Hon. Sandra K. Bean

Judge Sandra Bean was elect to the bench of the Alameda County Superior Court in 2006. She currently serves as the supervising judge of probate presiding over probate trials and trust matters. She has served in criminal, civil, family law and juvenile dependency departments during her tenure on the bench.

During law school, Judge Bean interned for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. After law school in 1992, she joined William W. Haskell and Associates as an associate for two years. In 1994, Judge Bean joined Clapp, Moroney, Vucinich, Beeman, and Schley, where she worked until 2000. While in private practice, she practiced personal injury litigation, premises liability, landlord/tenant disputes, employment discrimination, and professional negligence matters. Judge Bean left private practice in 2000 and became a deputy county counsel with the Alameda County Counsel’s Office, representing Adult Protective Services and the Public Guardian in matters regarding the elderly, dependent adults, and mentally ill adults until her election to the bench. Judge Bean earned her BA in English, cum laude, and her MA in Physical Education from Wake Forest University. She also finished for her Ed.D. in Organizational Management and the course requirements for a Ph.D. in Neuromuscular Integration with the goal of becoming an athletic director. Before pursuing that path, Judge Bean decided to change her career course and in 1992, she earned her J.D. from Santa Clara University Law School.

Judge Bean has taught probate and advanced probate at the Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER). She is/was a part of many professional organizations, including the Women Lawyers of Alameda County, the Earl Warren Inn of Court, the Elder Access Committee, the Law Day Committee, as well as her state and local bar associations, is the current chairperson of the California Judge’s Association Probate committee, and is the current chairperson of the probate curriculum committee for CJER. Judge Bean has also volunteered for the Pleasanton Library Read Project, Pleasanton Senior Center, and Rebuild Together in Berkeley.