Appointed in 1998, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte of the Northern District of California has presided over numerous intellectual property, employment, civil rights, and environmental cases, and she routinely resolves discovery disputes. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Laporte was a partner at a litigation firm, as well as an administrative law judge. She also served as Chief of Special Litigation for the San Francisco City Attorney's Office. She has authored articles on patent litigation, settlement, and e-discovery. She is a judicial observer for The Sedona Conference^® Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production, and is a member of a bench and bar advisory committee to the Federal Circuit on e-discovery. Judge Laporte was recently appointed the Alternative Dispute Resolution Magistrate Judge for her district, and is a past chair of the Magistrate Judge Executive Board of the Ninth Circuit.