Judge John T. Wooldridge

Judge Wooldridge*, received his certified as a mediator in 1995, approved as a moderator for moderated settlement conferences in 1992.  He is an Arbitration Panelist/Mediator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA), Judicial Workplace Arbitrations (JWA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and Dispute Solutions, Inc. (DSI).  Judge Wooldridge's Mediation and Arbitration services specialize in complex civil cases, commercial, business and corporate matters, aviation, contracts, construction, employment and labor law.  He also receives appointments as an Umpire for insurance claims disputes and has served a a Commissioner in matters invovling imminent domaine and condemnation. 

Judge Wooldridge has nineteen years of judicial service and continues to sit by assignment as a Visiting Judge throughout the state.  His professional legal career has included service as a Senior Corporate Counsel with two multi-national offshore drilling services companies, a partner with a Houston law firm, concentrating in civil litigation, Admiralty and Maritime law, and he had a mediation practice prior to his appointment to the Court. Judge Wooldridge was an Adjunct Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas for fifteen years.  He is also a license private pilot.

Judge Wooldridge is a Captain in the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, retired after 30 years of military service.  He served on active duty during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (Gulf War I).  His significant assignments include service as Trial Counsel, Naval Legal Service Office Norfolk; Command Prosecutor, USS INDEPENDENCE (CV 62); Staff Judge Advocate, Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Mississippi; Command Judge Advocate, TWENTIETH Naval Construction Regiment;  Appellate Defense Counsel, Appellate Defense Division; Force Inspector General and Assistant Force Judge Advocate, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Japan; Executive Officer and General Courts-Martial Military Judge, Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary; Commanding Officer, Region Legal Service Office, Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia; and Senior Military Justice Officer, Region Legal Service Office, Hawaii.  Captain Wooldridge was recalled to active duty in 2008 for service during Operation Enduring Freedom and was assigned as Legal Counsel with the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants, U.S. Navy Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

* Judge Wooldridge is a former Texas State District Court Judge and Former U.S. Military Judge.

Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana (1991) - LL.M. in Admiralty
St. Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas (1987) - JD
Texas Christian University, Ft. Worth, Texas (1981) - BFA

Judge Wooldridge was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1987, and has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas and the courts of the State of Texas.  He is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and the Houston Bar Foundation. 

Judge Wooldridge authored a Law Journal Article in the Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce titled, “Barratry by Exceeding the Navigational Limit of the Insurance Policy.”   He also has numerous other articles and seminar presentations.

Please go to: www.JudgeWooldridge.com. Services and fees are found at the "ADR Services" tab. Fee Schedule: Arbitration: $375-$600 per hour shared by two parties; if more than two parties, $150-$300 per hour for each party. Mediation: Full day, $1,550 per party (9 hours); half-day (4 hours), $775 per party. Please contact the Mediator for rates involving more than 3 parties. Additional hours may be charged at a rate of $250 per party. ​ Mini Trial: Full day, $1,550 per party (8 hours). Additional hours may be charged at a rate of $200 per party. Moderated Settlement Conference: Full day, $1,550 per party (8 hours); half-day (4 hours), $700 per party.  Credit cards payments are accepted.