The Lawyers’ Affinity Group will be hosting a panel of distinguished mediators who will present a program entitled:  "Lawyer Preparation For Mediation Puts Money In Clients' Pockets"

As the legal community continues to use mediation as an effective case settlement tool, it is becoming clear that attorney preparation plays a vital role in achieving a favorable result.  Whether dealing with hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, shooting from the hip is too risky.  There are many facets to preparing effectively for mediation.  In this program, 5 of the profession’s most highly regarded mediators, Bruins all, will provide you with the mediators’ perspective on what attorneys should be doing to effectively prepare for mediation.

One hour of general MCLE credit is being offered to the attendees at this event.

Meet The Panelists:

Angela Reddock-Wright, Esq.

A practicing attorney for 25 years and named a “Best Lawyer in America” for employment and labor law, Angela is a labor law mediator, arbitrator, workplace and Title IX investigator.  In addition to her own firm, Angela is on the panel of mediators and arbitrators at Judicate West.  She is graduate of UCLA School of Law.  Angela obtained her mediation training at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law.

Angela is also on the mediation panel of thee United States District Court, Central District, and teaches in the mediation program 

Wendy Kramer, Esq.

Wendy Kramer, a full time neutral on the ADR Services, Inc. panel of neutrals, is one of the most sought-after mediators with a reputation of being highly effective in bringing parties to resolution.  Wendy joins Len for a discussion of how to bring the parties into a bargaining range, making settlement possible.  Join Len and Wendy for a highly informative discussion.

In her former law practice, Ms. Kramer, as a partner with Kramer & Kramer handled a wide variety of insurance related matters, developing great expertise in personal injury, business disputes, professional malpractice, landlord tenant disputes with habitability issues, and complex commercial litigation.

In addition to serving as the President of the Southern California Mediation Association in 2013, she has also served as the ADR Chair for the Santa Monica Bar Association, been involved in the Los Angeles and Ventura County Superior Courts ADR Programs, has been a fee dispute mediator for the Beverly Hills and Santa Monica Bar Associations.  She has also served as the chair of the SCMA’s Mentorship Program, as well as on the Board of Governors for the prestigious International Academy of Mediation (IAM), where she currently serves as chair of the Mentorship Program.  She has mediated over 3,500 matters and arbitrated over 300.  She is known for her ability to deal with difficult personalities, multi-party matters and complicated legal issues.

Her areas of expertise in mediation include vehicular accidents, premises liability, insurance, employment, real estate, professional malpractice (including legal, medical, dental, pharmaceutical, spas), business, products liability, and assault and battery. 

Lee Jay Berman

Lee Jay Berman began as a full-time mediator 27 years ago, and has successfully mediated over 2,600 matters, many of which were high profile cases.  He is an American Arbitration Association Master Mediator for employment matters, a national panelist on their commercial, construction, and healthcare panels, and a select mediator on their International Center for Dispute Resolution mediation panel.  He is a Distinguished Fellow with the International Academy of Mediators, a Charter Diplomat with the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN), certified by the International Mediation Institute, and a Dispute Resolution Expert with the United Nations Development Programme.  NADN named him their inaugural “Distinguished Neutral of the Year” in 2017.  The Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA) honored him with their Cloke-Millen Peacemaker of the Year award in 2021.  California’s Daily Journal twice named him “Top Neutral”, he has been voted by his colleagues into the Who’s Who of International Commercial Mediation from 2012-2021, and ranked by Chambers USA as one of the top 40 commercial mediators in the U.S. from 2018-2021. 

Also a respected trainer, Mr. Berman founded the American Institute of Mediation after seven years as Director of Pepperdine Law School's Mediating the Litigated Case program (ranked #1 nationally).  The SCMA gave him their L. Randolph Lowry Award for his success in educating others.  He has trained mediators, judges, attorneys, and business leaders across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and Europe, as well as in India, Dubai, Uzbekistan, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Lee Jay’s YouTube channel is filled with dozens of podcast interviews, he has published numerous articles on mediation and ADR, and the American Bar Association will be publishing two of his books in 2022. 

Hon. Allan Goodman (ret.)

Allan Goodman is a graduate of UCLA School of Law, after which he served as a Deputy Attorney General of California for nine years.  Among his assignments were representing the State of California in land tiltle, easement and boundary matters throughout the state in state and federal course, including in the United States Supreme Court.  He also was involved in the state’s regulation of health care plans, brought the first action for receivership of a health care plan and co-authored the original California regulations of health care plans.

His 15 years in private practice included emphasis on legal advice to development stage companies, particularly in high tech fields and representing companies or investors in venture capital financing of those companies and in protecting their trade secrets and intellectual property.

Beginning in 1995 he served for 24 years as a judge, most of the time in a direct calendar civil court, settling or trying cases in business, real estate, toxic tort, personal injury and environmental matters.  He was a faculty member of the B.E. Witkin Judicial College at which he taught newly appointed judges.  During his judicial service, the Chief Justice appointed him to multiple assignments to assist divisions of the Second District Court of Appeal where he wrote decisions for the court in partnership, business, trade secret, real estate, HOA, employment and environmental matters, among others.

In the fall of 2019 he joined ADR Services as an arbitrator, mediator and discovery referee. 

Leonard S. Levy

Len Levy, a mediator for more than two decades, and a neutral on the ADR Services, Inc. panel of neutrals is a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals and has been recognized as a SuperLawyer in Alternative Dispute Resolution since 2014.  Len has the tools necessary to help parties settle disputes and knows the most effective means of satisfying the interests of parties in conflict.  

After 30 years of experience as a trial attorney trying complex business, construction, insurance (including surety and fidelity), personal injury, products liability, and real estate cases, Len began resolving disputes as a mediator and arbitrator in 1998.  In his more than 23-year career as a neutral, Len has not only resolved hundreds of matters in the same areas in which he tried cases but has also been effective in resolving mass tort and complex multi-party cases related to product liability and sexual abuse/molestation, homeowners’ association disputes, professional liability (medical and legal malpractice), employment and legal fee disputes.

As a mediator, Len explores the interests of the parties to achieve a resolution that maximizes all parties’ satisfaction with the settlement, and he is known for his extraordinary patience, creativity, and tenacious pursuit of resolution.  As an arbitrator in construction, medical malpractice, business, and UM cases, he is recognized as fair-minded and experienced, with exceptional skill in understanding the complexities of evidence and issues, providing the parties with clear and well-reasoned decisions.

Len is a member of the panel of neutrals at ADR Services, Inc. one of the leading providers of alternative dispute resolution in California. 

He currently hosts a podcast “Masters of Dispute Resolution where Len, joined by some of the most respected neutrals in the field, will reveal to those participating in mediation the secrets of success in achieving their clients’ goals.  

Time will be set aside for attendee introductions, so using the video feature throughout the meeting is encouraged. Please watch the training and read the documents on the BP ZOOM Resource Center, so you are prepared for the meeting.

Cost: Free