ARBITRATOR
Arbitration requires more than subject-matter knowledge. It requires the ability to identify the dispositive issues, manage the proceedings efficiently, evaluate evidence fairly, and make a timely clear and well-reasoned decision.
My experience as a trial and appellate judge informs each of those responsibilities.
For counsel and clients seeking a neutral who will be prepared, attentive, decisive, and respectful of the parties’ time and resources, experience matters.
SPECIAL DISCOVERY ADJUDICATOR
In complex cases, discovery disputes can consume the time, attention, and resources that should be devoted to resolving the merits. Repeated motion practice tend to delay the case and intensify already difficult relationships between counsel.
A Special Discovery Adjudicator can provide focused and timely management of those disputes – addressing proportionality, traditional and artificial intelligence-based privilege, electronically stored information, confidentiality, and compliance with discovery obligations.
My judicial experience in both trial and appellate courts enables me to identify the issues quickly, understand the practical consequences of discovery rulings, and provide counsel with clear direction. The objective is to efficiently and expeditiously decide discovery disputes, which reduces delays and allows the parties to better assess either their settlement posture or their trial strategies.
INTERNAL INVESTIGATOR
I recently mediated an employment matter in which the employer’s internal investigation played an unintended but significant part of the litigation. The employee challenged the investigation as biased and perfunctory. The use of an internal investigator and the manner in which the investigation was conducted was cited as evidence of the employer’s alleged bad faith.
An internal investigation is often undertaken to reduce risk. If it lacks independence, thoroughness, or a fair process, however, it may create additional risk and become an exhibit in the eventual lawsuit.
A credible investigation requires a neutral investigator, carefully framed issues, appropriate interviews, meaningful consideration of competing accounts, and conclusions supported by the evidence. The final report must reflect genuine analysis rather than appear to justify a predetermined result.
My background as a prosecutor, judicial officer, employment-law attorney, and neutral provides a disciplined and independent approach to sensitive workplace investigations. The goal is to establish the facts, ensure a fair process, and produce work that will remain credible if later examined by counsel, a court, or a jury.