Judge West is on the Bench of the Los Angeles Superior Court, on the Complex Litigation Panel. He started his career as a Judge on the Los Angeles Municipal Court (1994-1996), and joined the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1996 handling felony trials (April '96-November '96), then on the General Civil Litigation Panel (November '96 - November '01), and has been on the Complex Litigation Panel since 2002. He successfully resolved the Abel v. Lockheed-Martin Corporation toxic tort case involving over 2000 plaintiffs and 65 defendants relating to groundwater contamination, multiple cases involving the attempted expansion of a local airport (which also involved significant issues relating to soil and groundwater contamination), insurance coverage claims relating to the environmental/contamination claims at Southern Pacific Railroad facilities in the Southwest and others. He is currently presiding over the Coordinated Rezulin Cases involving tort claims relating to the use of the diabetes drug, Coordinated Groundwater Cases, involving claims of over 3000 plaintiffs relating to alleged groundwater contamination in the San Gabriel Valley, and many other complex mass tort cases.

Carl J. West is on the Advisory Board for The Sedona Conference.