SANTA ANA; Calif., Dec. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Judicate West, one of California’s leading providers of private dispute resolution services, has added retired Justice William W. Bedsworth, who spent nearly three decades as an associate justice on the California Fourth District Court of Appeal.
Justice Bedsworth joins the firm’s Appellate Practice Group focusing on private appellate consultation. His range of services includes evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of potential appeals, reviewing appellate briefs, identifying potential appellate concerns, and giving parties practice in oral arguments. Additionally, he will help develop and advance private appellate panel experience, giving lawyers more clarity, insight and control in the appellate process.
“Justice Bedsworth is an Orange County icon, and he is one of the most respected legal minds in the state. For more than 25 years, we’ve admired his work, his professionalism, and the impact he has had on the legal community,” said Alan Brutman, President and Co-Founder of Judicate West. “After 27 years on the Court of Appeal bench, Justice Bedsworth is a bona fide expert in appellate law, and he will be a boon to our unique Appellate Practice Group and especially to lawyers looking to test out their appellate strategies. His appellate specialization diversifies our service offerings and enhances the resources available to our clients. He is an ideal cultural fit at Judicate West and bringing him on board feels both natural and meaningful.”
Justice Bedsworth retired from the California Fourth District Court of Appeal in October 2024 following 27 years on the bench. The longest serving justice in the history of the Fourth District, Division 3, he wrote 220 published opinions and authored over 2,000 more in all areas of the law, and his opinion in People v. Garcia (2000) was the first gay rights precedent in American history, prompting the state’s legislature to bar peremptory jury challenges based on sexual orientation. Justice Bedsworth was elected to the Orange County Superior Court in 1986, serving 10 years on the bench before his appointment to the Court of Appeal in 1997.
He began his career with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office where he served as a trial deputy, appellate attorney and managing attorney in charge of its law and motion and appellate divisions. Justice Bedsworth has received numerous distinctions for his outstanding legal career. In 2025, he received the California Judicial Council’s Distinguished Service Award. He received the Orange County Bar Association’s David G. Sills Award for Appellate Excellence in 2015 and its highest honor, the Franklin G. West Award, in 2018. He was named “Judge of the Year” by the Celtic Bar Association in 2012 and the Hispanic Bar Association in 1997. He also received the Orange County Lavender Bar Association’s first Leadership Award in 2011. The California Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates named its only judicial award after him, and he was the first recipient of the eponymous William W. Bedsworth Judicial Civility Award in 2017.
In addition to his award-winning legal writing, since 1981, Justice Bedsworth has authored a nationally syndicated humor column, “A Criminal Waste of Space.” The column has won several awards, including eight from the California Newspaper Publishers Association, which recognized his work as 2019’s best newspaper column in the state.
Justice Bedsworth earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (1971) and his B.A., cum laude, from Loyola Marymount University (1968).
About Judicate West
For more than 30 years, Judicate West has been 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).
Contact:
Melody Kleiman
Judicate West
(714) 852-5189
melody@judicatewest.com
