternate dispute resolution provider said yesterday.

“Judge Beverly has a reputation for being fair, thoughtful and deliberate in his decision making, all of which are characteristics of a great neutral,” JAMS Vice President Larry Gennaro said in a statement. “We are honored to have William Beverly, a distinguished member of the community, join JAMS’ panel of resolution experts.”

Beverly retired Aug. 3. He told the METNEWS in June that he intends to be heavily involved in a project studying the history of the City of Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the contributions of minority groups.

He added at the time that he expected to be involved in private judging, but declined to be more specific, saying it would be improper to do so while still on the bench.

Beverly was a judge for more than 23 years, including the last 18 years on the Superior Court. JAMS noted that he had presided over a wide range of court and jury trials in addition to mediation and settlement conferences, including commercial litigation, insurance coverage, employment, medical and legal malpractice, construction, governmental and election disputes, environmental and probate matters.

His last assignment was as presiding judge of the Appellate Division.

“Throughout my career I have been involved in resolving a variety of civil matters and have enjoyed participating in mediations and settlement conferences,” Beverly said in a release. “Joining JAMS will provide an exciting opportunity to use ADR to bring parties together to solve problems in a common sense, efficient way.”

Beverly is a 1965 graduate of Pepperdine University. He was a Los Angeles County social worker while attending Southwestern University School of Law, from which he earned his degree in 1969.

He practiced in Hollywood for three years before forming a Long Beach firm with several other lawyers, including the late Everett Ricks Jr., who also became a Superior Court judge. He was also a member of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission and served as its vice president prior to being named to the Long Beach Municipal Court by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 1980.

He was elevated to the Superior Court by then-Gov. George Deukmejian in 1985.

He served as supervising judge in Torrance in 1994 and 1995 before transferring to a civil assignment in downtown Los Angeles, which he held until he began his Appellate Division service in 1999. He was named presiding judge in August 2000 following the elevation of Kathryn Doi Todd to the Court of Appeal.

He received Southwestern’s Outstanding Judicial Officer Award in 1996.

Beverly has also taught at California State University-Dominguez Hills, California State University-Long Beach and at the California Judicial College. He has been an MCLE lecturer and California Judges Association panelist and served on the CJA Executive Board from 1983 to 1985.