Hon. Paul Burdick

Hon. Paul Burdick (Ret.) is a former Presiding Judge of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court. He is widely regarded as a highly skilled, experienced, and even-handed trial judge. He is recognized by the legal community as an extremely effective mediator due to his extensive experience in case evaluation, both from his judicial perspective and from his many years as a civil litigation practitioner. Additionally, his exceptional people skills serve to further enhance his effectiveness as a mediator.

Judge Burdick was appointed to the bench by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. During his 17-year judicial tenure, Judge Burdick primarily served in the Civil Department, with additional assignments in Probate and the Criminal Felony Department. In 2007, Judge Burdick established the Court’s innovative judicial mediation program, which replaced mandatory settlement conferences. This program involved two civil departments dedicating a full week each month to conduct judicial mediations in either half-day or full-day sessions. While managing this program, Judge Burdick conducted several hundred mediations, in both civil and probate cases, and successfully resolved over 90% of the cases he mediated.