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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

https://www.adr.org/videoresume?paramName=941607251<br/>

Founded Resonate Mediation and Arbitration LLC in 2019 after serving for over 18 years on Pennsylvania's highest state trial court. Serve as private mediator, arbitrator, and court-appointed special discovery judge pro tempore in complex litigated civil cases. Also provide neutral case analysis, discovery dispute resolution, and mock trials. Distinguished fellow of the International Academy of Mediators. Taught evidence at the National Judicial College for 10 years. Prior to becoming a judge, litigated employment and class action cases.

Resonate Mediation and Arbitration, LLC - Mediator, Arbitrator, and Court-Appointed Discovery Judge Pro Tempore

Professional Neutral

Founder/Mediator/Arbitrator/Special Master, Resonate Mediation and Arbitration, LLC, 2019 – Present; <br/>Judge, Court of Common Pleas of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2001 – 2019; <br/>Faculty (advanced evidence), National Judicial College, 2007 – 2019; <br/>Partner/Associate, Kairys Rudovsky Epstein Messing & Rau, 1995 – 2001; <br/>Attorney, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP), 1987 – 1995; <br/>U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, 1982 – 1984 (Thailand). <br/><br/>Adjunct Instructor at Temple Law (2019), Penn. Law (1998), Villanova Law (1995).

Founder, Mediator & Arbitrator, Resonate Mediation & Arbitration, LLC (December 2019-present). Mediates and arbitrates complex civil cases including construction, products liability, employment, defamation, insurance, professional liability, personal injury, commercial, aviation, civil rights, dram shop, motor vehicle, assault and battery, contracts, consumer, property damage, business disputes and mass torts. Serves as Court-appointed special discovery judge pro tempore, is a Court-approved mediator for asbestos and other mass torts, and provides neutral case analysis. Developed expertise in online proceedings. Offers online, in-person, and hybrid proceedings.<br/><br/>Judicial experience includes serving for over 18 years as a state court trial judge in Philadelphia. (July 2001-October 2019) Appointed, elected and retained (endorsed by both parties). Selected as judicial team leader, where for five years, managed every major civil case filed during a year, up to 6,000 cases, presided over all discovery matters, handled pre-trial and settlement conferences, decided motions and assigned cases for trial. Developed technological systems to better manage high-volume caseload adopted as court model for other team leaders. Taught evidence at National Judicial College to judges from throughout the country. Served as a trial judge in one of the nation’s highest volume jurisdictions, presided in over a thousand trials, mostly major civil jury trials, and authored dozens of opinions. Developed a reputation among lawyers and judges for ability to manage complex, multi-party, lengthy, or hotly contested civil cases. Also was known for assisting counsel in resolving difficult cases prior to trial.<br/><br/>Representative trials include professional medical and legal liability, construction injury (skylight, roof, scaffold falls), employment (discrimination, contract, tenure, wage, sexual harassment), defamation, dram shop, sexual assault, products liability (tires, construction & factory equipment, kitchen products), contract, business disputes, property damage, personal injury, wrongful death, and mass torts (drugs, asbestos, mold and toxins) with some trials lasting two months.<br/><br/>Prior to the bench, served as a trial attorney for 14 years specializing in complex class action and employment litigation in federal court. Handled Title VII, ADA, ADEA, PDA, FMLA and Section 1981 & 1983 litigation.<br/><br/>Serves as Co-Chair of Philadelphia Bar Association's Fee Dispute Committee, Member of State Civil Executive Committee, and Former Co-Chair of the ADR Committee.<br/><br/>Facilitator of Debt Collection Court Modernization Task Force to the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County (2024-present).

Since beginning private mediation practice in December 2019, has mediated over 200 civil cases with the majority resolving at mediation and with most of the others resolving after continued follow up. As a state trial judge and judicial team leader, mediated hundreds of cases to resolution over the course of over 18 years on the bench.<br/><br/>Since 2020, has served on AAA Employment Mediation and Arbitration Panels and Settlement Judge and Special Master Panels.<br/><br/>Mediates complex civil cases including employment, sexual assault, construction, products liability, defamation, insurance, professional legal and medical liability, personal injury, commercial, aviation, civil rights, dram shop, motor vehicle, assault and battery, contracts, property damage, and mass torts. Prior to mediation, convenes a pre-mediation conference with all counsel to identify issues and barriers to resolution and agree upon a process to best facilitate a resolution. <br/><br/>Appointed as a Special Master by the State Trial Court in a large group of alleged sexual assault cases against a single institutional defendant. <br/><br/>ADR Trainings:<br/>NADN Advanced Mediation Course (20 hours)(2022);<br/>AAA, Multi-Party, Multi-Faceted Dispute Resolution: The Online Experience (>15 hours) (2021); <br/>Straus Institute, Pepperdine University, Mediating the Litigated Case, 2020; Center for Understanding in Conflict, Mediation, 2016, 2018 – 2019; National Judicial College, Certificate in Dispute Resolution Trial Skills, 2013 (120 hours); <br/>National Judicial College, Mediation, 2013 (40 hours); <br/>National Judicial College Certificate in Judicial Development & General Jurisdiction Trial Skills, 2009 (120 hours); <br/>Participates in ongoing trainings.

Mediated employment, sexual assault, professional medical and legal liability, professional legal liability, construction injury, dram shop, products liability, motor vehicle, wrongful death, civil rights, contract, assault and battery, fire, fee disputes, party separations, and business disputes.

