JUDICATE WEST

Welcome to JUDICATE WEST

The Gold Standard in Private Dispute Resolution

We are proud to be home to many of the nation's most sought-after mediators, arbitrators, and private judges - all dedicated to delivering results. Our success is built on our core values - valuing relationships, doing the right thing, being a team player, being humble and kind, and achieving optimal results. We relentlessly pursue excellence in all aspects of our business.

COVID-19 JW Updates as of July 20, 2020

At Judicate West, we have prioritized the health and wellness of our clients, neutrals, and teammates throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent order as well as the latest data from the CDC, with your safety in mind, we have made virtual sessions our primary focus for the remainder of the year; a prudent approach in support of our collective health.

We remain open for business and are more committed than ever to ensure that your dispute resolution needs are serviced at the gold standard level you have come to expect from us.

Neutral Availability Search

Specialty Area

Preferred Location

Time Frame

Meet Our Neutrals See Our Locations Submit A Case Sign Up For Mailings

Our Neutrals Deliver Results

Our Roster of Neutrals

HON. CHRIS R. CONWAY, RET.

Former 20 year Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, Supervising Judge of the Probate calendar
Litigator for over 20 years in both civil and business matters
Specializes in all types of personal injury, probate, business and professional malpractice disputes

THOMAS S. DILLARD, ESQ.

Full time neutral since 1999, Former trial attorney representing both plaintiff & defendants for over 23 years
Recognized by the Daily Journal as a Top Neutral in California in 2010
Specializes in medical malpractice, elder abuse, bad faith and all types of personal injury matters

ROBERT N. DOBBINS, LLM, ESQ.

Former litigator & transactional attorney for over 32 years
Masters Degree in Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine
Specializes in real estate, commercial & employment matters & developing ADR systems design

GARY N. DONOVAN, ESQ.

Former trial lawyer representing plaintiff & defendants for over 25 years
CA real estate broker, mediation training, Pepperdine University
Specializes in real estate, construction defect & personal injury disputes

JANET RUBIN FIELDS, ESQ.

Full time Neutral since 1999, Former trial attorney representing plaintiffs & defendants for over 15 years
Recognized by the Daily Journal as a California "Top Neutral" in 2010
Specializes in personal injury, employment, real estate, insurance and legal malpractice matters

DARRELL A. FORGEY, ESQ.

Full time neutral since 2006, Former trial lawyer for over 30 years
Recognized by the Daily Journal as a California "Top Neutral" in 2010 and 2011
Specializes in catastrophic injury & wrongful death, products & professional liability, insurance coverage & commercial disputes

JAY CORDELL HORTON, ESQ.

Former trial attorney representing plaintiffs & defendants for over 35 years
Recognized by the Daily Journal as a California "Top Neutral" every year since 2007
Specializes in medical malpractice, elder abuse, complex & catastrophic personal injury matters

STEVEN R. KUHN, ESQ.

A trial attorney for 38 years specializing in personal injury and civil litigation
Success rate in excess of 90% in resolving mediated matters
Specializes in all types of personal injury, business/commercial and real estate disputes

BYRON M. RABIN, ESQ.

Full time Mediator & Arbitrator since 1999
Owner, manager & shareholder of various businesses
Specializes in all types of catastrophic injury, personal injury matters and workers compensation matters

MICHELLE A. REINGLASS, ESQ.

A trial lawyer for 30 years specializing in Employment Law
Recognized by the Daily Journal as a "Top Labor & Employment Lawyer" in 2009 & 2010
Specializes in all types of employment disputes and business matters

HARRISON W. SOMMER, ESQ.

Former trial lawyer representing plaintiffs & defendants for over 32 years
Recognized in 2011 as a "Top Neutral in California" by the Los Angeles Daily Journal
Specializes in personal injury, medical malpractice, elder abuse & products liability cases

ROBERT M. TESSIER, ESQ.

Former litigator for over 20 years representing plaintiffs and defendants
Recognized by the Daily Journal as a Top Neutral in California in 2011
Specializes in mediating all types of personal injury, products liability and insurance matters

HON. STUART T. WALDRIP, RET.

Active ADR Neutral for 12+ years in multiple states and have managed over 1K of cases
One of authors of JW Commercial Arbitration Rules and Appellate Rules
Settled business dispute involving multi-national tech company and tech vendor in 9 sessions over 3+ years and during two trials

MICHAEL D. YOUNG, ESQ.

Commercial trial attorney since 1985 & Mediator since 1989
Adjunct professor of Law in Negotiation and ADR processes at the USC Law School
Specializes in intellectual property, environmental, employment, & complex commercial matters

EDWARD A. FERNANDEZ, ESQ.

Full time neutral since 2011
Mediated approximately 2,000 cases as an independent private neutral
Specializes in all types of personal injury matters

MELISSA BLAIR ALIOTTI, ESQ.

Aliotti currently serves as vice chair for the Sacramento County Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution section and is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution sections of the State Bar of California and the American Bar Association
She frequently participates on educational seminars focused on litigation and dispute resolution topics
Over 100+ hours of formal dispute resolution training at Pepperdine University School of Law/Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, American Bar Association, and Sacramento County Bar Association

HON. ANDREW J. GUILFORD, RET.

Full-Time Mediator, Arbitrator and Private Judge, Nationwide
Former U.S. District Judge for nearly 14 years
Litigator for over 31 years who handle complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on patents, trademarks, finance including securities, banking, real estate, contracts, unfair competition, defamation, civil rights, partnership disputes, professional liability and class actions

JUDICATE WEST Foundation

Learn More

Judicate West is honored to help foster constructive approaches to resolving conflict and increasing access to justice in the communities we serve.

Latest News

#BlackLivesMatter and conflict resolution

By ANGELA J. REDDOCK-WRIGHT, ESQ.

Read More >>

See More News

Upcoming Events

NOTE: If you would like your legal organization's events included in our calendar please use our Contact Us page, or phone Melissa Gorin at 714.834.1340.

August 14 - OCBA, The Effective Use of Remote Mediation
Jill Sperber is Speaking
Live Webinar
12:00 pm - 1:00pm
August 20 - SFVBA, Rising to the Challenge: Road to Mediation
JW is a Sponsor
Virtual Event
12:00pm - 1:30 pm
August 24 - Public Law Center, Volunteers for Justice Annual Dinner
JW is a Bronze Sponsor
Virtual Event
4:30 pm - Virtual Reception
5:00 pm - Program Begins
August 27 - OCBA, Commercial Law & Bankruptcy Section Webinar
Judge Goldberg is Speaking
Virtual Event
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
August 28 - Judicate West, Achieving the Best Results in Virtual Mediation
Experienced trial lawyers and mediators will share their perspectives on what happens behind the black curtains to prepare for and succeed in virtual mediations. This lively session will include a discussion on technology and effective use of tools, challenges for insurance carriers, pre-mediation preparation with the mediator, prepping the plaintiffs, and an exploration of “the COVID discount.”
Robert J. Kaplan Esq., Judicate West
Amy Fisch Solomon, Esq., Judicate West
Michael Schonbuch, Esq., Daniels, Fine, Israel & Schonbuch
Robert T. Simon, Esq., The Simon Law Group
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
1 hour of MCLE credit will be offered
Click Here to RSVP

See All Events

Career Opportunities

Join the most professional ADR team in the industry.

Santa Ana Office: Front Desk Administrator

San Francisco Office: Operations/Front Desk Administrator

See Open Positions