Resume

Hon. Charlotte Walter Woolard joins ADR Service, Inc. with 22 years of judicial experience in multiple civil and family law departments. She held several positions in court leadership as Supervising Judge of the Unified Family Court and Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division. Prior to her appointment on the bench, Judge Woolard was a civil litigator at a major national law firm.

The cumulative experience from her diverse judicial and civil litigation background has made Judge Woolard one of the most successful judges in resolving disputes across many areas of law:

• Business & Commercial Contract
• Employment
• Family Law
• Government Tort
• Insurance
• Personal Injury
• Products Liability
• Real Estate

Serving for nearly a decade as a Family Law judge, including two terms leading the eight family- related departments in San Francisco’s Unified Family Court, Judge Woolard has handled almost every issue presented before family courts, including:

• Character, Value and Division of Property
• Child and Spousal Support
• Custody and Visitation
• Putative Spouse Status
• Relocation
• Parental Rights in Adoptions / Post- Adoption Agreements
• Validity and Enforceability of Pre- and Post-Marital Agreements

Judge of the San Francisco Superior Court, 1995 – 2015

• Family Courts (9 years; Supervising Judge of the Unified Family Court, 2003 & 2013 – 2015)
• Law and Motion (2 years)
• Civil Trial Courts (4 years)
• Appellate Division (3 years; Presiding Judge 2003)

Justice Pro Tempore, California Court of Appeal, October – December 2000

• First Appellate District, Division Four
• Published Opinions:
  Silva v. Union Pacific Railroad Company 85 Cal.App.4th 1024
  People v. Hardin 85 Cal.App.4th 625

Judge of the Municipal Court, San Francisco Judicial District, 1993 – 1995

Civil Litigation Attorney, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, 1986 – 1993

• Primary practice areas: personal injury, products liability, government tort and municipal liability, construction, professional malpractice and insurance coverage disputes

Assistant District Attorney, City and County of San Francisco, 1980 – 1986

Research Attorney, San Francisco Superior Court, 1979 – 1980

• Lifetime Achievement Award, Queen's Bench Bar Association, 2022
• Honored for “Outstanding Service and Commitment to the Families of San Francisco”
  Family Law Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco, 2014
• Recognition for “Extraordinary Efforts on Behalf of the Court and Families”
  San Francisco Juvenile Dependency Panel, 2013
• Service to Families Award
  Rally Family Visitation Services of Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, 2013
• Honored for “Commitment, Judiciousness and Unshakable Demeanor”
  Family Law Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco, 2004
• Award of Appreciation for Outstanding Service and President
  The Lawyers’ Club of San Francisco, American Inn of Court, 2003

• Professional Skills Program – Mediator Boot Camp, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, 2015
• Essentials of Mediation & Divorce Mediation, Northern California Mediation Center, 2014
• Interviewing Children in Separation/Divorce, Northern California Mediation Center, 2014
• Mediating the Litigated Case, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine, 2013
• Mediation: The Art of Facilitating Settlement, CJER/ Straus Institute, 2008
• J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law, 1979
• B.A., San Jose State University, 1976

• Bar Association of San Francisco
• Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
• California Women Lawyers
• Kaiser Permanente Arbitration Panel
• National Association of Women Judges
• Queen’s Bench of the Greater Bay Area
• Association of Business Trial Lawyers, 2016-2024
• The Lawyers’ Club of San Francisco, American Inn of Court, President, 2002-2003, 2019-2020
• Overcoming Barriers, Advisory Council Member
• California Judges Association, Vice-President, 2002-2003
  Secretary Treasurer, 2001-2002

Judge Woolard has been a frequent panelist and presenter at numerous continuing education seminars in the areas of Family Law, Civil Practice and Procedure, and Settlement Strategies. Representative providers include:

• Bar Association of San Francisco
• National Business Institute
• The Rutter Group
• The Lawyers’ Club of San Francisco, American Inn of Court
• The Recorder

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