Judge Moon has been available to attorneys and their clients as an independent private judge since July, 2001. He provides mediation, arbitration and settlement conference opportunities to assist parties in resolving disputes. Having handled a wide variety of lawsuits as a trial judge, including complex matters such as construction defect, toxic tort, environmental, and class action lawsuits, Judge Moon has the experience to serve as a reference, special master, neutral fact-finder and temporary judge.

Judge Moon retired from the San Diego Country Superior Court after serving 23 1/2 years as a trial judge. He was Presiding Judge of the San Diego Municipal Court before being elevated in 1983. Assigned to the North County Division of the San Diego Superior Court, he has presided in virtually every department and served as its Supervising Judge. For 3 1/2 years preceding retirement, Judge Moon handled a civil independent calendar, both managing civil cases from filing to final disposition and trying those which did not resolve or settle.

Aside from his normal criminal assignments, Judge Moon concentrated his efforts as a civil case manager towards law and motion, settlement and trials in the following legal areas: personal injury, medical and professional malpractice, trade secrets, unfair business competition, intellectual property, real estate transactions, real property, toxic spills, products liability, CEQA mandate actions, eminent domain, employment, probate and trust litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith, breach of contact, fraud, and protracted domestic matters. He has employed innovative settlement techniques, including the use of non-attorney special masters, mini-trials, summary jury trials, and site inspections, to resolve cases thought to be unsettleable.

Judge Moon's philosophy towards case management is that the earlier the intervention in the dispute the more likely the parties are to settle their differences without protracted litigation and trial. Toward this end as a case manager, he has encouraged and sometimes compelled parties and their attorneys to facilitate discovery and engage in early mediation or a case evaluation session. Since most disputants would rather spend their time, money and emotional energy other than "in court", he understand a neutral's role is to ascertain the needs of the parties and fashion the framework for a resolution to the dispute. The neutral's tools then are a blending of rights, law, economics, and common sense tempered with respect and dignity.

Having served by assignment of the Court of Appeal, 4th District, Division 1, and having hundreds of his cases appealed in normal course, Judge Moon is cognizant of the tenor of the appellate court and the appellate process. Combined with presiding over many hundreds of jury trials, he has considerable experience in evaluating cases.

Judge Moon is the co-founder and first President of the Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Chapter, American Inns of Court. He has been an instructor for CEB, CJA, CJSP and the Rutter Group on a wide range of legal topics, including evidence, law and motion, ethics, trials, probate administration, adoptions, and criminal law and procedure. He is a graduate of the Civil Mediation course at the National Judicial College and has been an instructor for that course. Long before arbitration was in vogue and as a young attorney in the late 1960's, he represented clients in arbitrations under labor-management collective bargaining agreements.

Judge Moon is a graduate of Stanford University, B.A. 1964, and University of San Diego School of Law, J.D. 1967, where he was one of the editors of Law Review.