Chico attorney gets judge job

Gov. Brown announced Dec. 27 a number of judgeship appointments up and down the state, including that of Michael R. Deems (pictured) to the Butte County Superior Court.

According to a press release, the 59-year-old Deems lives in Chico and has been a partner at the Law Offices of Deems and Keller since 2002. Before that he was an associate at Stewart, Humpherys, Burchett and Molin and worked out of three other offices before that, beginning in 1985. He earned his law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

According to his law firm’s website, for the first 13 years of his practice Deems represented insurance companies in personal-injury claims and insurance-policy matters. He later broadened that to include “people seriously injured in all types of accidents.”

Deems replaces recently retired Judge Steven Howell and, according to Brown’s press release, is a registered “decline-to-state” voter. He will earn $178,789 a year.