U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Appoints
Peter H. Kang for Magistrate Judgeship in San Francisco
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is pleased to announce that it has selected Peter H. Kang to fill the magistrate judgeship in March 2023, when Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero transitions to recall status.
Mr. Kang will join the court from Baker Botts LLP, where he has been a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group for the past two years, and before that as a partner at the Sidley Austin law firm. He has served 17 times as trial counsel in federal courts nationwide, the U.S. International Trade Commission and California state courts. Mr. Kang has litigated in commercial arbitrations and in the area of complex patent licensing matters among others. In addition to working in all areas of intellectual property, he also represents clients in copyright and trademark matters, antitrust cases, trade secret disputes, and in technology and IP-related arbitrations/mediations.
In addition to his private client practice, Mr. Kang has maintained a robust pro bono practice, representing pro bono clients in civil rights litigation, immigration/asylum matters and veterans benefits issues, to name a few. He is a member of the panel of arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and has been appointed as settlement conference officer for the San Francisco County Superior Court in over 20 cases since 2012. He has also presided as judge pro tempore since the late 1990s and served as a court-appointed arbitrator and early settlement conference neutral for Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Mr. Kang is a graduate of Stanford University and received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was the president of the Korean American Law Students Association and head coach of the Wagner Labor Law Moot Court Team. He served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ernest C. Torres (Ret.) at the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
The court warmly welcomes Magistrate Judge-Select Kang and anticipates that his knowledge of federal law and practice will enhance the court’s service to litigants in the San Francisco Division. His selection is contingent on the successful completion of a background review by the FBI.