Hon. Robert Altman
Case Manager: Chelsea Mangel
Tel: (310) 201-0010 Ext. 137
E-Mail
EDUCATION & LEGAL EXPERIENCE
Harvard Law School, JD, 1964 [Cum Laude]
University of California at Los Angeles, 1961 [Highest Honors, Phi Beta
Kappa]
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, 1969 – 1980
Loeb and Loeb, 1964 – 1969
While in law school, Judge Altman was permitted to handle litigation
matters, and, while a student, tried and settled cases in and around the
Boston area. Following graduation, he went with the firm of Loeb and
Loeb where after six months he was permitted to handle litigation
matters from start to finish. He litigated and tried business cases in
Los Angeles, San Francisco and Ventura counties and also did complex
transaction work. Wanting to be in court on a daily basis, he joined the
Los Angeles County District Attorneys office in 1970, and for ten years,
tried hundreds of criminal cases. He received commendations from local
officials and from the California Legislature. He was co-counsel with
9th Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Stephen Trott on the so called
“Watergate West” case which involved criminal activity in California by
the White House “Plumber’s” group.
JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE
Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court, 1980 – 2000; Assignments in Sylmar,
Central, and Santa Monica
Santa Monica – West District, 1990 – 2000 [civil trials, settlement
conferences and motions]
Judge Altman was appointed directly to the Superior Court in 1980. He
retired in March 2000 having spent twenty years on the bench. He enjoyed
a distinguished career and in 1990 received the Outstanding Trial Jurist
Award from the Los Angeles County Bar Association. For many years he
handled criminal cases in the downtown Criminal Courts Building. For two
years he handled exclusively court trials, taking on trailing cases when
both sides were willing to waive jury and permit him to make the
decision. About a third of the cases were homicides and Judge Altman
routinely tried five or more cases a week. He was the only judge ever to
have such an assignment and was honored by both the Criminal Court Bar
Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association Criminal Justice
Section as their trial judge of the year.
For the last ten years of his public career, Judge Altman had a civil
assignment in Santa Monica. He handled the master calendar, law and
motion, ex-partes, etc. and conducted mediation and settlement
conferences on a regular basis. His colleagues maintain that during his
career he probably tried and settled as many cases as any judge in
California. He has handled every variety of civil dispute and has served
as an “all purpose” judge in complex cases.
Judge Altman was elected multiple times to the Superior Court’s
Executive Committee, and for many years, served on both the BAJI and
CALJIC committees. He also served as a Trustee of the California Law
Library.
Since retiring, Judge Altman has practiced as a private judge. He has
handled mediations and arbitrations involving all areas of civil law. He
currently handles mediations only. He has been named by the Daily Journal for six consecutive years (2006-2011) as one of the top mediators in
California and by the Hollywood Reporter for four consecutive years (2007-2010) as one of the top
entertainment mediators in California.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES & QUALIFICATIONS
Judge Altman has enjoyed a very active teaching career. While a
practicing attorney, he was on the faculty at Pepperdine Law School,
and, while on the bench, served on the faculty of the California Judges
Association and the California Center for Judicial Education and
Research. Through those organizations he was involved in teaching in
every aspect of civil litigation to judges throughout the State. He has
also written extensively on trial management and settlement techniques.
He has served on panels for Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB);
Rutter Group; and Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA). Since
retiring, he has spoken on mediation, arbitration and civil trials.
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