Hon. Howard L. Halm brings the vast depth of experience he gained during the course of his nearly 50-year legal career to his dispute resolution practice. Judge Halm served over 9 years as a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge and spent 40 years practicing as a civil trial lawyer with an emphasis on toxic tort/asbestos, legal malpractice, business, and personal injury cases involving complex factual and legal issues. In his law practice, he was known for handling some of the largest cases in California.

Having tried or presided over more than 100 jury trials, Judge Halm has gained both a civil trial lawyer’s perspective and a nuanced understanding of how juries react to a variety of claims and defenses. Additionally, throughout his decades of practice, Judge Halm has participated in scores of mediations and arbitrations. As a judge, he presided over an unlimited personal injury pre-trial courtroom responsible for 6,000 cases and also presided over hundreds of informal discovery conferences where he mediated discovery disputes so well that less than five cases were ultimately submitted as motions.

Throughout his career, Judge Halm has been an active member of his community, bringing cultural awareness to the bench and pursuing justice for disadvantaged communities in his litigation practice. He has served as the president of the following organizations: California Asian American Judges’ Association, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Asian American Bar Association of Los Angeles, and Korean American Bar Association of Los Angeles. He was also the first non-Japanese president of the Japanese American Bar Association of Los Angeles. Judge Halm has been heavily accoladed as Judge of the Year from numerous Asian-American bar associations as well as the Southeast District Bar Association. He has been a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates since 1989.


AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • Business and Contracts
  • Employment
  • Insurance
  • Legal Malpractice/Professional Liability
  • Real Property
  • Toxic Tort and Personal Injury



JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE

2009-2018       Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court

  • General jurisdiction, unlimited, all-purpose, pre-trial and trial court (independent calendar court)
  • General jurisdiction, unlimited, pre-trial personal injury court, responsible for 6,000 cases
  • Limited jurisdiction, civil collection court, where along with another judge, handled over 40,000 limited, civil collection cases
  • Misdemeanor, criminal pre-trial, trial and post-conviction court at the Downey Courthouse, where he tried over 55 jury trials, including personal injury claims


LEGAL EXPERIENCE

2000-2009       Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP (Equity Partner)
Specialized in civil trials, legal malpractice, business, asbestos living mesothelioma/toxic torts, brain injury, real property damage and insurance coverage/bad faith

1975-2000       Breidenbach Buckley Huchting Halm & Hamblet (Shareholder 1978-2000)
Cummins White & Breidenbach (Associate 1975-78)
Specialized in civil trials, legal malpractice, mass toxic torts, environmental, asbestos living mesothelioma, brain injury, FELA, real property damage, insurance coverage/bad faith, inverse condemnation, governmental entity, and common carrier

1968-1975       Office Of The Attorney General, State Of California (Deputy Attorney General 1969-75, Tort and Condemnation Section; Legal Assistant, 1968, Criminal Appeals Division)
Specialized in inverse condemnation, dangerous condition of public property, negligent tunnel inspection, civil rights, and medical malpractice


EDUCATION

  • 2020   “Mediating the Litigated Case” (48 Hours), Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law
  • 2000    Mediation Training (40 Hours), UCLA Extension Department of Business and Management
  • 1968    J.D., University of San Diego School of Law
    ​Notes & Comments Editor, San Diego Law Review
  • 1965    B.A., University of California, Los Angeles



PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  • Judicial Council for the State of California: (Advisory Committee on Civil; Sub-Committee on Limited and Small Claims 2018; Advisory Committee on Access and Fairness)
  • Los Angeles Superior Court: (Bench & Bar 2016-18; Temporary Judge 2015-16; Access to Justice 2010-11; Historical 2011-13)
  • Los Angeles Superior Court Volunteer Work as Lawyer: (Mediator and Temporary Judge 1979-90; Mediator, Special Olympic Panel with Judge Wenke 1984)
  • California State Bar Association: (Executive Committee, Litigation Section 1999-2001; Chair, Sub-committee on Complex Litigation 1999-2001; Judicial Nominees Evaluation Committee 1984-85; Special Committee on Civil Discovery 1978-79)
  • American Bar Association: (Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability)
  • American Board of Trial Advocates, Los Angeles Chapter: (Advocate Member 1989-Present; Executive Committee 1995)
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association: (Member & Chair, Judicial Evaluation Committee 1988-90)
  • Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference: (Member 1999-2002)
  • Association of Southern California Defense Lawyers: (Chair, Benefits Committee 1985)
  • California Asian Pacific American Judges’ Association: (President 2016)
  • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association: (President 2000; Trailblazer Award 1998)
  • Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles: (President 1997)
  • Korean American Bar Association of Los Angeles: (President 1989)
  • Japanese American Bar Association of Los Angeles: (President 1985)

HON. HOWARD L. HALM (Ret.)

Hon. Howard L. Halm


Judge, Los Angeles County Superior Court (Ret.)


Mediator  •  Arbitrator  •  Referee

RESUME