Candidate for
Judge-Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 144

With over 25 years of legal experience in a variety of different practice areas, Janis Barquist is extremely well qualified to serve as a Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Barquist received her A.B. degree from the University of Michigan, and her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law. She began her practice at the New York State United Teachers, representing teachers and local unions' employment issues in federal and state court. From there, she continued her representation of unions in private practice, developing expertise in employment issues, and also practicing in the areas of commercial, trade secret and civil rights litigation.

Currently, Barquist is a Deputy City Attorney, representing the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) and other Los Angeles city departments on employment and labor litigation issues. She advises the LAPD, the LAFD and numerous other City departments on a variety of complex labor relations matters.

Barquist is a talented writer, extremely successful in her cases, with an ability to win summary judgments in favor of her clients before cases can even get to trial. She has shown patience and fairness in the process of working her cases, and is well respected within the City Attorney's office. Barquist is also a successful and respected trial attorney.

Throughout her legal career, Barquist has volunteered as an Arbitrator and as a Temporary Judge. She has a true knowledge of the judicial system both from serving in these roles and as a litigator.

Barquist has also been active in the community, serving on the Westside Jewish Community Center Board and the Beverly Hills General Plan Mobility Committee. While abroad, she was a founding member of the Foreign Women Lawyers' Association and served as its Vice President. She is also President of the Board of Rosanna Gamson/Worldwide, a Los Angeles-based dance company, one of the only dance companies in the U.S. which has focused on cross-cultural artistic projects.

Ms. Barquist speaks Japanese and French. Her husband is a partner at the Los Angeles office of the law firm Morrison & Foerster, and the Barquists have two children.