Philo Arbitration & Mediation Lawyers

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...

45 years experience as litigation and business counsel; 20 years experience as court appointed and private mediator of business and real estate disputes; Martindale AV-rated; SuperLawyers

For 11 years, Ms. Mills practiced law as a litigator. In Spring, 2007, she gave up the practice of litigation to focus exclusively on mediation. Today, Ms. Mills is a mediator focusing on elder mediation and civil mediation. Most of her practice is in Contra Costa County, but she will travel throughout the Bay Area for mediation.

Jennifer Duggan specializes in employment law and litigation. She brings more than 24 years of experience representing employers of all sizes. Jennifer founded Duggan McHugh Law Corporation in 2013 with a focus on representing employers to proactively minimize their risk of employment lawsuits, and to make sure that, in the event of a legal claim, they are in the strongest possible position to defend themselves. Jennifer and her team have successfully defended wage and hour class action lawsuits, PAGA claims, as well as individual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims of all kinds, contract and tort-based employment litigation, 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...

I am now in "INACTIVE" status with the CA State Bar. Please delete my listing. Thank you, John Hardy CA #36386

Robert Bosso has been an attorney in Santa Cruz for over 55 years, after graduating from the University of California Law School in 1964 (top 10% of his class--Law Review Note & Comment Editor) which he followed with two years in U.S. Army Intelligence Corps rising to the rank of Captain in charge of a regional field office. He has experience in trial work (although he no longer does trial work), real estate, water law, business law, and general estate planning areas. He also serves as an Arbitrator and Mediator for other attorneys cases He has served...

Hi there.

Yes. I'm an attorney. But get those stuffy images and greedy stereotypes out of your head. I became an attorney to help people and I'm here to help you. Too many people don't know the little things that can make all the difference in their lives. Sometimes you just need a friendly neighbor with some helpful insight. So thanks for stopping by- I'm The Attorney Next Door! :)

Calling myself The Attorney Next Door has been a long time coming. You see, law school doesn't teach lawyers how to help people. It teaches us how to think...

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...

Edwin V. Woodsome, a Phillips ADR neutral, was managing partner of Dechert LLP’s Los Angeles office and head of Global Litigation at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. With over 35 years of trial experience, he has handled consumer fraud, False Claims Act, securities, product liability, trade secrets, employment, antitrust, and intellectual property cases in state and federal courts. He has extensive appellate, mediation, and arbitration experience, including the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California’s mediation panel. Woodsome represented major firms in transportation, banking, technology, aerospace, and entertainment, serving as U.S. national litigation counsel for a global logistics company and...

Michelle Yoshida, a full-time mediator, arbitrator, and special master since 2007, joined Phillips ADR in 2014. Previously with Judge Daniel Weinstein’s team, she has mediated over 500 disputes with billions in settlements, excelling in complex cases involving securities, insurance, professional liability, ERISA, and trustee issues. Known for quickly grasping legal and factual complexities, she manages large ADR cases with objectivity and determination, finding practical solutions for disputes ranging from personal contracts to major corporate matters. Michelle builds trust and productive relationships with mediation participants. Before becoming a neutral, she was a trial attorney handling complex business litigation, including contracts, insurance, intellectual...

Layn R. Phillips, founder of Phillips ADR Enterprises (PADRE), is a former U.S. Attorney and U.S. District Judge. Appointed at age 35 by President Reagan, he presided over 140+ trials in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, and sat by designation on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier, Judge Phillips served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, and at age 31, was nominated as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma. After leaving the bench, he spent 23 years at Irell & Manella, focusing on complex civil litigation, internal investigations, and alternative dispute resolution. He later founded PADRE, specializing...

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...

Chuck Stevens joined Phillips ADR after a 40-year career as a litigation partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, U.S. Attorney, and neutral in ADR matters. At Gibson Dunn’s San Francisco office, he served as managing partner for six years and was recognized by Lawdragon (2023 Leading Global Litigators), Benchmark Litigation (2024 Litigation Star), and Chambers (Band 1, California Litigation). He was named San Francisco’s Lawyer of the Year for Bet-the-Company Litigation (2019) by Best Lawyers. Chuck founded a boutique litigation firm, handling complex civil cases and qui tam matters. As a neutral, he mediated for the Eastern District of California’s Voluntary...

