Nicole Bershon

Background:

Judge Nicole Bershon was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2013. She currently sits at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, where she oversees a Community Collaborative Court, focusing on providing alternatives to incarceration for certain at-risk populations, including veterans, the chronically homeless, the mentally ill, and those suffering from addiction.

Previously, she sat at the Torrance Courthouse, where her assignments included misdemeanor and felony trials and preliminary hearings. Prior to her arrival at Torrance, she served as the Site Judge for the Inglewood Courthouse, overseeing daily operations. Before becoming a judge, she served as a court commissioner.

Judge Bershon has served on the Court's Executive, Community Outreach, Court Security, Jury, and Temporary Judge Committees, and was a co-vice-chair of the Court’s Diversity Committee. For the past three years, she has served as the Vice-Chair of the California Judges Association’s (CJA’s) Committee on Diversity and Inclusivity and currently serves on CJA’s Executive Board.

After graduating from law school, Judge Bershon entered private practice with Stutman, Treister & Glatt, and, later, with Irell & Manella, where she handled bankruptcy, civil and criminal litigation, and corporate matters. She then spent six years with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, handling both criminal and civil matters. Before joining the bench, Judge Bershon spent almost ten years with the Office of the Inspector General for the Los Angeles Police Commission, first as an Assistant Inspector General, and later as Inspector General for the LAPD.

Judge Bershon is a former President of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles and is a  prior  recipient  of  their  Distinguished  Service  Award. In addition, she has served on  the  boards  of   California  Women Lawyers, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the Multicultural Bar Alliance of Southern California. She is a Past President of the UCLA Law Alumni Association.

Judge Bershon is a graduate of Princeton University, where she co-captained the women’s rugby team. She received her law degree from the UCLA School of Law, where she served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the UCLA Women’s Law Journal. She has also taught Criminal and Constitutional Law at USC’s Gould School of Law.

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