Welcome to the Bench, Judge Peter Chang and Commissioner Andrew R. Verriere

Judge Peter Chang

was appointed to serve as a judge in the Contra Costa County Superior Court by Governor Gavin Newsom in June 2023. Prior to his appointment, he served as a Deputy Attorney General at the California Attorney General’s Office for ten years where he practiced constitutional law and consumer protection law. He also taught legal research and writing as an adjunct professor at UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) for four years. Before joining state service, he was in private practice at Black, Chang & Hamill LLP, which he co-founded, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC, and Fulbright & Jaworski LLP. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Among his proudest professional achievements is his extensive pro bono work on behalf of indigent individuals while he was in private practice.

Commissioner Andrew R. Verriere

was appointed as Court Commissioner May 1, 2023. Before joining the bench, Commissioner Verriere was a partner with Hartog, Baer, Zabronsky & Verriere APC in Orinda, where his practice focused on trust and estate litigation, contested conservatorships, and financial elder abuse litigation. Before that, Commissioner Verriere was a partner with Morrill Law Firm in Walnut Creek, and worked at Barr & Barr Attorneys in Danville, Jones Day, and Seyfarth Shaw. During law school, Commissioner Verriere was an extern to Judge Richard Clifton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Honolulu.

Commissioner Verriere is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), and was a member of the California Lawyers Association Trusts and Estates Executive Committee (TEXCOM), the Board of Directors of the Contra Costa County Bar Association, the Contra Costa County Bar Association Committee on Judicial Bias, and the Boards of Directors of the Contra Costa County Bar Association Litigation Section and Elder Law Section. Commissioner Verriere also served as a Planning Commissioner for the Town of Danville.

Commissioner Verriere received his J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law and his B.A. from UC San Diego. He is currently assigned to the Walnut Creek and Richmond branch courts presiding over traffic, small claims, unlawful detainers, civil harassment, domestic violence restraining orders, and misdemeanor arraignments.