While enrolled in the School of Law at the University of San Diego in 1963, Judge Harry R. McCue was employed by General Dynamics as a Flight Control Engineering Specialist.  He designed and conducted Design Proof Testing and developed design improvements in the Atlas auto-pilot and Centaur inertial guidance systems and supplemented his income with periodic consulting work with Bullard Company and General Dynamics.

Bullard Company, Bridgeport, Conn.
Manufactured heavy machine tools. Management trainee upon leaving M.I.T. -- trainee on four year program. Taught calculus at Bridgeport Engineering Institute.

• Chief Metallurgist.  Supervised and operated a metallurgy and chemical lab for materials and process controls, as well as materials testing.  Conducted "in-house" training programs.

• Manager, Quality Control Department.  Organized, administered, and supervised a department of 125 technicians and engineers to improve the design, workmanship and performance of Bullard  machine tools.

• Acting Foundary Superintendent.  Supervised and managed the entire foundry operation with a melting rate of 75 tons/day and 250 men.  Ferrous castings ranging from ounces to ten tons.

• Manager, Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering Division.  Responsible for all manufacturing methods, processes, tooling and manufacturing costs for company-wide manufacturing.

• Assistant to the President. Duties involved corporate planning and house counsel; deeply involved in engineering and problem-solving throughout the company.

Graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law, J.D., 1966, second in class.

In 1966 Judge Harry R. McCue entered into an association with his brother, Joseph T. McCue Jr. and conducted a limited private practice handling civil cases and probate matters as well as defense counsel in criminal cases.

In April of 1968 he joined the staff of the US Attorney's Office in San Diego as an Assistant US Attorney.  Duties consisted of the trial of criminal cases through appeal. 

• In July of 1969 assigned the task of reorganizing the criminal division of the US Attorney's Office to accommodate the changes in the US court system and the practices which were required to implement the pilot US Magistrate's program. 
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• Subsequent responsibilities included: exercising of discretion in the initiation of all criminal prosecutions, managing and conducting Grand Jury proceedings and investigations, and assignment of personnel. 
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• Handled the enforcement of Selective Service laws and organized and maintained a system for immediate identification of Selective Service violators. 
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• Served as the interface between all law enforcement government agencies and the US Attorney's office for the purpose of improving the effectiveness of the government law enforcement efforts.
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• Included the training and education of the various agencies in the latest legal requirements that were then evolving by the Court of Appeals at a rapid rate.

Judge Harry R. McCue was appointed full-time US Magistrate Judge on September 15, 1970.  His responsibilities included presiding at all court hearings involving persons charged with felony offenses from the initial presentment under Rule 5 through the formal arraignment, Rule 10, and the conduct of the pre-trial discovery and miscellaneous motions at the omnibus hearing.  His performed duties fell within the purvey of the US Magistrate Judge and included entertaining petitions for search warrants, arrest warrants, and any other special request from the Federal law enforcement agencies in the district.  He also conducted trials of misdemeanors and minor offenses.

(The US Magistrate Judge position was created to meet the crisis in the courts during this time.  The objective of the pilot program was to provide real assistance to the courts.  In the Southern District of California, the Article III Judges were extremely burdened and the US Magistrate Judges were given the latitude to explore new methods along with having great freedom in handling their cases.)

This district become a model for the US in utilization of US Magistrate Judges.  On the civil side, Judge Harry R. McCue handled thousands of civil cases over his 23 years on the bench.  In 1972 he initiated and approved the concept of settlement hearings in every civil case.  The concept was novel at the time, however, he was able to settle literally hundreds of cases each year.  Cases settled included: Admiralty, Intellectual Property, Securities Fraud, Civil Rights, Equity Receiverships, Savings & Loan/Banking, Miller Act Cases, Patent Cases, and Federal Tort Claims.  Under diversity jurisdiction, he also settled many cases that involved state law throughout the US.

With reference to the Miller Act Cases, Judge Harry R. McCue handled hundreds of such cases requiring him to resolve disputes between government contractors and the US involving the construction of military bases, submarine support facilities, barracks and hospitals, and other Federal construction projects.

Judge Harry R. McCue was involved in the litigation with the FSLIC, RTC, and FDIC.  The Southern District of California was totally submerged in criminal cases and it was clear that the civil case load had to be handled in a non-traditional manner.  Since his court was assigned to "heavy duty" civil cases, it was essential to develop an aggressive program o resolve these cases in a manner that did not involve the trial courts.  This aggressive settlement program produced immediate results and became the blueprint for handling civil cases.  The parties resolved their differences with finality and the program initiated a trend that is now known as the "Alternative Dispute Resolution".

In 1990, Judge Harry R. McCue was appointed as a Special Master by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to mediate a series of cases between and among the Hopi Tribe, The Navajo Nation, The US, and a class of Navajo families living on 2.2 million acres of land in Northern Arizona.  These cases were consolidated by the Ninth Circuit and referred to Judge Harry R. McCue for the purpose of resolving the century old dispute over the "ownership" and boundaries of the disputed land.  All previous efforts by the Congress of the US and the US Courts had failed to bring about a peaceful resolution of the on-going conflict among and between the Hopi and Navajo nations and their people.  A majority of Judge Harry R. McCue's time through 1993 was spent in living and working with the US Representatives from the Department of Justice (Peter Steenland) and the Solicitor's Office in Phoenix (Daniel Jackson), the Hopi Chairman and the Tribal Council, the Navajo Nation's President, and the leaders of the Navajo Class of Families subject to relocation.

A global resolution of the land dispute was achieved, and all parties signed and ratified the agreement which was implemented by the US Congress.  Judge Harry R. McCue continued as the Special Master after his retirement in December 1993 until 1995.  A recent check-in with Daniel Jackson in the Solicitor's Office in Phoenix revealed that the agreement is working well.

Judge Harry R. McCue has been involved in other land disputes between and among the US, the Torres-Martinex Band and the Coachella Valley Water District.  He has settled disputes that have arisen between the Sycuan Indian Tribe, the Manager of Gaming hired by the Tribe and disgruntled patrons of the gaming casino.  Additionally, Judge Harry R. McCue has settled a dispute between the Pala Band of Indians over a mine that is currently being mined by civilians.  The vein was discovered in the 1880's.

In 1994, Judge Harry McCue retired from the bench and now mediates and settles cases in all areas of the law.  His practice is based in California, but he travels all over the US and has presided over cases and arbitrations in Washington state,  Washington D.C., Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon.

In his private mediation service, he has handled numerous construction defect cases involving multi-unit buildings and commercial buildings,  ranging from single level to high rise.  He has conducted mediations in complex disputes among architects, engineers, general contractors, sub-contracts and governmental entities.  These cases involved major toxic tort and clean-up mediations involving the San Diego Bay, ground and ground water pollution, and problems created by underground storage tanks and dump sites in the states of California and Arizona.

With respect to disputes between insurer and insured, he has become quite familiar with the problems associated with insurance coverage and the insurer's obligations to indemnify and defend the insured in these complex cases.

Judge Harry McCue's engineering background and failure analysis experiences involving chemistry, physics, metallurgy and mechanical engineering have proved invaluable in facilitating the resolution of these complex matters from relatively simple accidents to complex construction defect cases and contractual disputes to interpretation of insurance matters.