Paramount Arbitration & Mediation Lawyers

Margaret B. Seymour, a retired U.S. District Judge (District of South Carolina, 1998–2022), was the first African American woman federal judge and chief federal judge in South Carolina. She served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge (1996–1998) before her district court appointment. Over 26 years, Judge Seymour presided over complex securities, contract, class action, commercial, banking, bankruptcy, employment, discrimination, and environmental cases, as well as criminal matters like drug conspiracies, white-collar crime, and Ponzi schemes. She sat by designation on the Fourth Circuit and participated in two three-judge-panel redistricting cases. She served twice on the Judicial Conference Committee on the Administration of...

A native of Southern California, Paul graduated cum laude from Chapman University where he pitched for Chapman’s World Series baseball team. Paul then attended Chapman University, Dale E. Fowler School of Law, where he was extremely active in Mock Trial and ADR competitions, winning numerous top advocate awards. He gained valuable courtroom experience while externing with the United States Attorney’s Office and the Orange County and Riverside County District Attorney’s offices. After receiving his law degree, Paul moved to Chicago, IL and gained significant trial experience representing clients in all phases of litigation, from inception of the case through post-trial motions...

Sean Coffey, a Phillips ADR neutral, served as the 24th General Counsel of the Navy (2022–2025), leading over 1,100 attorneys worldwide. Previously a renowned trial lawyer, he handled plaintiff and defense cases in securities, class actions, and complex litigation. At Latham & Watkins, he secured a directed verdict in a bet-the-company case. At Bernstein Litowitz, he led the $6.2 billion WorldCom Securities Litigation recovery. As Chair of Complex Litigation at Kramer Levin, he advised corporate clients. As Navy General Counsel, Sean founded the Taxpayer Advocacy Project and led the exoneration of 256 African American Sailors from the 1944 Port Chicago courts-martial,...

EXPERTISE IN CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION Mari Frank is an attorney, mediator, Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP), author, professor, and radio show host in private practice in California and Florida. She worked in the District Attorney’s Office, practiced insurance defense law, and had a general civil law practice. She has successfully resolved thousands of disputes as a neutral since 1985. Ms. Frank was the founding President of the Orange County Chapter of the Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution-Orange County, California. She served for three years as founding Chair of the State Bar of California Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee She is a...

James graduated from California State University Northridge with honors and a B.A. in Electronic Media Management. He received his Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law and is admitted to practice law in the State of California and the State of New Jersey. After admission to the State Bar of California, James served as General Counsel for various entities. James has significant knowledge in the development and implementation of legal protocols and processes geared for the development of small to medium sized businesses. His experience in business law, employment law, tax, contracts, acquisitions, risk prevention and general...

Caroline brings extensive mediation and problem-solving expertise to Phillips ADR, drawing from her roles as General Counsel at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Principal Deputy White House Counsel. Known for her communication, judgment, and legal acumen, she excels in advising Boards and senior leaders on dispute resolution. At PwC, Caroline managed all legal, regulatory, compliance, and governance matters, handling lawsuits and regulatory issues with potential damages in the billions. She led settlement negotiations and mediations with opposing counsel, clients, and regulators like the SEC and FDIC, while resolving internal conflicts within PwC’s global network. As Principal Deputy White House Counsel under President Obama, she...

Ann Cook brings a business-focused approach to Phillips ADR, leveraging a decade at Ernst & Young LLP, including two years as General Counsel. Experienced as both plaintiff and defendant, she understands dispute dynamics and has litigated, arbitrated, and mediated cases in accounting, securities, contracts, and employment. A creative problem solver, Ann advised on complex corporate initiatives, balancing risk and business goals, earning recognition as a tenacious leader. At EY, Ann managed legal strategy for a $20B firm with 50,000 employees, overseeing litigation and regulatory matters during high regulatory activity. She advised on public disclosure and bankruptcy issues for over 1,000 public...

