Hon. John T. Wooldridge
Judge John T. Wooldridge obtained his Master of Laws (LL.M.) Degree from Tulane Law School, his Juris Doctor (J.D.) Degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law and his Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) Degree from Texas Christian University.
Judge Wooldridge is a Senior Judge and currently serves as a Visiting Judge in Texas State Courts and has a domestic and international mediation and arbitration practice. He is an arbitration panelist with the AAA, JWA, DSI and served by selection with the ICC and JAMS. Judge Wooldridge is also a health care surprise billing Arbitrator for the TDI-Texas Department of Insurance, DOI-Colorado Division of Insurance and OIC-Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
Judge Wooldridge is a former Presiding Judge, 269th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas, and a former United States Military Judge with the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. He has over twenty-three years of judicial service and has presided over numerous Civil, Criminal and Family Law cases. He has also served as a Special Judge and as a Special Master in the District Courts, as well as an Umpire in insurance claims disputes. Judge Wooldridge’s professional career has included service as Senior Corporate Counsel with two multi-national domestic and international 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. He was an Adjunct Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas, teaching courses on Maritime Personal Injury and Advanced Civil Pre-trial Advocacy.
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 all 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 articles and seminar presentations.
Judge Wooldridge is a Captain (O6), United States Navy, 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 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 and Mrs. Wooldridge reside in Houston, Texas. They have four children and three grandchildren. Judge and Mrs. Wooldridge are members of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, where Judge Wooldridge serves on the Vestry and is a Eucharistic Lay Minister.
