Hon. Harvey A. Schneider, Ret.
Recognized as one of the Daily Journal’s 30 Top Neutrals in California in 2006, Judge Schneider is considered by his clients to be “an extremely efficient neutral” who is able to quickly identify issues and get to the heart of the matter. Judge Schneider is experienced in managing and trying a wide variety of civil matters such as construction defect, toxic tort, class actions, intellectual property, personal injury, medical and legal malpractice, contract, eminent domain and real property cases. His last three years on the bench were spent managing complex cases, including issue identification and resolution; structuring cases for settlement or trial; and assisting parties in the preparation of trial packages (including witness and exhibit lists, instructions and special verdicts).

Judge Schneider served on the Los Angeles Superior Court for more than 12 years. He was the first Supervising Judge of two significant court pilot programs for civil cases: the long-cause program for trials of 20 days or more, and the Complex Litigation Program. Prior to his service on the Superior Court, he was a United States Magistrate Judge for nearly four years, and he practiced trial and appellate law for many years.

Judge Schneider has been active in presenting legal education courses for attorneys on topics ranging from evidence to effective trial and deposition skills. He is a former member of the Los Angeles County Bar Ethics Committee and a current member of the Executive Committee of the Litigation Section of the county bar.

SPECIALIZES IN: Complex civil litigation of all types, with emphasis on intellectual property, construction defect, entertainment and discovery issues

EDUCATION:

  • J.D. (1963), University of Southern California Law Center. Fourth in class; elected to Order of the Coif and Phi Kappa Phi
  • B.S. (1958), University of California at Los Angeles

ORGANIZATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

  • Current or former member: American, Los Angeles County and San Fernando Valley bar associations, Los Angeles County Bar Ethics Committee. Guest Advisor, Ad Hoc Committee of the Los Angeles County Grand Jury investigating jury reform, 1974.
  • Author or coauthor of numerous published articles and comments in law reviews and bar publications.

AVAILABLE: Nationwide.