Experience
1995-present
Mediator, arbitrator and ADR provider in private practice, working for private parties as well as in connection with various state and federal courts, and the Independent Administrator for Kaiser Permanente arbitrations.
I have conducted over 1300 mediations, as well as over one hundred arbitrations and many neutral evaluations, in a diverse array of disputes, generally in the context of commercial litigation but in other settings as well. Issues raised include breach of contract, partnership, employment, real estate, real estate partition, insurance coverage/bad faith, fraud and other business torts, professional negligence and fee disputes, intellectual property, construction, probate, securities, consumer fraud, landlord-tenant, personal injury, note collection and work out, defamation, civil rights, embezzlement, simultaneous civil and criminal proceedings, and others.
I have a flexible style in which I try to adjust to the needs of the parties and the situation, as opposed to using a single approach for every dispute. I have been trained in different techniques from which I can select and adjust as appropriate. Most of the matters I have worked on have been in litigation with attorneys participating, but I have also handled matters directly between disputants without attorneys. I consult with all participants concerning how best to conduct each proceeding.
2000-2005
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law, Hastings College of Law, teaching Alternative Dispute Resolution and Negotiation & Settlement courses
1981-1994
Litigator with Keker & Van Nest (formerly Keker & Brockett and Keker, Brockett & Van Nest). 1990-1993 Managing Partner.
I represented clients in a variety of disputes, including commercial cases concerning insurance coverage and bad faith, real estate, employment, partnership, securities, contract, fraud and other business torts, work outs, defamation, and civil rights and criminal defense. My practice was split evenly between representing plaintiffs and defendants. I handled cases in trial before both federal and California state courts, as well as matters before appellate courts and both the California and the United States Supreme Courts.
Reported cases include Neary v. Regents, 3 Cal. 4th 273 (1992), and NORML v. Mullen, 828 F. 2d 536 (9th Cir. 1987).
1979-1980
Judicial Law Clerk to Chief United States District Judge Edward T. Gignoux, D. Maine.
Education
1979 J.D. University of California, School of Law; Order of the Coif; Executive Editor, California Law Review; Am Jur Awards-Property, Torts, Civil Procedure
1974 B.A. Tufts University
Training
2001 Completed 20 hour training in appellate mediation for the First District Court of Appeal
1999 Completed NASD Arbitration Chairperson training
1999 Completed 8 hour training with Gary Friedman on mediation Working Directly and Simultaneously with All Parties and their Lawyers
1999 Completed 20 hour mediation in transformational model for internal Post Office disputes
1998 Completed 16 hour mediation training conducted by U.S. District Court (N.D. Cal.), in addition to 8 hour training in Early Neutral Evaluation from U.S. District Court
1997 Completed 18 hour advanced mediation course by John Paul Jones Group
1996 Completed 40 hour mediator training In Commercial Mediation by Appropriate Dispute Resolution Applications (ADRA), co-sponsored by San Francisco Bar Association
Memberships
California Dispute Resolution Council
The Mediation Society (founding member and Member, Board of Directors 2001-, President 2005-2006)
California State Bar
Bar of United States Supreme Court
Publications & Presentations
Beyond Custodial Sentences: Restorative Justice as a Community-Based Approach to Resolution in the Juvenile Court System (Presentation and Paper), Third International Crime and Punishment Film Festival, University of Istanbul School of Law, September 2013, at 827.
Meeting Mediation Challenges: How Advocates and Mediators Overcome Obstacles to Settlement (Panel Moderator), Presentation of BASF and The Mediation Society (June 2007)
What Every Advocate Needs to Know about Mediation Ethics, Presentation of BASF (January 2007); Presentation of BASF and UC Hastings College of Law (January 2006)
What Every Advocate Needs to Know about ADR Ethics, Presentation of BASF and UC Hastings College of Law (January 2005)
Bay Area Court ADR – Developments in programs and confidentiality of mediation, San Francisco Attorney (April/May 2000)
Charting a Course to Dispute Resolution – A summary of Bay Area court ADR programs, San Francisco Attorney (Dec. 1997)
Grudge Duel in Java, Parent’s Press (March, 1996)
Subject of article: ADR Provider of the Month, Alameda Co. Bar Ass’n Bulletin (Dec. 1997)
Link to complete list of Articles and Presentations
For the text of articles, go to Articles
Recognition
Named to ADR section of the 2008, 2011, 2012, 2019-2024 editions of Northern California Super Lawyers
AV Preeminent rating, Martindale-Hubbell
Top Rated Lawyers in ADR, 2012-present, LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell
References
Available upon request.
Contact Information
679 Arimo Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
510-451-2660
E-mail: djm@davidmeadows.com
Website: davidmeadows.com