Judge Baird.

Former U.S. Attorney Lourdes Baird has joined the local office of JAMS, a provider of alternative dispute resolution services. Baird is a retired judge for the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, where she served since 1992.

Baird said she expects to handle mediations and arbitrations for federal cases involving intellectual property, securities-related fraud, employment discrimination and other business litigation.

"I've been working all my life and enjoyed it," said Baird, 70. "It has never been something burdensome on me. I certainly would not want to walk away from the law because I find it so terribly interesting."

While she was U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, Baird led the prosecution of executives involved in the savings and loans scandals, most notably Charles Keating, who was convicted in 1993 on fraud and racketeering charges and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The conviction was later overturned on appeal.

Baird was an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California from 1977 to 1983, and was appointed in 1986 by Gov. George Deukmejian to serve on the Los Angeles Municipal Court. She was later elevated to the Los Angeles Superior Court, where she served until 1990.

Legal Hotbed?

How 200 federal judges rank the problem of
frivolous lawsuits.

* No Problem                           15%
* Very Small Problem                   38%
* Small Problem                        32%
* Moderate Problem                     12%
* Large Problem                         2%
* Very Large Problem                     1%

Source: E-mail survey conducted by the Federal Judiciary Center as
part of the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2004

Staff reporter Amanda Bronstad can be reached at [phone], ext. 225, or at [e-mail].