Retired Alameda County Judge Winifred Smith joins ADR Services

Judge Winifred Smith, a retired Alameda County Superior Court judge, has joined ADR Services Inc. as a neutral.

"The funny thing about retirement is you don't have to work yet you want to work and this will keep me engaged with the law," she said.

Smith is also teaching a class with a colleague at UC Berkeley Law School this semester.

"I've never taught law school and I was invited to teach a class on civil trial practice," she said. "It's been a lot of fun."

Smith didn't always want to have a legal career. After a visit to Europe before the fall of the "Iron Curtain," she thought about a career as a diplomat.

"I was in the Stanford abroad program and in my junior year, I went to Austria and had a really wonderful experience. I thought I would go to grad school and work for the State Department," she said. "I came home and was really excited about this future career with the State Department and my father looked at me and said, why don't you give some thought about going to law school and then you can pretty much do whatever you want to do. It's a more versatile degree."

After graduating from Boston University Law School, Smith joined the California attorney general's office and stayed for 26 years. In 2000, Gov. Gray Davis appointed her to the superior court.

Smith presided over litigation involving allegations Monsanto's weedkiller "Roundup" causes cancer, which resulted in a $2 billion verdict. She reduced the award to $86.7 million.

"While Monsanto's conduct was reprehensible, the punitive damages... were unconstitutionally high," she said. The judgment was affirmed by the 1st District Court of Appeal. Pilliod v. Monsanto Co., 67 Cal.App.5th 591, 282 Cal. Rptr. 3d 679 (Cal. Ct. App. 2021).

Smith retired from the bench in December and will begin work at ADR Services on May 1.

Joanna Barron, vice president of ADR Services, said Smith will be a great asset to the panel of neutrals.

"Judge Winifred Smith has spent her career elevating the standards of integrity in the legal profession and is one of the preeminent legal minds of our time," Barron said. "Her outstanding intellect, measured temperament and diverse legal acumen will make her an exceptional asset to our clients. We are deeply honored to have her join our panel."