Qualifications
Current
Mediator and arbitrator since 2008 retirement from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (litigation, international arbitration and franchise and distribution law partner).
Lecturer of law at UCLA Law School (2011-2020) (international arbitration)
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (2012)
Member of the AAA, ICDR, and ICC arbitrator and mediator panels, and the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board.
Past Positions
Independent consultant to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom on Franchise and Distribution Law Issues (2009 to 2019)
Former affiliated faculty member of the Lowell Milken Institute for Busines Law and Policy and the Global Public Affairs Program at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA Law School.
Member, Executive Committee, North American Branch, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (2014 to 2019)
Member, Supreme Court of California International Commercial Arbitration Working Group (2017)
Member, ICC Commission on Arbitration (2008-2012, 2016 to 2019)
Member, ICC Task Force on the Production of Electronically Stored Information in International Arbitration
Co-Chair, Southwest Arbitration Subcommittee, USCIB (2008-2012, 2014 to 2018)
Secretary and Past Chair, ADR Subcommittee, Litigation Section, State Bar of California (2013-2017)
Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola Law School of Los Angeles (2002 - 2011) (Trial Advocacy and Franchise Law)
Past Co-Chair, Franchise Law Standing Committee, Business Law Section, State Bar of California
Past Member, Executive Committee, Business Law Section, State Bar of California
Member of Executive Board and Deputy General Counsel to Special Counsel James G. Kolts Regarding the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (1992)
Counsel to Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department (1991)
Litigation Associate, Loo, Merideth & McMillen (1983 - 1986)
Regional President, Vice President, and Local President, Council of Social Security District Office Locals, American Federation of Government Employees (1978 - 1983).
Education
J.D., Loyola Law School of Los Angeles (1983) (Cum Laude) (9th Circuit Editor, Loyola Law Review)
M.A., UCLA (1978); B.A., UC Davis (1974) (With Honors)
Advanced Mediation, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (2012)
Mediating the Litigated Case, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (2008).
Bar and Court Admissions
California Bar (1983); United States Court of Appeals for Fourth Circuit (2005), Sixth Circuit (1993), Eighth Circuit (1991), and Ninth Circuit (1984); United States District Courts for Central District of California (1984), Northern District of California (1987), Eastern District of California (1995), Southern District of California (1996), Eastern District of Wisconsin (1987), District of Arizona (1998).
Key Practice Areas
Franchise and Distribution Law
I am a long-time member of the ABA Forum on Franchising and I have over thirty years of experience representing franchisors and franchisees, including twelve years serving as mediator and arbitrator for franchise and distribution law disputes.I have extensive experience in the quick service restaurant industry both as a neutral and advocate.
Oil and Gas Disputes
I have extensive experience representing clients in upstream disputes with an emphasis on equity and unitization disputes. My experience includes Prudhoe Bay, the North Caspian Sea, the South China Sea, and offshore West Africa.
Complex Commercial Disputes
I have nearly 40 years experience as a litigator, mediator and arbitrator resolving complex commercial disputes, including mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, and class actions.
Consumer and Employment Disputes
I have been sole arbitrator in dozens of consumer and employment-related disputes, including unfair business practices, lemon law, personal injury, and employment-related matters. I have acted as mediator in hundreds of personal injury actions. I represented the American Federation of Government Employees in dozens of arbitrations and unfair labor practice disputes under collective bargaining agreements with the Social Security Administration.
How to Retain Me
Before nominating me as an arbitrator, please email or call me with the names of the parties and counsel so that I can run a preliminary conflicts check.
213-276-1334
Publications and Awards
Publications
“Consumer Click Arbitration: A Review of Online Consumer Arbitration Agreements,” 9 Arb. L. Rev 1 (2017).
“Religious Arbitration Agreements In Contracts Of Adhesion,” Penn State Yearbook On Arbitration And Mediation, Vol. 8, pg. 45 (2016).
“Is it Time to Awaken the New York Convention’s Dormant General Reciprocity Clause?,” The American Review of International Arbitration, Vol. 26, pg. 542 (2016).
“International Commercial Arbitration for Law Students” (2014).
“The Ethical Obligations of Party Representatives in International Arbitrations Seated in the United States,” Paper presented at the LACBA & ICDR 3rd Annual International Arbitration Conference (2014)
Co-Author, “Crossing Borders: The Legislature Should Allow Parties In International Arbitrations In California To Choose Their Preferred Attorneys,” Los Angeles Lawyer (November 2013).
“California Arbitration Act Update: CCP § 1281.2(c) After AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion,” California Business Law Practitioner, Vol. 28/Number 2 (Spring 2013)
“Arbitration Agreements That Discriminate In The Selection And Appointment of Arbitrators,” 11 Rich. J. Global L. & Bus. 383 (2012)
Co-Author, Chapter on Franchising, Business and Commercial Litigation in the Federal Courts (multi-volume treatise) (West 2012)
Chapter III.10-United States, Practitioner’s Handbook on International Arbitration and Mediation, 3rd Ed. (2012)
“International Commercial Arbitration,” California Business Law Practitioner, Vol. 26/Number 3 (Summer 2011)
Co-Author, “What’s Money Got To Do with It?: How subjective, Ad Hoc Standards for Permitting Money Damages in Rule 23(b)(2) Injunctive Relief Classes Undermine Rule 23’s analytical framework,” Tulane Law Review, July 2006
Co-Author, “American Werewolves in London,” Arbitration International, Vol. 18, No.2, October 2, 2002
Awards
Legal Leaders, Southern California’s Top Rated Lawyers of 2013 and 2014 (Franchise Law)
Outstanding Volunteer Contributions, Los Angeles Superior Court ADR Program (2009)
Southern California Super Lawyer Franchise and Distribution Law (2004)
Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rated