Case Manager: Lisha Shanholtzer
Hon. Francisco F. Firmat (Ret.) brings decades of judicial and mediation experience to his work helping parties resolve disputes. Over his 27 years on the bench, Judge Firmat served in long-term assignments in civil, family law, and complex litigation, presiding over more than 200 jury trials and thousands of bench trials. He has conducted over 6,000 mediations and settlement conferences across a wide range of matters, including:
Driven by faith and service, Judge Firmat is a natural peacemaker with exceptional mediation skills. He has pursued extensive training in dispute resolution, completing programs at Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in 1996, 2005, and 2008, along with additional training after his retirement from the bench in 2013.
Judge Firmat has been widely honored by both legal and community organizations. Notably, he received the 2008 Benjamin Aranda III Access to Justice Award, presented jointly by the State Bar of California, Judicial Council of California, and the California Judges Association, in recognition of his outstanding efforts to improve access to justice for the Orange County community.
Judge Firmat is fluent in Spanish and before his judicial career was an attorney and a court-certified Spanish interpreter.
On January 17, 2013, Hon. Francisco Firmat received the Orange County Bar Association’s Franklin G. West Award; the OCBA’s highest honor. For a glimpse into the character, values and judicial philosophy of this jurist, please click here to see the video of the introduction and acceptance remarks from the award ceremony.
“Judge Firmat does an excellent job with difficult personalities in helping everyone to find the middle ground. My clients were very impressed with him. We will definitely be scheduling more mediations with Judge Firmat.”
“Judge Firmat is excellent, and I would recommend him to anyone seeking a quality neutral.”
“Judge Firmat is not only a fantastic mediator, he is a true gentleman and a pleasure to work with. ADR is lucky to have him.”
“We enjoyed working with Judge Firmat and the office staff was great.”
“Judge Firmat had clearly read both sides’ confidential mediation briefs and understood the legal arguments. He spent the first few minutes summarizing each side’s arguments and pointing out strengths and weaknesses. I am convinced the few moments spent doing this really helped settle the case. The two hour conference saved my client tens of thousands of dollars.”
“Judge Firmat worked his magic and was able to get this settled with a highly emotional plaintiff.”
“Judge Firmat is the only reason this matter was able to be resolved. He is an exceptional mediator/judge.”
“Judge Firmat did an excellent job and facilitated settlement in a case I would not have imagined would settle. Very professional.”
“Judge Firmat is different from the rest, he’s generous with his time. He’ll call you to give you a primer of the case [in order to] hit the ground running. There were lots of follow up calls. He’s really committed to getting the case resolved.”
“Judge Firmat has a really nice touch as a mediator. He puts people at ease with his approach. I think he also wants to make sure that people are very clear-eyed about their case and the other side’s case. He knows how juries react, and he puts it all out there so people can make informed choices.”
“Judge Firmat skillfully moved what would have been a very long, expensive trial to a creative solution, in a situation where one of the parties was within weeks of dying. Each party achieved their objectives and the children’s best interests were also served.”
“No one has more integrity or compassion than does Judge Francisco Firmat.”
