On June 20, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed long-time Adjunct Professor James Schurz to the Marin County Superior Court. Judge Schurz had previously practiced law for 35 years, specializing in complex commercial and class action civil cases.

The Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR) recently honored Judge Schurz for his over two decades of teaching at UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings).  Judge Schurz most recently taught International Commercial Arbitration at the law school.

“Teaching and the dynamic of working within a classroom environment,” Judge Schurz observed, are “enormously helpful to the law, because whether as a judge or as a lawyer, it all comes back to how effectively you are communicating,”[1] He advises students and lawyers with judicial ambitions to seek out trial opportunities and other ways to participate in court, such as being a judge pro tem or a volunteer mediator. “Those are meaningful opportunities, and it’s both important in terms of service to the court, but it also provides a very helpful perspective in understanding what judicial officers do,”[2] he said.

UC Law San Francisco and CNDR congratulate Judge Schurz on his appointment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] A Coffee Chat Q&A with Judge James Schurz, Marin Bar Judge Profile by Neusha Ghaedi & Mia Villanueva, available at: https://marinbar.org/news/article/?type=news&id=814. Last accessed October 3, 2024.

[2] Ibid.