Current Employment Position(s)

Attorney At LawFull-time Neutral, since 2001

Lawyer Overview

Experience

Full time neutral since 2001. General civil litigator1961-2000, primarily in commercial, construction, professional liabilityof architects/engineers, property damage, and real estate matters in trial and appellate courts. Eighty percent of practice was in construction law, property damage, and professional liability representing design professionals, owners, general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers for both public and private works. Handled mechanic's liens and bond claims, design defects, and contract disputes such as delays, extras, and changed conditions. Also represented parties to disputes involving landslides and subsidence; real estate transactions; commercial leasing; and commercial transactions involving sales, commercial paper, letters of credit, documents of title and secured transactions.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Experience

Member of AAA California Advisory Counsel for Large Complex Case Program, Northern California Advisory Council, and Construction Advisory Committee. AAA commercial and construction arbitrator since 1969; mediator since 1984. Served as arbitrator, panel chair, or mediator in over 100 cases. Appointed as special master/referee in disputes by Alameda County and Contra Costa County Superior Court and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. Served as counsel, in arbitration or mediation in a variety of cases including contracts, leases, partnerships, construction, professional liability, bond claims and public claims. Representative cases as a neutral include alleged breach of warranties and misrepresentation in sale of business; alleged violation of covenants, conditions, and restrictions in real estate; alleged failure to disclosure material defects on sale of improved real property; claims of additional compensation for extra work, delay, and disruption of construction; alleged design and construction defects in a major sports stadium; alleged defective design and fraud in construction of power plant; alleged breaches of contract and warranty in construction of cogeneration facility; determination of rights and obligations under law partnership dissolution agreement; alleged securities fraud in marketing of limited partnerships by broker; alleged violation of securities laws, fraud, and churning in discretionary brokerage accounts; and disputed enforcement of international standby letter of credit. AAA Northern California Commercial Arbitrator of the Year, 1988.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Training

Arbitration Training:  completion of AAA Basic & Advanced Arbitrator Training & specialized courses dealing with delay, drafting awards, case management, control of hearings,and acting as panel chair; served as faculty on 16 AAA arbitrator training courses and 2 National Institutes on Arbitration Advocacy;

Mediation Training:  completion of AAA Mediator Training and several mediation seminars; completion of Straus Institutre for Dispute Resolution courses of Advanced Mediation and Negotiation and Settlement Advocacy; attended 10 mediation seminars and served as faculty at 3 other mediation seminars..

Areas of Practice

Arbitrator
Mediator
Special Master
Mini Trial Neutral Advisor
Construction
Professional Liability
Real Estate
Commercial
Contracts
Public Claims
Banking
Securities
International

West Practice Categories

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Business & Commercial Law, Contracts, Debtor/Creditor, Construction Law, Government Agencies & Programs, Government Contracts, Insurance Law, International Law, Professional Malpractice Law, Real Estate Law, Securities Law, State, Local & Municipal Law

Bar Admissions

California, 1961
U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1961
U.S. District Court Central District of California
U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 1969
U.S. Supreme Court, 1971

Professional Associations and Memberships

American Bar Association, Public Contracts Section
American Bar Association (Forum on Construction Industry)
American Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section
California State Bar, Real Property Section
Contra Costa County Bar Association, ADR Section
Contra Costa County Bar Association, Real Estate Section
Alameda County Bar Association, ADR Section
Alameda County Bar Association, Real Estate Section

Honors and Awards

Order of the Coif, Thurston Honor Society, Harrison Scholarship & Hastings Law Journal, 1960
American Arbitration Assn. Commercial Arbitrator of the Year for Northern California, 1988

Classes and Seminars

Instructor-Business, Commercial &Construction Law, University of California Extension, September 20, 1961 - November 31, 1995
Visiting Professor of Business Law, American University of Paris, October 1, 1978 - June 20, 1979
Instructor-Construction Law, California State University, San Francisco, September 20, 1980 - June 19, 1981
Instructor-Construction Law, California State University, East Bay, September 18, 1989 - June 20, 1990
Over 50 Seminars on construction, real property & dispute resolution, for AGC, ABC, CMA, NBI & local Bar Associations, January 29, 1970 - Present

Past Employment Positions

Field, Richardson & Wilhelmy, Managing Partner, 1995 - 2000
Field, Baker & Richardson, Managing Partner, 1990 - 1994
Stark, Wells, Rahl, Field & Schwartz (Predecessor Firms), Partner/Managing Partner/Executive Committee Member, 1967 - 1989
Stark & Champlain, Associate, 1963 - 1967
Regents of the University of California, Assistant Counsel, 1961 - 1963

Education

University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, California, 1960
J.D.
Honors: Order of the Coif
Honors: Thurston Honor Society
Honors: Harrison Scholarship
Law Review: Hastings Law Review
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, 1957
B.A.
Major: English Literature

Published Works

"Arbitration" (Co-Author), California Construction Contracts and Disputes, 3rd ed., Calif. Continuing Education of the Bar, 2002
"The Decision to Arbitrate", Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Guide, Thompson West, 2006
"The Hearing", Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Guide, Thompson West, 2006
American Business Law, Communications Actives, France, 1990
American Commercial Law, Communications Actives, France, 1986
"Mechanic's Liens, Stop Notices and Payment Bonds", Construction Law Manual, Associated General Contractors of California, 1977
"Waiver of Claim Causes", Construction Law Manual, Associated General Contractors of California, 1976

Address

Post Office Box 2488
Walnut Creek, CA 94595-2488

Phones

(510) 338.0806

Faxes

(510) 338.0806

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.arbitrator-mediator.com