Hon. Larry A. Burns, Ret.

Judge Burns is an experienced mediator and arbitrator with Judicate West, a leading private dispute resolution organization in California. He joined Judicate West following 27 years of distinguished service as a federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, including two years as Chief Judge.

Known for his extensive litigation experience, he is regarded as an outstanding trial lawyer, an effective settlement judge, and a scrupulous and efficient trial judge. As a lawyer, he tried more than 150 cases to jury verdict and argued 40 cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He was elected to Fellowship in the College in 1997 and to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2002. Before taking the bench, he was also engaged in the corporate sector, serving as Corporate Secretary and a member of the Board of Directors of a publicly traded company. In that role, he helped develop strategies that led to the launch of the companys successful initial public offering. He also oversaw shareholder securities actions, banking and regulatory enforcement, and employment litigation.

Judge Burns spent the first several years of his judicial career as a civil settlement judge, helping parties settle hundreds of cases. As a trial judge, he presided over more than 300 federal jury trials, including high-profile cases involving elected officials, complex business and tort litigation, and multi-district and class action cases. He also supervised receivership actions, including a multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme case in which investors eventually recouped over 95% of their investments. (U.S. SEC v. Peterson, 129 F.4th 599 (9th Cir. 2025).

Throughout his judicial career, Judge Burns served as a visiting trial judge in civil and criminal cases nationwide, including in New York City, Tampa, Jacksonville, Phoenix, Tucson, Boise, Coeur D’Alene, and Salt Lake City. He also sat by designation with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, authoring eight reported appellate decisions.