Mediator, Arbitrator, Judicial Referee at ADR Services
Judge Miller mediates and arbitrates a wide variety of cases including business disputes of all kinds, real estate, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, employment, banking, insurance and personal injury. More information is available on her website JudgeMillerADR.com.
Superior Court Assignments
Judge Miller was appointed by Governor Gray Davis in June 2000. For more than 14 years, she presided in an independent calendar general civil courtroom in downtown Los Angeles. Previous judicial assignments have included limited civil jurisdiction, misdemeanors, traffic and Proposition 36 (Drug) Court.
Appellate Court Assignments
Judge Miller served as a justice pro tem of the California Court of Appeal for over one year in 2014 – 2015 and for several months in 2009, hearing argument and issuing opinions as a member of Division One of the Second District Court of Appeal.
Education
Judge Miller graduated first in her class of 375 from Loyola Law School in 1979, summa cum laude with the highest grade-point average in the school’s history at that time.
Judge Miller was the Chief Articles Editor of the Loyola Law Review and published a comment.
Judge Miller earned her B.A. at Connecticut College for Women and also attended Harvard University.
Pre-Judicial Career
Judge Miller joined the downtown Los Angeles firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson as an associate upon graduation from law school and was made a partner after five years. She remained at Munger, Tolles until she was appointed to the bench.
Judge Miller specialized in complex civil litigation and had extensive experience in many areas including legal malpractice, entertainment litigation, insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, commercial disputes, and land use litigation.
Pro Bono and Community Activities
Judge Miller was named Trial Judge of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles for 2012.
She has served as a member of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers Judicial Advisory Committee and the Board of Directors of that association.
Judge Miller is a founding member of the Loyola Law School Civil Justice Program participating from 2004 to present in a wide variety of community service projects and educational symposia. She has participated in its programs including as a speaker/teacher at The Journalist Law School and The 21st Century Law School and moderating various panels. She has spoken and taught at the Consumer Attorneys Association’s Annual Las Vegas Conventions, at the Association of Business Trial Lawyers Annual Symposia and luncheon programs, for the Annual Meeting of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of California, for CEB, for programs of the Los Angeles County Bar and others.
For many years, Judge Miller served as Special Counsel to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors assisting the Board by investigating and participating in the publication of semi-annual public reports concerning the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The work involved evaluation of whether the Sheriff’s Department had implemented reforms designed to achieve gender neutrality in promotions, job assignments, work evaluations, etc. This necessarily also involved review of practices that might discriminate against other groups. The work also included investigation of incidents of sexual harassment and how the Department preformed in addressing these incidents and their root causes.
Judge Miller served for many years as a Hearing Examiner for the Los Angeles Police Department, adjudicating police officer discipline and/or suspension matters and presiding at Police Department license revocation hearings. These hearings involved police misconduct including sexual harassment, improper use of force, utilization of the trappings of office for personal gain, etc.
Judge Miller served for many years as a member of the Board of Directors of Family Assistance Involving the Homeless (F.A.I.T.H.) and participated in administering its programs. This is a group that provides meals to disadvantaged people seven days a week.
She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cowboy Lawyers Association.
Other publications include scholarly articles written in connection with various teaching activities plus multiple more colloquial articles like A Very Short History Of How The Jury System Created Our Substantive Law And Gave Judges Their Jobs; Why All California Judges Wear A Black Dress To Work, Irrespective Of Gender Or Fashion Preference; Slashings, Shootings, Stabbings, Escapes And Rapes At L.A. Courthouses; What Gang Territory Is Your Courthouse In; and Don’t Drink Coffee Before Getting In The Courthouse Elevator.