After over 18 years as a judge presiding over hundreds of trials and settlement conferences, I saw clearly that the parties who resolved their own disputes, with their counsel’s guidance and a skilled mediator or judge’s help, were the most satisfied and often reached the best resolutions compared with those who went to trial. This revelation led me to leave the bench to use my skills for this superior method of resolving disputes: helping people with their counsel resolve their own disputes to achieve better outcomes rather than pursuing the expensive and lengthy process of gambling with stranger jurors who are less informed and involved than the parties and their counsel. To jumpstart and formulate a mediation plan, I have a pre-mediation conference with counsel to discuss key issues, obstacles and goals, and to mutually agree upon a process, including whether or not to have a joint session. I craft each mediation with the flexibility to pivot based on the dynamics of the participants. During the mediation, I engage counsel and parties in educating one another about their different perspectives, issues, and risks, including those inherent in the litigation alternative. The process enables everyone to recalibrate and reassess their case. When requested, I will share my trial judge experience to raise potential legal and jury issues. When one approach does not work, another is tried. No matter how difficult the case, I love puzzling through possibilities and persist until the parties achieve a resolution.

Developed expertise in online Zoom technology including hosting multiple breakout rooms and document sharing, uses documents that can be electronically completed and signed, and maintains a totally electronic and paperless office. Currently offers online, hybrid and in-person proceedings.

University of Nevada-Reno/National Judicial College (MA, Judicial Studies-2019)<br/>Stanford Law School (JD, associate editor, Stanford Law Review-1987)<br/>Colgate University (BA, Psychology, high honors, Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude-1981)

Admitted to the Bar: Pennsylvania (1987); U.S. District Court: Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, Eastern District of Virginia; U.S. Court of Appeals: Third and Fourth Circuits; U.S. Supreme Court.

ADR PANELS <br/>NADN: Pennsylvania Chapter<br/>IAM: Distinguished Fellow<br/><br/>Philadelphia Bar Association: <br/>Co-Chair Fee Dispute Committee; <br/>Executive Committee State Civil Section;<br/>Former Co-Chair ADR Committee <br/>Pennsylvania Bar Association (Dispute Resolution Section). <br/>American Bar Association (Dispute Resolution Section)<br/>Online Courtroom Project, Advisory Board

Master’s Thesis: “The Philadelphia Experiment in Civil Case Management–Journey From Disaster to Model Court” (December 2019). <br/><br/>“Mediation Panel: Strategies and Tactics,” Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, Philadelphia, PA, March 13, 2024 (CLE for lawyers).<br/><br/>“Effective Mediation Practice,” Montgomery County Bar Association, Norristown, PA February 28, 2024 (CLE for lawyers).<br/><br/>“Everything You Wanted to Know About Mediation/Arbitration for Fee Disputes,” Philadelphia Bar Association, Philadelphia, PA, October 24, 2023 (CLE for lawyers).<br/><br/>“Mediation: From Inception to Resolution,” Philadelphia Bar Association, Philadelphia, PA, October 19, 2023 (CLE for lawyers).<br/><br/>“Ten Strategies for Artful Settlement Negotiations,” Philadelphia Bar Association’s Bench Bar Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, September 23, 2023 (CLE for lawyers & CJE for judges).<br/><br/>“Expert Witnesses: A View from the Bench,” Temple Law School, Philadelphia, PA, April 4, 2023 (guest lecturer for law students). <br/><br/>“A View from the Bench: Strategies for Skillfully Navigating Evidentiary Issues,” Winning Strategies Seminar, New Orleans, LA, February 24, 2023 (CLE for lawyers).<br/><br/>“Answering the Question,” Thomas Kline School of Law, Philadelphia, PA, November 15, 2022 (guest lecturer for law students).<br/><br/>“Evidence Tools for the Courtroom,” Federal Public Defender’s Office in Puerto Rico, February 17, 2022 (CLE for lawyers).<br/><br/>“Pre-trial Practice,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, April 23, 2021 (Online CLE for lawyers).<br/><br/>“Open Court: Return of In-Person Jury Trials in Philadelphia and Resolving Cases During COVID- 19,” Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2021 (Online CLE for lawyers).<br/><br/>“Entering the New Norm of Virtual Hearings,” Massachusetts Academy of Trial Lawyers Meeting, Zoom, February 19, 2021.<br/><br/>“Mindful Practice of Law,” Villanova Law School, Villanova, PA, January 24, 2021 (mandatory professional development for law students).<br/><br/>“Practical Tips for Judicial and Attorney Trial Planning,” Moderator, NITA and the Online Courtroom Project’s Summit “COVID, the Court, and the Future of the Jury Trial,” Remote Webinar (1800 registered participants) (November 20, 2020). <br/><br/>“ADR in the Time of COVID,” Moderator, PBI Business Lawyers Institute, Remote Webinar, November 18, 2020 (CLE for lawyers).<br/><br/>“How E-trials are Changing the Practice of Law,” International Legal Technology Association’s Annual Conference, Remote Webinar, August 28, 2020. <br/><br/>“Tips on Conducting Mediation and Arbitration Remotely: The Future of ADR in the Pandemic World and Beyond,” Philadelphia Bar Association’s ADR Committee, Remote Webinar, August 26, 2020 (CLE for lawyers).<br/><br/>Additional publication information available at https://www.resonatemediation.com/publication-and-press/

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and any location within 120 miles and for San Francisco, California or any location within 60 miles.

$675 Per Hour

English

United States of America

Philadelphia, PA

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