Private judges for hire

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report: "Private Judges for Hire"

Podcast: Marketplace Morning Report
Episode Date: December 1, 2025
Host: Sabri Benishore (in for David Brancaccio)
Featured Guests: Julia Coronado (Macro Policy Perspectives), Jill S. Robbins (Private Judge)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Marketplace Morning Report brings actionable updates for the start of the business day, including a recap on Black Friday sales, insights into AI transformation in shopping, and a feature story on the emerging practice of hiring private judges — particularly in family law. The show explores the reasons behind the turn to private, for-hire judges and delves into the implications for equitable justice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Black Friday Sales and AI in Retail

(01:14–03:55)

• Black Friday Sales Upbeat, Driven by Online Shopping:
  • Online sales hit a record $11.8 billion, a 9% increase from the previous year (Adobe Analytics).
  • MasterCard data confirmed a 4%+ lift in overall sales via card swipes.
• AI’s Role is Growing Rapidly:
  • Visits to retail sites from AI tools (e.g., chatbots) soared 805% YoY, with higher conversion rates.
• Consumer Sentiment vs. Consumer Behavior:
  • Despite negative sentiment, consumers are still spending, due in part to employment stability.
  • “As long as consumers have jobs they will do some Christmas shopping.” – Julia Coronado (02:37)
• Holiday Sales Outlook:
  • The overall mood is “not a disaster but not a boom.” There’s unpredictability ahead, as spending can swing due to calendar quirks.
• Upcoming Economic Data:
  • Auto sales, business surveys, and ADP private hiring numbers will soon be reported.
  • Official jobs data delayed due to a government shutdown, meaning the Fed must rely on alternate indicators for rate decisions.

2. Feature: Private Judges for Hire

(05:46–09:03)

Introduction to the Role:

• Who Are Private Judges?
  • Judges individuals or businesses can hire when traditional courts are too slow or bogged down.
• Guest: Jill S. Robbins — Private judge for 30+ years, specializing in family law.

Why People Hire Private Judges:

• Efficiency and Cost:
  • Overloaded public courts lead to repeated delays, lengthy waits, and increased preparation costs for each postponed hearing.
  • Hiring a private judge allows for a set hearing date and a more direct process.
  • “The lawyers decide that it’ll be less expensive in the long run, even paying a private judge, because you prepare once you have your date and you go.” – Jill S. Robbins (06:28)

Types of Disputes Heard:

• Family law matters such as:
  • Child custody (ranging from serious to petty)
  • Child support and spousal support
  • Division and evaluation of property

Qualifications and Accessibility:

• No Strict Requirements:
  • Technically, anyone can call themselves a private judge, though business goes overwhelmingly to those with significant legal experience.
  • “Actually, there are no qualifications. So anybody could just decide, oh, I’m going to be a private judge.” – Jill S. Robbins (07:30)

Equity and Access:

• Is Justice for Sale?
  • Sabri raises concerns about equal access, asking if the for-hire justice model conflicts with the principle of equal justice under law.
  • Jill acknowledges the inequity, but shares efforts to increase accessibility:
    • Developed a “modest means procedure” for clients with assets under $3-4 million and combined incomes under $300,000, reducing her fee by 40%.
    • Hopes the practice spreads among peers, but so far, it hasn’t.
  • “I can’t sugarcoat it and tell you that every private judge is going to handle cases on a volunteer basis, which is something I also do.” – Jill S. Robbins (08:13)
  • “What I have done as of last year is created a modest means procedure where...I reduced my fee by 40%.” – Jill S. Robbins (08:24)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Black Friday Sales:

  • “Not a disaster but not a boom either.” – Julia Coronado (02:32)

• On AI Shopping Trends:

  • “Traffic to retail websites that originated from AI tools like chatbots was up 805% compared to last year...” – Sabri Benishore (01:36)

• On Courts Being Overwhelmed:

  • “One will go to court, prepare for a hearing, only to wait four or five hours and be asked to come back...The lawyers decide that it’ll be less expensive in the long run, even paying a private judge.” – Jill S. Robbins (06:22–06:28)

• On the Lack of Qualifications to Be a Private Judge:

  • “Actually, there are no qualifications. So anybody could just decide, oh, I’m going to be a private judge...” – Jill S. Robbins (07:30)

• On Justice and Inequality:

  • “I can’t sugarcoat it and tell you that every private judge is going to handle cases on a volunteer basis...rates...have gotten completely out of control.” – Jill S. Robbins (08:10)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Black Friday & AI Shopping: 01:14–03:55
• Economic Data Preview: 03:05–03:55
• Introduction to Private Judges: 05:46
• Who Hires Private Judges & Why: 06:12–06:54
• Types of Cases (Family Law Focus): 06:59–07:21
• Qualifications for Private Judges: 07:21–07:51
• Justice, Equity, and Reduced Fees: 07:51–09:03

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Takeaway

This episode pairs quick updates on the state of consumer spending and retail tech with an accessible deep dive into the “private justice” industry. While private judges offer efficient dispute resolution for those who can afford them, the conversation candidly addresses the barriers to equal access and the limited remedies currently offered by practitioners themselves.

The episode's tone is brisk, informative, and tinged with the kind of skepticism and inquiry that typifies Marketplace's business-angled journalism.

