The U.S. Senate on Tuesday, June 13, confirmed Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Hernán D. Vera to serve as a federal judge for the Central District of California.
Vera, 53, will preside over matters in the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. He fills the vacancy that arose when former U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Morrow assumed senior status in October 2015.
Vera has served as a judge for Los Angeles County in the juvenile division since his appointment by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020. He handled dependency cases, adjudicating child abuse and neglect cases brought on behalf of minors. Prior to his appointment to the Superior Court bench, from 2015 to 2020, Vera worked as a principal at Bird Marella. While at the Los Angeles firm, he litigated and tried complex business disputes, representing plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal court practice focused on commercial civil litigation, with an emphasis on intellectual property and business-related torts.
Vera also maintained a busy pro bono practice. From 2002 to 2014, Vera worked at the pro bono law firm Public Counsel, where he served as the directing attorney of the Consumer Law Project from 2002 to 2008, and then as the president and CEO from 2008 to 2014. At the Consumer Law Project, Vera litigated hundreds of consumer fraud matters on behalf of low-income, disabled and elderly clients, as well as numerous class actions and other impact cases in the areas of housing, public benefits, disability law, employment, foreclosure fraud, community development, immigration, education, and other civil rights matters. During his tenure as president and CEO, Public Counsel more than doubled in size to 130 staff and more than 3,000 volunteers annually, according to Kiry K. Gray, the top clerk and executive for the Central District.
Vera has served as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall, and has also worked as an education staff attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund.
Including the appointment of Vera, the Central District has 28 judgeships, two of which are currently unfilled.
The Central District of California is comprised of the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. It serves more than 19.2 million people, nearly half the population of the state.
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