U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Larson, who’s been overseeing the long-running legal battle over the Bratz fashion dolls, announced Monday that he will be joining high-profile plaintiff’s firm Girardi & Keese on Nov. 2.

Larson, 44, said earlier this month that he was leaving the federal bench at the end of October because his $169,000 salary wasn’t enough to support his family and send his seven children, ages 2 to 13, to college.

Girardi & Keese is helmed by well-known trial attorney and political powerhouse Thomas Girardi. Its 24 attorneys have racked up billions in verdict and settlements in mass tort, personal injury and medical malpractice cases.

“I spent nine years prosecuting in the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Larson said. “And in many respects, what plaintiff’s attorneys do is the civil version of criminal prosecution – bring cases on behalf of victims who have been hurt.”

Larson has been in public service for 18 years. He joined the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1991, and was appointed a magistrate judge in 2000 in the Central District’s Riverside division. President Bush nominated him to serve as a federal district court judge in 2005.

Since becoming a federal district court judge, Larson has overseen some high-profile cases, including the tussle between Mattel Inc. and MGA Entertainment Inc. over the Bratz fashion dolls and the fight over the copyrights to the Superman comic character.

U.S. District Court Judge David Carter, who sits in Santa Ana, was assigned the Bratz case at a hearing on Sept. 22.

A federal jury decided last year that a former Mattel doll designer created the Bratz name and characters for MGA while still working for Mattel. As a result of the litigation, control of the Bratz line was awarded to Mattel in addition to a $100 million damages award against MGA.

Larson said the Bratz battle has been one of the most challenging cases he’s presided over.