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Hon. Julie M. Tang (Ret.)

Case Manager: Kathleen Emma

Fee Schedule

Profile

The Hon. Julie M. Tang (Ret.) retired from the San Francisco Superior Court bench in 2014 after 23 years, making her one of the longest-serving judges on the bench. Elected to the San Francisco Municipal Court in 1990, Judge Tang was elevated in 1999 by court unification and has served with distinction in each one of her assignments over the course of her long judicial career, including Civil, Criminal, Family, Juvenile Delinquency and Dependency courts. In 1997, Judge Tang launched and presided over the Court’s first Domestic Violence Court. Many of the procedures and processes that Judge Tang developed then remain in use today.

Skilled, hardworking, and compassionate, Judge Tang is lauded for her ability to effectively communicate with counsel and litigants from diverse backgrounds. Her background and experience in the field of psychology and counseling is rare amongst judges and enables her to identify and understand the human elements behind each dispute, leading to more successful negotiations and positive outcomes.

Prior to her judicial appointment, Judge Tang served as an Assistant District Attorney in the San Francisco for eight years, handling criminal and family support enforcement cases. She also served as a member of the San Francisco Community College Board and was elected its President three times. Before her legal career, Judge Tang worked as a college counselor for Canada Community College and San Francisco City College.

Judge Tang has received numerous awards and accolades for her work on the bench and in the community. Among the many awards she has received from the community, she was most proud of being honored as an Outstanding Chinese American by the Women’s Auxiliary of the Chinese Benevolent Association in 2003.  In 2007, she was inducted into the LEOP Hall of Fame of the Hastings College of the Law. In 2017, she was given one of the highest honors from the Asian American Bar Association, the Joe Morizumi Award for Exceptional Legal Advocacy.

JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE

  • 2014 – 2015   Assigned Judge, San Francisco Superior Court, Civil and Criminal
  • 1998 – 2014   Judge, San Francisco Superior Court
  • 1991 – 1997   Judge, San Francisco Municipal Court

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • 1983 – 1991   Assistant District Attorney, San Francisco
  • 1975 – 1980   Counselor, San Francisco Community College
  • 1974 – 1975   Counselor, San Francisco Unified School District
  • 1973 – 1974   Counselor, Canada Community College

EDUCATION

  • 1983   J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law
  • 1973   M.A. in Counseling Education, Stanford University
  • 1972   B.A. in Psychology, University of San Francisco

CREDENTIALS

  • 1973   Life Credential, California Community College Instruction
  • 1973   Life Credential, California Community College Counseling
  • 1972   Elementary Teaching Credential, California Student Pupil Service

AWARDS

  • 2017   Received Joe Morizumi Award from Asian American Bar Association for Outstanding Legal Advocacy.
  • 2014   Honored as a Co-Founder of Wah Mei School, the first Chinese-American bilingual preschool in San Francisco.
  • 2012   Honored by the Asian Perinatal Advocates for service to families and children.
  • 2010   Named one of the distinguished Chinese Americans in the world community by Sing Tao Daily.
  • 2007   Inducted into the LEOP Hall of Fame of the Hastings College of the Law.
  • 2003   Honored as an Outstanding Chinese American by the Women’s Auxiliary of the Chinese Benevolent Association.
  • 1999   Presented with a commendation for leadership in the Domestic Violence Court by the San Francisco Adult Probation Department.
  • 1997   Honored in a public event by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for launching the Domestic Violence Court.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • Asian American Bar Association
  • Bar Association of San Francisco
  • California Judges Association
  • National Drug Court Association
  • National Judicial College
  • Trial Lawyers Association

OTHER LANGUAGES

Fluent (speaking, reading, writing) in Cantonese and Mandarin.

Representative Cases

Personal Injury

  • Settled a case alleging negligent maintenance of property due to a fall by the plaintiff resulting in injury and subsequent surgery.

Probate/Trusts/Wills

  • Settled a case where all parties involved did not fully understand the value of the estate at hand. Was able to get all parties to talk to each other and gain their trust. This resulted in a lower settlement that originally pursued considering the facts were not fully understood by all.

Fee Schedule