Hon. John W. Ouderkirk
Los Angeles County Superior Court, Retired
Judge John Ouderkirk has served as a neutral in a wide range of cases. He has mediated and arbitrated numerous matters, including lengthy, complex civil matters. He has presided over multiple family law trials as judge protem by stipulation of the parties. He is well-respected among the civil and family law bars, where he is considered to be an excellent settlement judge and a thorough and efficient discovery referee. Judge Ouderkirk has a reputation for his adept handling of highly sensitive, emotional cases.
Practice Areas
- Business / Contracts
- Discovery Referee
- Employment
- Family Law
- Insurance Coverage
- Personal Injury
- Legal Malpractice
- Medical Malpractice
- Real Estate
Conflict Resolution Experience
Judge Ouderkirk sat on the Los Angeles Superior Court bench from 1991-2004, where he resolved all aspects of Family Law cases for the last four years of his tenure. From 1997-2000, he handled unlimited jurisdiction cases in the Central Civil Division.
Since 2004, Judge Ouderkirk has served as a discovery referee for the U.S. District Court in a complex, multi-party trademark case and has presided over depositions in the U.S. and Italy.
Judge Ouderkirk was known in the criminal courts for presiding over the “Reginald Denny beating case.” Prior to his appointment to the court, Judge Ouderkirk was a Deputy District Attorney for the County of Los Angeles, where he prosecuted insurance fraud, art forgery, and music piracy. He served as an investigator for the District Attorney’s office from 1970-78 and was a Santa Monica police officer from 1965-70.
Organizations & Achievements
- Member: Family Law Section, Beverly Hills Bar Assoc.; Los Angeles County Bar Assoc.; Riverside County Bar Assoc.; Desert Bar Assoc
- Attendee: CJER/Pepperdine - Straus Mediation Institute; CFLR Family Law update
- Frequent speaker and panelist on family law issues for bar associations and other organizations
Education & Training
- 1977, Loyola Law School
- 1972, California State University, Los Angeles; graduated with honors
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Testimonials From People We’ve Helped
Very professional place to mediate a legal matter. Many places to have a private conversation, comfortable surroundings
Linda L Mitchell
Honorable Mary Thornton House mediated over our impossible case. I never thought this could get resolved, as we were stuck on both sides for almost 4 years. Honorable Mary Thornton House listened to both sides and was able to communicate in a way that both sides understood. She was tenacious, diligent and had attention to details with the accounting and figures presented. We went back and forth into the night. But, she was able to calmly able to get a resolution on both sides. The honorable judge said that in ruling a case in court. You have an instant friend and a permanent enemy. In this case, I received a fair resolution. Grateful, that I did not have to go to court. Glad that our case got resolved. I highly recommend honorable Mary Thornton House