Candidate for
Judge, Superior Court; County of Marin; Office 3

I seek your vote for Superior Court Judge because I wish to serve Marin County. The people of Marin have a right to expect judges to be thoroughly prepared for each hearing, to handle matters expeditiously, and to treat parties and counsel with respect. I pledge to diligently fulfill all of these judicial duties. As importantly, I seek to restore confidence that decisions from the bench will not be influenced by favoritism or the appearance of bias. In 1994 I began a solo practice which, in 1995, I located in San Rafael. My practice included employment law, insurance coverage, personal injury, family law, lien recovery, landlord-tenant, real property (including litigation over easements), business litigation with a particular emphasis on trade secret disputes, partnership dissolution, and trust administration disputes. I represented victims of sexual assault by Border Patrol officers, in a "Bivens" action noted in the 1998 Amnesty International Report, and victims of spousal assault. My institutional clients included the State of New York in federal litigation. In the area of criminal law, I volunteered my services through the Marin County Bar Association misdemeanor conflicts panel representing criminal defendants. During this time, I volunteered in the Family Law Project of the Bar Association of San Francisco providing free family law representation to indigent clients.

I am a member of the State Bar of California, Administration of Justice Committee, which is currently reviewing proposals to change the Evidence Code. I also served as a member of the State Bar of California Advisory Committee on the Continuing Education of the Bar from 1988 through 1991.
My wife and I are raising our four children in Marin. Before becoming an attorney, I was a public school teacher for seven years. I believe that the combination of these experiences particularly enables me to sensitively address the needs of children in court.
In conclusion, my broad background and commitment to public service make me eminently qualified to serve as judge of the Marin County Superior Court. Parties before the court should conclude their litigation with the sense that they have "had their day in court" and that no bias, prejudice or cronyism has tainted the decision. With these objectives in mind, I ask for your support.