Division Two: Administrative Presiding Justice Elwood Lui

Division Two: Presiding Justice Elwood Lui Justice Lui was appointed by the Chief Justice as the Administrative Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District in January 2018.  He served as an Associate Justice in Division One from July 2015 until his confirmation as a Presiding Justice of Division Two in December 2017.

Justice Lui was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and educated in public schools. He is married to Crystal Lui, a former member of the Commission on Judicial Performance, and they have two sons, Bradley Lui, a partner at Morrison and Foerster in the Washington D.C. Office, and Judge Christopher Lui of the Los Angeles Superior Court. They have five grandchildren.

Justice Lui is a graduate of Los Angeles High School and the University of California at Los Angeles, where he received his Bachelor, M.B.A. and J.D. degrees. He worked his way through UCLA Law School, working full time as a C.P.A. with Deloitte and with Kenneth Leventhal & Co., while concurrently serving in the United States Army Reserve.

Justice Lui has a long history of public service while engaged in the private practice of law. He is the Prison Compliance Officer in federal litigation concerning the overcrowded conditions in California state prisons. He also served as the Special Master of the State Bar Disciplinary System on two occasions, Interim Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, a member of the Medical Board of California and a member of the Board of Harbor Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles. He was a Deputy Attorney General. He served on a number of nonprofit boards, including Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles; Public Counsel; and Children Now. He has been active in the selection process for federal and state judicial positions at the request of the White House, Senator Feinstein, and several Governors.

Justice Lui was in private practice with Jones Day from 1987 until his appointment to Division One. At Jones Day, he was a member of the senior management committees, the first partner in charge of the San Francisco Office, the practice coordinator of the Greater China Offices, and the lead appellate lawyer for the California Region.

Justice Lui was named as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in California” by the Daily Journal in 2014 and on seven other occasions. He is the recipient of the Beacon of Justice Award in 2020 from the Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library, the Los Angeles County Bar Association Outstanding Jurist Award for 2019, the Witkin Medal from the State Bar of California, the Judicial Council Bernard E. Witkin Amicus Curiae Award, the UCLA Professional Achievement Award, and the Alumnus of the Year from UCLA Law School. He was a founding member of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association and received the Judge Delbert E. Wong Distinguished Service Award. He was a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Chambers has listed him as a “Senior Statesman” of the California appellate bar.

Justice Lui previously served as a judicial officer between 1975 and 1987 as a member of the Los Angeles Municipal Court, the Los Angeles Superior Court, and as Associate Justice in Division Three of this District. He also served as a member of the Judicial Council of California and as President of the California Judges Association.