Jeffrey Mishkin, a Phillips ADR neutral, is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of the NBA and head of Skadden’s Sports Practice. He specializes in sports-related disputes involving antitrust, intellectual property, labor, gambling, and commercial matters. At the NBA, Mishkin managed all legal affairs, including litigation, labor relations, commercial transactions, intellectual property, and anti-drug programs, leading collective bargaining and the 1998-1999 NBA labor dispute. At Skadden, he represented major sports organizations like the NFL, NHL, MLB, NCAA, and others, as well as high-profile athletes, including a top-ranked golfer. Now a full-time mediator and arbitrator, Mishkin serves on the Court...

Danielle Menitove is an independent arbitrator and mediator specializing in commercial and sports-related disputes, including antitrust, employment, intellectual property, gambling, anti-doping, and player-agent issues. Danielle serves as an arbitrator on the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, and on the American Arbitration Association’s commercial, consumer, and national sports panels. Before starting her ADR practice, Danielle was a litigator at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York for over ten years, handling complex litigation in federal and state courts, government investigations, and advisory matters. Her cases involved antitrust, contract breaches, fiduciary duty, and unfair competition. ...

We have a civil law practice which focuses on business transactions and litigation, including contract formation, dispute resolution and all types of real estate matters. The Principal, Michael Isaac Shokrian, is a licensed real estate broker. We provide legal counsel to many small businesses as well as mid- and larger sized businesses. Our focus is on preemptive transactional guidance for the purpose of navigating around and avoiding/preventing litigation, not moving toward it. However, we are an aggressive and full service litigation office if and when necessary. We work and associate with experienced attorneys up and down the West Coast and...

Zev J. Eigen is a labor/employment and entertainment litigator with more than a decade of substantial experience handling complex negotiations, alternative dispute resolution and general contract law. Eigen has developed a particular background in representing clients in the entertainment industry and the restaurant and hospitality industry. He previously served as Senior Counsel to Twentieth Century Fox, where he represented Fox in all facets of its relationships with the entertainment industry labor organizations such as the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild and the Directors Guild. Prior to joining Fox, Eigen worked as an associate with the law firm, Littler Mendelson,...

I graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Philosophy from TCU and later from Harvard Law School in 1965. Since becoming a member of the State Bar of California in 1966, I have operated my own law firm focusing on general business, estates, probate, and trusts. In 1996 I received my first mediation certificate from Pepperdine Straus Institute and, in 2004 after training with Dr. Robert Cialdini, I became the only attorney certified to conduct his principles of persuasion workshops. I have presented numerous one hour presentations for lawyers, bar associations and business organizations Since 1996, I have been...

Kimberly Huebner serves as the Insurance Liaison for Phillips ADR, specializing in Directors’ and Officers’ Management Liability and Employment Practices Liability Insurance for companies and public entities. She facilitates communication between insurance carriers and Phillips ADR, reporting to panelists and coordinating further interactions. Before joining Phillips ADR, Kimberly was Vice President of Technical Claims for D&O Claims at AIG Claims, Inc. She tracked litigation trends, analyzed potential exposures, and reported divisional loads. Kimberly evaluated complex claims for strategic resolution and trained colleagues on claims handling, coverage evaluation, and negotiation. Kimberly earned a B.S. in Psychology from Roanoke College and a J.D. from...

Our driving belief is based on old-fashioned advocacy. We are a small Westlake Village-based firm and recognize the importance of being accessible to our clients. We believe in personal attention, and our clients have direct, responsive contact with us. At the Law Offices of Richard J. Uss, we take particular pride in the quality of service that our clients receive. We believe in forming relationships.

Fred Bennett is an independent arbitrator/mediator with over 35 years of experience as an arbitrator and advocate of an exceptionally broad range of complex international and domestic disputes, as well as business litigation/trials. He was formerly a senior partner and global chair of the arbitration practice at Quinn Emanuel for many years, and before that a senior partner with and chair of the worldwide ADR group at Gibson Dunn. He is an arbitration panelist on (i) the AAA's Large Complex Case Panels for Commercial, Construction, and Aviation, Aerospace and National Security disputes, (ii) the AAA's International...