The Hon. Charles F. Palmer (Ret.) was a judge for the Los Angeles County Superior Court in California. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Gray Davis in 2002. At the time, he filled the vacancy created by the retirement of Kurt Lewin (Ret.). Palmer retired from the bench in 2020.
He received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He went on to earn his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Palmer joined the law firm of O'Melveny and Myers as an associate, where he practiced from 1973 to 1977.
He left the firm to become the executive director for the legal organization, Public Counsel. He served in that capacity until joining the law firm of Johnson, Manfredi, and Thorpe where he was named a partner.
In 1988 Johnson, Manfredi, and Thorpe merged with the law firm Perkins Coie. Palmer continued on as a partner for Perkins Coie, where he litigated complex commercial cases involving workplace discrimination as well as wage violations.
He remained with the law firm until his appointment to the Superior Court in 2002.
Some of his memberships have included the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and the Inner City Law Center, just to name a few.