Transcript

[Morgan Stanley Announcer]

This episode is sponsored by Morgan Stanley's Thoughts on the Market. Today's financial markets move fast. Morgan Stanley moves faster with their daily podcast, Thoughts on the Market. Thoughts on the Market covers daily trends across the global investment landscape with actionable insights from Morgan Stanley's leading economists and strategists. And with most episodes under five minutes long, staying informed has never been easier. Listen and subscribe to Thoughts on the Market wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Sabri Benishore]

We're still spending and AI is helping us do it. From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Benishore in for David Brancaccio. Black Friday was pretty okay. Online consumers spent a record $11.8 billion. That is over 9% more than last year, according to Adobe Analytics. MasterCard says from what it can see in credit card swipes, sales overall were up more than 4%. And by the way, we are leaning more and more on AI to help us shop. Adobe analytics says traffic to retail websites that originated from AI tools like chatbots was up 805% compared to last year and those visits are much more likely to convert to an actual sale. Julia Coronado is founder and president of Macro Policy Perspectives and a professor at UT Austin. She joins us to talk more about it. Hi Julia.

[Julia Coronado]

Good morning.

[Sabri Benishore]

So what do you make of the fact that consumers got out there and spent despite, you know, a lot of negative consumer sentiment?

[Julia Coronado]

What we know is that online sales were pretty strong. It does seem like in store sales were pretty sluggish and overall we got moderate year on year gains. You have to keep in mind part of that increase reflects higher prices. So I think overall it looks like not a disaster but not a boom either. And as long as consumers have jobs they will do some Christmas shopping.

[Sabri Benishore]

You think that's going to keep going for the rest of the holiday shopping season? Just kind of like chugging along? Nothing amazing nothing terrible.

[Julia Coronado]

We never really know. It can take a turn timing of things like Thanksgiving and where Christmas lands. All of these things can affect spending, so it can twist and turn between now and Christmas.

[Sabri Benishore]

We're going to get a lot of data this week that might help us fill in the picture of how consumers in the economy are doing. What are we going to get?

[Julia Coronado]

Well, we're going to get auto sales for November. Auto sales have turned down recently, so we'll be watching that. We get business surveys so we'll see how well businesses are perceiving economic conditions. And we'll get ADP private hiring, which has actually been negative in recent weeks, showing modest amounts of layoffs. What we won't get is the official employment report, which was delayed by the government shutdown. So when the Fed meets to decide what to do with interest rates next week, it's going to have to rely on all these other sources of data to gauge what's happening in the economy.

[Sabri Benishore]

Julia Coronado, Founder and President of Macro Policy Perspectives, thanks as always.

[Julia Coronado]

My pleasure.

[Unknown/Foreign Speaker]

Foreign.

[Morgan Stanley Announcer]

This episode is sponsored by Morgan Stanley's Thoughts on the Market. Today's financial markets move fast. Morgan Stanley moves faster with their daily podcast, Thoughts on the Market. Thoughts on the Market covers daily trends across the global investment landscape with actionable insights from Morgan Stanley's leading economists and strategists. And with most episodes under five minutes long, staying informed has never been easier. Listen and subscribe to Thoughts on the Market wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Sabri Benishore]

Now and again on this show, we like to profile jobs and careers off the beaten path. You might not heard of them or fully appreciated them. Today we are visiting a little known profession in the legal private judges for hire. These are judges that businesses or individuals resort to when traditional courts are too slow, too expensive or too time consuming. Joining us now for more is Jill S. Robbins, a private judge of over 30 years focusing on family law. Welcome.

[Jill S. Robbins]

I'm happy to be here.

[Sabri Benishore]

Who hires you? What. What kind of problems do they bring to you? And why do they go to a private judge as opposed to, you know, the public judicial system?

[Jill S. Robbins]

Over the years, our judicial system has become so overloaded with cases. Many times one will go to court, prepare for a hearing, only to wait four or five hours and be asked to come back. And then they come back, they prepare again, and the same thing happens. So what happens in so many of those cases is the lawyers decide that it'll be less expensive in the long run, even paying a private judge, because you prepare once you have your date and you go.

[Sabri Benishore]

What kinds of disputes do people take before a private judge?

[Jill S. Robbins]

Well, I can only address family law, so just about anything you can think of, ranging from serious child custody issues to petty child custody issues, child support, spousal support, division of property, evaluation of property, these are all issues that go before a private judge.

[Sabri Benishore]

Are the qualifications to be a private judge, are they the same or different than, I guess, being a not private judge?

[Jill S. Robbins]

Actually, there are no qualifications. So anybody could just decide, oh, I'm going to be a private judge. Whether they would get business, I have no idea. But most of us have either been on the family law bench, many were supervising judges in family law. Many have years and years of experience.

[Sabri Benishore]

If, if justice is a civil good that everyone is equally entitled to, does having a better, faster version of it that is for hire, is that compatible with the idea of equal justice under the law?

[Jill S. Robbins]

I can't sugarcoat it and tell you that every private judge is going to handle cases on a volunteer basis, which is something I also do. I can't tell you that they're going to reduce their rates, which have gotten completely out of control. But what I have done as of last year is created a modest means procedure where if a case has assets of less than 3 million or $4 million, and in California you're going to have a house that's $4 million or where the combined income of the parties is $300,000 or less, and in those cases I reduced my fee by 40%, that enables people who could otherwise not afford a private judge to have that opportunity. I'm hopeful that other private judges would do that, but so far that has not happened.

[Sabri Benishore]

Jill s. Robbins, former LA Family Court's judicial officer and a private judge for over 30 years. Thank you so much. You're so welcome in New York. I'm Sabri Ben, ashore with the Marketplace.

[Morgan Stanley Announcer]

Morning Report.

[Sabri Benishore]

From 8pm American Public Media.

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[Unknown/Foreign Speaker]

Apparently.