Retired L.A. County judge Mary Strobel joins Signature Resolution

Retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mary H. Strobel joined the panel of neutrals at Signature Resolution.

“I am truly excited and honored to join the exceptional team at Signature Resolution,” Strobel said. “Throughout my career, I have been deeply committed to promoting fair and thoughtful resolutions to legal problems.”

Strobel’s career began as an associate at Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp. In 1985, she served as a deputy city attorney and senior land use attorney at the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office, where she advised on land use regulation and related matters. She went on to become the staff counsel to the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission in 1999 before returning to the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office, where she remained until her appointment to the bench by Gov. Gray Davis in 2002.

In her two decades on the bench, Strobel heard many headline-grabbing cases.

In 2018, the Los Angeles Times sued under the Public Records Act to gain access to records from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. As a result of that lawsuit, county leaders were eager to know where the news organization received the tips that led them to their investigative project before granting the PRA request. A year later, Strobel issued a protective order sought by The Times in the case. Los Angeles Times Communications v. County of Los Angeles, BS172865, (L.A. Super., filed Mar. 20, 2018)

In 2020, Strobel declined to order the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to reinstate Roman Polanski’s membership. She ruled that The Academy had a right to expel Polanski. She said The Academy afforded him a fair hearing and gave him sufficient notice of his expulsion. Roman Polanski v. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 19STCP01398, (L.A. Super., filed April 19, 2019)

Polanski fled the country to avoid prosecution in 1978 after he was charged with statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl. Polansky, Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein were expelled from The Academy in 2018 after the organization enacted their revised standards of conduct.

Those revised standards said the organization is no place for “people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates standards of decency,” allowing the organization to suspend or expel those who violate their code of conduct or compromise the integrity of the academy.

Dario Higuchi, the CEO of Signature Resolution, said the company was “thrilled” to have Strobel join its panel of neutrals.

“Her exceptional career as a Superior Court Judge in Los Angeles brings a wealth of expertise and insight that will greatly enrich our team’s capabilities,” Higuchi said. “We look forward to working with Judge Strobel, leveraging her expertise, commitment to just resolutions, and strong leadership in the legal community to serve our clients at the highest level.”