James L. Robart

James Louis Robart (born 1947) is a United States federal judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Born in Seattle, Washington, Robart received a B.A. from Whitman College in 1969 and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1973. He was in private practice in Seattle from 1973 to 2004 working for Lane Powell PC. He was managing partner of Lane Powell for many years. As an attorney, Robart tried a number of cases and participated in numerous high-profile matters including litigation related to Washington's Initiative 695. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

On December 9, 2003, Robart was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington vacated by Thomas S. Zilly. Robart was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 17, 2004, and received his commission on June 21, 2004. He took senior status on June 28, 2016.

As a judge, Robart recently presided over breach of contract litigation between Microsoft and Motorola. In this case, he was the first judge in the world to set a Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory ("RAND") royalty rate for a portfolio of Standard Essential Patents ("SEPs"), including for several 802.11 ("WiFi") and H.264 video-encoding patents. He is currently overseeing a consent decree between the City of Seattle and the Department of Justice designed to ensure constitutional and effective policing by the Seattle Police Department.

Sources

• James L. Robart at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.