APABA congratulates Vijay C. Gandhi on his appointment as Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California
April 13, 2010
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
PRESS RELEASE
Release Date: April 12, 2010
Contact: Lydia A. Yurtchuk, Staff Attorney, Legal Services Unit (213)894-8249
JAY C. GANDHI APPOINTED AS MAGISTRATE JUDGE
The United States District Court for the Central District of California has announced the appointment of Vijay “Jay” Chand Gandhi as United States Magistrate Judge.
Judge Gandhi will be sworn in as a Magistrate Judge on April 14, 2010. He will sit in Los Angeles, and will preside over matters arising from all three Divisions of the Court. The Central District of California is the largest district in the nation and is comprised of the seven counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The Central District serves more than 19 million people and, last year, more than 14,900 cases were filed in the district.
Judge Gandhi will be the first Indian-American federal judge in the Central District and only the second Indian-American federal judge in the history of the United States. At age 38, Judge Gandhi will also be one of the youngest federal judges currently serving in the Central District.
Judge Gandhi was formerly a litigation partner at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. Judge Gandhi practiced law for nearly 12 years at Paul Hastings, first joining the firm as an associate in 1998 and subsequently elected to equity partner in 2006. Judge Gandhi specialized in complex business litigation and class actions. His practice areas included securities, corporate governance, consumer rights, intellectual property, and real estate. During his tenure at Paul Hastings, Judge Gandhi also served as Vice-Chair of the firm’s Orange County office.
While in practice, Judge Gandhi was repeatedly recognized as a “Rising Star Lawyer” in the “Super Lawyers” Edition of Law & Politics Magazine. Judge Gandhi is a prolific writer, and has several publications to his credit, including as co-author of a book on securities law claims. Judge Gandhi is also an alum of the Trial Attorney Partnership with the Orange County District Attorney’s office where he worked on a full-time basis as a volunteer Deputy District Attorney.
Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Judge Gandhi clerked for the Honorable Kenneth M. Hoyt, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas. Judge Gandhi received his J.D. degree from the University of Southern California Law School, graduating Order of the Coif.
Including the appointment of Judge Gandhi, the California Central District has 23 authorized full-time and one part-time Magistrate Judge positions. The duties of Magistrate Judges include conducting preliminary proceedings in criminal cases, the trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases, ruling on discovery disputes in civil cases, issuing Reports and Recommendations in habeas corpus and civil rights cases, the trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants, and other matters as may be assigned. Magistrate Judges are appointed for a term of eight years and can be reappointed to additional terms.
The Magistrate Judge position requires a minimum of five years membership in good standing of the Bar of the highest court of a state, and at least five years of active practice of law. The rigorous selection process, which is governed by statute and by regulations adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United States, includes detailed background reviews and interviews before a Merit Selection Panel consisting of attorneys and non-attorney, public representatives. The Panel refers candidates to the District Court, where interviews are conducted by the District Court’s Magistrate Judges Committee. The top candidates are then referred to the full Court for review, selection, and appointment.
