Joan K. Irion, Associate Justice
Justice Joan K. Irion was appointed to the Fourth District Court
of Appeal, Division One, in September 2003. She was found to be
exceptionally well-qualified for the position of Associate Justice
by the California State Bar Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission
and was unanimously confirmed at a public hearing of the Commission
on Judicial Appointments. Before appointment to the Court of Appeal,
Justice Irion served as a San Diego County Superior Court Judge.
Justice Irion devotes substantial time to the improvement of the
courts, judicial education and community outreach efforts. She is
vice-chair of the Judicial Services Advisory Committee to the
California Judicial Council, a frequent lecturer at judicial
education courses, and was instrumental in designing and
implementing the high school education program for the December 2004
San Diego Special Session of the California Supreme Court.
Justice Irion received her undergraduate degree, with high
honors, from the University of California, Davis in 1974. Two years
later, she earned her masters degree in the field of public
administration, with highest honors, from San Diego State
University. In 1979, she received her law degree from the University
of California, Davis, School of Law. From 1978-1979, she served as
Managing Editor for its Law Review.
After graduating from law school, Justice Irion entered private
practice as a civil litigator, where she would remain for more than
20 years until her appointment to the Superior Court of San Diego
County. She specialized in representing clients before taxing
agencies and litigating tax matters in the trial and appellate
courts. She also gained substantial experience in litigating general
business, insurance and employment disputes. She was a shareholder
in the law firm of Heller Ehrman White and McAuliffe from 1988, and
its managing shareholder in the San Diego office from 1998 until her
judicial appointment.
Throughout her legal career, Justice Irion participated actively
in teaching and lecturing at a wide variety of universities,
including Stanford Law School, Boalt Hall School of Law, University
of San Diego School of Law, Vanderbilt University, Georgetown
University, and University of Southern California. She has also
spoken before numerous civic and professional groups, both domestic
and international, including the Tax Executives Institute, the
National Institute for State and Local Taxation, the Japanese
Keidanren and the Confederation of British Industry.
Prior to her judicial appointments, Justice Irion served as a
member of the State Bar Board of Governors, a member of the Judicial
Nominees Evaluation Commission, President of the California Young
Lawyers Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the Bar
Association of San Francisco, a member of the Statewide Commission
to Study Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, a delegate to the ABA
House of Delegates, and co-chair of the ABA Tax Litigation
Committee.
Justice Irion is an active member of the San Diego Lawyers Club,
California Women Lawyers, American Inns of Court, the Association of
Business Trial Lawyers, the American Law Institute, UC Davis Law
School Alumni Association and the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary
Club.
She holds leadership positions with the National Association of
Women Judges and the J. Clifford Wallace Chapter of the American
Inns of Court.
Court opinions authored by Justice Irion are available to the
public in the reported appellate decisions and on the Internet.
Justice Irion is married and has two stepsons.
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