Hon. Richard D. Aldrich (Ret.) joined JAMS in 2017 following his distinguished
27-year judicial career, most recently serving as an Associate Justice on the
California Court of Appeal, Second District. Previously, he served on the Ventura
County Superior Court. During his time on the bench, Justice Aldrich authored
many significant opinions and participated in 8,000 appellate opinions. He also
made major contributions to the advancement of ADR in both the trial and
appellate courts in California. He was also instrumental in defining processes for
complex case management and co-authored the Deskbook on the Management of
Complex Civil Cases.
In private practice from 1960 to 1990, Justice Aldrich practiced civil trial law and
tried cases in diverse areas, including medical malpractice, legal malpractice and
complex civil cases, including class actions, products liability, defective design of
the Corvair Automobile and catastrophic personal injury. He successfully handled
disputes involving real property, construction defects and toxic torts. Justice
Aldrich has had extensive experience in insurance coverage disputes and fair
claims-handling practices. As a lawyer, he handled numerous insurance bad-faith
claims.
Justice Aldrich frequently speaks on ADR-related topics and served nearly 20
years on the faculty of the B.E. Witkin California Judicial College, teaching Civil
Settlement Techniques.  He has also taught seminars on best practices in handling
insurance claims.