Peter D. Lichtman didn't become a neutral because it was an easy way to sunset his legal career. He had been settling cases for virtually his entire 18 years on the bench. More importantly, he liked doing it and was good at it.
When Lichtman was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court in the early 1990s, he was doing settlements from the get-go, overseeing drunk driving cases during the morning calendar and th... (continued)