Hon. Larry A. Burns, Ret.

There are few judges with the experience Judge Larry Burns brings to the private sector. He recently wrapped up more 20 years of distinguished service to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, including two years as Chief Judge. Combined with his time as a magistrate and district court judge, Judge Burns has served as an Article 3 judge for more than 27 years.

During his tenure on the federal bench, Judge Burns presided over numerous high-profile federal cases involving elected officials, antitrust litigation and RICO prosecutions. A few highlights include: the prosecution of former U.S. Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham for public corruption and bribery; the RICO prosecution of leaders of the Arellano-Felix Tijuana drug cartel; and, by special assignment, the 2011 Tucson mass shooting case against Jared Loughner, in which U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was gravely wounded and six others were murdered. Prior to his appointment, Judge Burns tried over 150 cases to verdict as a litigator and argued more than 40 cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Judge Burns regularly serves by designation with the Ninth Circuit, for which he has authored eight reported decisions. He has also served as a visiting trial judge in civil and criminal trials nationwide, including in New York City, Tampa, Phoenix, Boise, Coeur D’Alene, Salt Lake City, and Jacksonville, Florida. Judge Burns is a coauthor of the Ninth Circuit Criminal Handbook – a digest of federal criminal law and procedure in the Ninth Circuit – published by LexisNexis and now in its 14th edition.

In 2002, Judge Burns was named “Judge of the Year” by the San Diego Consumer Trial Lawyers in recognition of his effectiveness as a civil settlement judge. He also received the San Diego County Bar Association’s “Outstanding Jurist” award in 2022.

Judgeburns@judicatewest.com 310-284-8224 www.arc4adr.com