Judith S. Leland Picture

Practice Areas:

  • Social Security Disability
  • Supplemental Security Income
  • California Employee Retirement System CALPERS
  • Orange County Employee Retirement System OCERS
  • Los Angeles County Employee Retirement System LACERS
  • Railroad Retirement

Biography

Judith S. Leland was a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and Northwestern University School of Law, and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1967, the Ohio Bar in 1972, and the California Bar in 1975. She worked in many areas of the law, ranging from criminal defense to civil matters, including Uniform Commercial Code, Bankruptcy, and Social Security Disability Matters. In 1974, Judith was appointed an SSI Judge with the Social Security Administration. In this capacity, she presided over numerous Social Security SSI disability hearings in California. In 1976, She opened her first office in San Diego, with an emphasis on Social Security cases. Soon the practice grew to include offices in Santa Ana and Long Beach. Later, her practice was redesigned with offices in San Diego and Downey, with an emphasis on Social Security disability cases. The Law Offices of Judith S. Leland continue to have locations in Downey and Santa Ana, California, while the partnership of Leland & Wasserman has offices in Ontario, California. Judith was an active member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR), and had served as a District Representative and as a speaker at NOSSCR conventions. She had also presented as a panel member at the C.E.B. course, "Handling the Social Security case." Her past experiences also include serving as a chairperson of the Social Security Section of the Orange County Bar Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and as a member of the Attorney-Client Relations Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Her firm's experience includes over two thousand Social Security disability cases at all adjudicatory levels, including the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Education

  • Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, Illinois
    • Doctor of Jurisprudence - 1967
  • University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California
    • B.A., Bachelor of Arts - 1964

Bar Admission

  • California, 1975
  • Ohio, 1972
  • Illinois, 1967
  • U.S. Federal Courts, 1967
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1967
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 1967
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 1967
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1967
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio, 1972
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 1976
  • U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1982

Professional Associations

  • National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives, Member
  • National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives, District Representative
  • Orange County Bar Association, Social Security Section, Chairperson
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association, Member, Attorney-Client Relations Committee

Current Employment Position

  • Partner - In Memoriam