Judge Richard Kramer sat atop one of San Francisco's two complex litigation departments for a decade. So the decision to replace him with Judge Curtis Karnow, announced in an email to the judges the Friday before last Christmas, was a bit of a bombshell — for Kramer, for the other judges and perhaps most of all, for the business litigators who'd grown accustomed to Kramer's way of handling the specialized docket.
More than a dozen trial attorneys — many of whom requested anonymity because they have pending litigation there — described Kramer's ouster by Presiding Judge Cynthia Ming-mei Lee as surprising, and unwelcome. They worried it would undermine a key feature of the complex department: one judge assigned to one case from beginning to end. When the shock wore off, they were left to wonder: What's the new judge like?
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
