Hon. James A. Steele (Ret.)

Judge Steele has 35-plus years of legal experience as a transactional lawyer, trial lawyer, in-house counsel for both public and private companies, and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge. He serves as a mediator, arbitrator, judicial trial and discovery referee, and special master.  Judge Steele has overseen  in excess of  2,500 disputes, totaling well in excess of $2 billion in controversy. He is regularly called upon to assist in  complex, multi-party disputes throughout the United States and  has conducted numerous mediations and evidentiary hearings by videoconference (Zoom).  These have included trusts, real estate, commercial and business disputes as well as those arising out of high-end residential, commercial construction and both public (large scale engineering projects, college/university buildings, hospitals, etc.) and private works of improvement.

Judge Steele is highly regarded for his ability to quickly grasp highly complex and technical areas of law and fact, as well as his ability to effectively communicate those complexities to others. With his unique blend of in-house counsel, private law practice, judicial experience, and even having served as a trial juror through verdict while he was a sitting judge, Judge Steele has developed a practical and creative approach to resolving disputes. Judge Steele also recognizes the critical role counsel play in the process, and he works closely with them and their clients on a collaborative basis when assisting in mediation.

At the time of his retirement from the Los Angeles Superior Court in late 2014, after having served on the Court’s Executive Committee and in various assignments including presiding over an IC (general jurisdiction/direct calendar) courtroom handling a wide variety of civil cases from inception, law and motion and through and including jury or bench trial, he was one of the probate division’s most respected trial judges. He was also the architect and Committee Chair of the court’s highly successful Central District Probate Settlement Program, which continues in operation to the present, serving the public and the legal community. Judge Steele was honored by the Bar Association with its Administration of Justice Award for his work in developing this program.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Steele was employed by major private and publicly held corporations as in-house staff counsel and assistant general counsel before rising to the position of general counsel for a commercial real estate developer with affiliates and subsidiaries in shopping center and hotel ownership and management, general contracting, excavation/engineering, plumbing, electrical and other subcontracting specialties. He joined a Century City-based law firm and later established his own firm handling financial, real estate, construction, automobile dealership, and general corporate law matters.  In that capacity Judge Steele litigated numerous matters to bench and jury trial throughout California as well as completion of scores of construction industry arbitrations involving both residential and commercial projects.

Judge Steele is also a much sought-after speaker by bar associations, corporate law departments, and other organizations. His speaking engagements have included the West Coast Casualty Conference, the USC Trusts & Estates Conference, various Los Angeles County Bar Association sponsored events, and AOC and JES Continuing Education programs for judicial officers, as well as many of The Rutter Group programs.