---
title: Shirley K. Watkins
url: https://www.advocatemagazine.com/authors/shirley-k-watkins
---

![Shirley K. Watkins](https://www.advocatemagazine.com/media/zoo/images/Watkins-Shirley_5ab6e46a104d23d46314f720ef95f8c8.jpg)

# Shirley K. Watkins

Shirley K. Watkins was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court by Governor Jerry Brown in November 2014. Prior to her appointment, Watkins practiced primarily in the area of medical malpractice and successfully handled hundreds of malpractice cases. She was a member of the CAALA Board of Governors and served in several Board positions for Women Lawyers of Los Angeles, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. She has been nominated twice as CAALA Trial Lawyer of the Year. For over 15 years, she served as a voluntary mediator and arbitrator for the Los Angeles Superior Court. She has completed Pepperdine University’s distinguished Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution’s training program “Mediating the Litigated Case.”

### Articles written by this author:

## [The secret lives of judges](https://www.advocatemagazine.com/issues/2017-july/the-secret-lives-of-judges "The secret lives of judges")

Time spent on the bench is only the tip of the iceberg of what judges do every day

[Shirley K. Watkins](https://www.advocatemagazine.com/authors/shirley-k-watkins "Shirley K. Watkins")

[2017 July](https://www.advocatemagazine.com/issues/2017-july)

## [The sale of structured settlements](https://www.advocatemagazine.com/issues/2020-july/the-sale-of-structured-settlements "The sale of structured settlements")

You’ve seen the ads on TV. Cash now. Your former client now wants advice. Here’s what you must know

[Shirley K. Watkins](https://www.advocatemagazine.com/authors/shirley-k-watkins "Shirley K. Watkins")

[2020 July](https://www.advocatemagazine.com/issues/2020-july)

## [Telephobia](https://www.advocatemagazine.com/issues/2025-november/telephobia "Telephobia")

Discovery meet and confer cannot be meaningful without real dialogue between the parties – and not by letter or email

[Shirley K. Watkins](https://www.advocatemagazine.com/authors/shirley-k-watkins "Shirley K. Watkins")

[2025 November](https://www.advocatemagazine.com/issues/2025-november)