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Current CV (download here)
Credentials
Academy Member of the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals, “an invitation-only professional association whose membership consists of mediators & arbitrators distinguished by their hands-on experience in the field of civil & commercial dispute resolution.”
Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, an invitation-only membership organization consisting of some of the most successful and highly trained professional mediators in the world.
American Arbitration Association, employment panel mediator.
Maryland Association of Realtors, panel mediator.
Panel arbitrator, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Recipient of the Chief Judge Robert M. Bell Award for outstanding contribution to Alternative Dispute Resolution in Maryland, given by the ADR Section of the Maryland State Bar Association.
Recipient of the Paul A. Dorf Award from the Bar Association of Baltimore City, for “substantial contributions to the furtherance of the goals of alternative dispute resolution to resolve legal conflicts in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area.”
LL.M (Master of Laws) from the top-ranked Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine School of Law.
Past Director of Dispute Resolution for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City where I developed and managed systems that oversaw thousands of mediations and settlement conferences. I also observed and coached retired judges and senior attorneys in mediation and settlement conferences.
Experienced: Over my career, I have personally conducted over 2,700 mediation & settlement conferences in the following areas:
Catastrophic injuries (multi-vehicle, trucking, pedestrians, bicycles, and motorcycles)
Medical negligence, birth injuries, nursing home liability, and wrongful death
Real property (diminished valuation, trespass, purchase contracts, failure to disclaim / disclose property condition, breach of commercial lease allegations)
Interpersonal conflict in commercial contexts (law firm, restaurant and other partnership dissolutions, family businesses, shareholder disputes, and defamation involving public figures)
Interpersonal conflict in personal contexts (sexual abuse, contested guardianships, undue influence, fraud, and unjust enrichment allegations in estate-related and retirement asset disputes)
Employment disputes (harassment, discrimination, whistle-blower, qui tam, retaliation, failure to perform professional services, and compensation disputes)
Commercial and consumer contract disputes (lending agreements, nursing home acquisitions, scrap metal supply, and automobile sales)
Premises liability and insurance subrogation (damage by fire, flood, and vandalism)
Construction and design defects (hotels, apartment complexes, water treatment plants, interstate construction, and retail developments)
Environmental torts (asbestos, mold, and lead paint poisoning)
Professional malpractice (lawyers and health care professionals)
Excessive force of municipal law enforcement and private security contractors
Member of Maryland Bar (admitted in 1998).
Testimonials: See what some of my past contacts have to say . . .
“I just wanted to reach out and thank you for your good and hard work yesterday. I know I didn’t make it easy for you, but all the more reason I appreciate and respect your stick to-itive-ness, patience and openness in the face of pushback. Really a masterful job.”
“Just a quick note to let you know that the settlement was approved by the Court and everything has wrapped up! Thank you again for your outstanding assistance.”
“I am not a big fan of private mediation. More specifically, private mediators. A recent exception made me understand why I had come to this conclusion.
We just settled a couple of sticky nursing home cases. The basic medicine was not unusual, but there were tons of peripheral issues - it was just messy.
Mediation was initiated a year ago. We got part of one claim resolved fairly easily. The rest of it dragged on. And on.
Our mediator was not one of the regulars here in Virginia. In fact, he was from another state and I don’t even think he has ever practiced here. One of the defendants wanted to use him. Our co-counsel and I figured we might as well give him a try.
From the start, this mediator had a different approach - and it was refreshing. He was persistent without being pushy. He never abandoned the case. The mediator also consistently respected what we were saying.
In the end, the mediator came up with an innovative scheme - something I had never heard of. It worked. Was I thrilled with the number? No. Considering the circumstances, however, it was acceptable.
With my recent experience, I was reminded of just how different this mediator was. Most of his peers pale in comparison. The difference is creativity. The best lawyers have a creative streak. The same applies to mediators.”
“Outstanding job sticking with it and making sure this one got done. I too will recommend you in future cases – it is nice to have an alternative to ______ (they are probably sending me a bill just for mentioning their name).”
“I was enormously impressed with your preparation, skills, and dedication as a mediator. I am absolutely going to call on you for future cases. Thanks so much for your efforts to get these cases resolved, particularly in light of the unique and challenging circumstances.”
“Thanks for all your hard work. In my opinion you are the GOAT.”
“Thanks again for mediating yesterday. You did a great job and I am glad we were able to get things done. I am happy to refer you to other attorneys and please feel free to use me as a reference.”
“It always helps to have an experienced neutral work to get past emotion to a resolution. Thank you for your assistance yesterday.”
“I’ve worked with Jeff many times -he is always well-prepared and does a great job of working with both sides to cut through any issues that may be impacting potential settlement and get results. He is also wonderful at following up and does not rest until the case is resolved one way or the other.”
“Jeff has a knack for identifying the hurdles early on, and determining which issues can be problems and which ones ultimately don’t need to be fought over. He cuts through the unproductive noise in a manner that saves time for everyone.”
“Jeff was able to identity the issues most important to resolution and help us get to the settlement promptly and effectively”
“Let me say that I was quite impressed by your work. Recall that you also helped resolve two other difficult cases of mine. In all the cases, parties were highly adversarial; I’m amazed how well you assisted them. Do you teach any mediation training?”
“Thank you again! I can once again report you were 4 for 4.”
“Excellent work. Your transformative education worked well with the family member. Glad we got it done. ”
“. . . Nothing short of extraordinary”
“We used Jeff to mediate a hotly contested motor vehicle accident. He went above and beyond to get the case resolved. Even when issues came up in dealing with the release, Jeff’s assistance was invaluable to having a successful resolution. I will be calling Jeff for all future mediations.”
“Thank you for your outstanding work yesterday. We did not expect this case to settle. That we did resolve it is a testament to your hard work - particularly since we got it done well after 7:00 pm!”
“One of the best ‘actually try to reach a fair settlement’ guys.”