About John M True
John M True III built a long career in law that moves between the bench, the classroom and the mediation room. He began his academic path at Trinity College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1966. He later returned to school and received a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 1975.
True’s early public service included time as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966. After law school he worked as a lawyer in a variety of capacities beginning in 1975. Over the next decades he combined practice with teaching. Starting in 1984 he served as an adjunct professor of law at several Bay Area law schools, bringing real-world courtroom experience into the classroom for students studying civil procedure, evidence and trial practice.
In 2003 he joined the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda as a judge. He sat on the bench for a period that included civil and criminal dockets. That judicial experience shaped his later work in dispute resolution and informed his approach to case management and settlement discussions. He retired from the court in 2015 and then continued to serve the legal community in other roles.
After leaving the bench True turned to alternative dispute resolution. In 2016 he began working as an arbitrator and mediator for ADR Services, Inc. He also listed himself as a retired judge providing arbitration and mediation services. In those roles he has presided over mediations and conducted arbitrations across a range of civil matters.
Throughout his career he has maintained ties to the Bay Area legal community, balancing private practice, teaching and public service. Colleagues and former students recall a pragmatic approach in the courtroom and classroom. His resume shows a steady progression from law practice to the bench and then into ADR work, a path many judges follow when they retire from full-time judicial duties.
As of 2026 he remains affiliated with ADR Services, Inc., where he serves as an arbitrator and mediator. He concentrates on resolving civil disputes through alternative dispute resolution.
