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Judge David F. Levi (Former) Chief Judge
Chief Judge U.S. District for the Eastern District of California
Arbitrator, Mediator, Mock Trials, Special Discovery Master, Corporate Investigation
Hon. David F. Levi is the former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California with chambers in Sacramento. He served as a United States District Judge for almost 17 years from 1990 to 2007.
Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Levi served as the Presidentially appointed United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California (1986-1990). He is the President of the American Law Institute and currently serves as a judge on a new data privacy court, the Data Protection Review Court, in the U.S. Department of Justice.
In 2007, he was recruited to Duke Law School to become the 14th dean of the law school, serving as the James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean of the School of Law from 2007 to 2018. From 2018 through 2022, he was the founding Director of the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law School as well as the Levi Family Professor of Law and Judicial Studies.
Judge Levi became president of the American Law Institute (ALI) in 2017 after serving as a member of the ALI Council and an advisor to the ALI’s Federal Judicial Code Revision and Aggregate Litigation projects.
Judge Levi has served in a variety of leadership positions within the judiciary. By appointment of the Chief Justice, he was chair of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the United States Judicial Conference and the Standing Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure of the U.S. Judicial Conference.
Judge Levi was an independent director of the Las Vegas Sands for 9 years (2015-2024), a public company listed on the NYSE. He was chair of the nominating and governance committee and the compliance committee. He was a member of the compensation committee.
Judge Levi is the court appointed trustee of the Asarco, THAN and Kaiser Gypsum Asbestos Trusts. He also serves as the court appointed Future Claims Representative of the J.T. Thorpe Settlement Trust, Thorpe Insulation Company Asbestos Settlement Trust, the Western Asbestos Settlement Trust, and the Plant Asbestos Settlement Trust.
Judge Levi is on the Visiting Committee of Harvard Law School.
He was a member of the Board of the National Parks Conservation Association and Equal Justice Works.
His experience acquired throughout the course of his time on the bench, as the dean of a top law school, and in his other endeavors makes him exceptionally-qualified to assist parties and their counsel in resolving disputes through arbitration or mediation.
ADR Experience and Qualifications:
- Served 17 years as a federal judge, presiding over a full range of motions, managing discovery and conducting settlement conferences.
Former Positions:
- James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean of Duke Law School, 2007-2018
- Chief United States District Judge, Eastern District of California, 2003-2007
- United States District Judge, Eastern District of California, 1990-2003
- United States Attorney, Eastern District of California, 1986-1990
- Assistant United States Attorney, Eastern District of California, 1983-1986
- Law Clerk to the Honorable Lewis F. Powell, Jr., United States Supreme Court, 1981-1982
- Law Clerk to the Honorable Ben C. Duniway, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1980-1981
- Teaching Fellow in English History and Literature, Harvard University, 1973-1977
Admitted to Practice:
- California (1983)
Education:
- J.D., Stanford Law School (1980)
- Ph.D. Candidate, Harvard University (1973-1977)
- MA (History), Harvard University (1973)
- A.B., Harvard College, magna cum laude (1972)