Honorees

Judge Glenda Sanders was born in Durban, South Africa. She began her legal career as an assistant professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She then obtained a Masters degree in Law at the University of Cambridge, Clare College, England. She returned to South Africa where she practiced as a barrister (trial lawyer) for five years. During her time as a barrister, Judge Sanders represented many people accused of capital crimes pro bono. In 1979, it became legal, in spite of Apartheid, for black South Africans to join trade unions. The law of collective bargaining was in its infancy at that time. Judge Sanders chose to represent unions rather than management to assist underrepresented workers in their fight to enhance workers’ rights, which in South Africa at that time included basic civil rights to associate, strike and bargain for workplace accommodations and safety measures.
 
In 1986, Judge Sanders joined Latham & Watkins, LLP. In her fifteen years at Latham, which included eight years as an equity partner, Judge Sanders focused on commercial law but also found time to devote to pro bono cases. These matters included cases she took on as a member of the Federal Indigent Panel. In her capacity as a member of that panel, she devoted hundreds of hours representing defendants accused of serious federal crimes pro bono.
 
In her early years on the bench, Judge Sanders presided over the Felony Drug Court in Westminster. In collaboration with prosecutors, public defenders, psychologists, probation officers, and law enforcement officials, she helped hundreds of persons accused of drug related felonies obtain access to treatment for their addictions including access to rehabilitation facilities. Successful completion of the drug court program resulted in expungement of their crimes, reunification with their families and employment opportunities.
 
Judge Sanders’ commitment to access to the courts and to justice has been recognized by the legal community in Orange County. The American Board of Trial Advocates, the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, and the Orange County Women Lawyers’ Association have all bestowed upon her their “Judge of the Year” awards for her efforts to promote and protect the integrity of our judicial system.
 
During her 20 years as a Judge of the Superior Court of California, Orange County, Judge Sanders spent many years focusing on civil disputes including 6 years on the Complex Civil Litigation Panel and she also shouldered extensive administrative responsibilities. Her contribution to the judiciary was not confined to her work in the courtroom.  She made a considerable contribution to the administration of justice by serving as the Supervising Judge of the Civil Panel, Chairperson of the Court’s Finance Committee, Member of the Court’s Technology Committee, Assistant Presiding Judge and then Presiding Judge of the Orange County Superior Court, California’s third-largest court (144 judicial officers and 1500 employees). 
 
Judge Sanders has recently retired from the bench and joined JAMS as a mediator and arbitrator. She focuses upon the mediation of complex civil matters for parties seeking to resolve their disputes by agreement rather than by litigation.