Elizabeth Duncan Laporte, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of California, is as busy as she is well-versed in law. Since her appointment on April 4, 1998, Laporte has presided over a multitude of civil cases, including patent, trademark, copyright and other business litigation, employment, civil rights and environmental cases. She also presides over criminal matters, conducts settlement conferences and resolves discovery disputes.
“It’s a goal of mine to think like a practicing attorney—to be service-oriented,” she says. “You can’t please everybody, but hope to give everybody a fair hearing and issue a prompt decision. That’s what I wanted as a lawyer, and I think that’s what all lawyers want.”