Barry R. Ostrager, a retired New York State Supreme Court Justice (Commercial Division, 2015–2023), presided over numerous trials and resolved hundreds of commercial cases. Before his judicial role, he was a litigation partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, leading its 300+ attorney Litigation Department and serving on the management committee. As lead trial counsel, Ostrager handled high-profile securities, antitrust, and insurance cases, including Swiss Re’s World Trade Center dispute and Travelers’ environmental coverage case against Shell Oil, both resulting in jury verdicts. He tried five cases involving $1 billion+ disputes and led major arbitrations, such as Andersen Consulting’s $14 billion...

Miles, a Phillips ADR mediator, excels in securities, antitrust, professional liability, mass torts, and complex commercial litigation, closing settlements totaling nearly $3 billion. Previously, he was a renowned trial and appellate lawyer for over 40 years, serving as Global Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Litigation Department. Recognized as a “legendary litigator” by the New York Law Journal, he received its Lifetime Achievement Award and accolades from Chambers USA, Best Lawyers (New York City’s Lawyer of the Year for Securities Litigation), and the Lawdragon 500 Hall of Fame. His economics and mathematics expertise aids in analyzing damages and crafting innovative settlement...

Clay joined Judge Phillips’ ADR practice in 2011. He graduated cum laude from Pepperdine University (B.A., History, 2006) and earned his J.D. from Fordham Law School (2011). He is admitted to the New York and California State Bars. Clay began mediating small claims in Bronx County Civil Court during law school. With over a decade at Phillips ADR, he now mediates complex disputes involving major companies in areas like antitrust, class actions, intellectual property, environmental, mass tort, insurance, securities, and contract disputes. He has worked on over 500 mediations, assisting Judge Phillips before, during, and after sessions, and directly engaging parties...

Bill Ohlemeyer brings 40 years of experience to Phillips ADR, representing plaintiffs, defendants, and working at Altria Group. He has litigated, arbitrated, mediated, and tried cases in state and federal courts, advising on legal and regulatory challenges. A Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, Bill graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri Law School and clerked for Chief Judge Scott O. Wright. He joined Shook, Hardy & Bacon, becoming partner in 1991, then served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Altria (1999–2008), managing litigation for Philip Morris...

Niki, a Phillips ADR neutral for six years, brings 25 years of experience in complex litigation, claims administration, mediation, arbitration, and special master roles. A protégé of Judge Layn Phillips, she has co-mediated hundreds of cases, applying his innovative practices in mediations she leads and in court-appointed special master roles nationwide. Before Phillips ADR, Niki was Vice President of Client Strategy & Development at a national class action claims administrator. For nearly 15 years, she litigated securities fraud and complex commercial cases at a national class action law firm, securing court-approved settlements in high-profile matters. She also represented defendants in insurance...

Gregory P. Lindstrom, a Phillips ADR neutral since 2014, brings extensive litigation and business experience from his roles as a Latham & Watkins litigation partner and General Counsel of The Irvine Company. A full-time mediator and arbitrator since 2012, he specializes in complex disputes, including antitrust, securities, intellectual property, and commercial matters. Born in California, Greg graduated summa cum laude from UCLA (Economics, 1975) and earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School (1978), working with Professor Richard Posner. At Latham & Watkins (1978–2008), he became a partner in 1986, managed the San Francisco office, and served on the...

Andra Greene, a Phillips ADR neutral, has mediated OR COMEDIATED disputes from seven to 11 figures in NUMEROUS AREAS INCLUDING mass torts, class actions, EMPLOYMENT, securities, sexual misconduct, insurance, and intellectual property. She spent 35 years at Irell & Manella LLP, leading the Class Action Defense practice and serving as managing partner of the Newport Beach office and on the Executive Committee. A seasoned trial lawyer, Andra handled complex litigation in class actions, professional liability, employment, business torts, securities, and intellectual property in state and federal courts. She often represented lawyers and law firms. Recognized as a “Top Woman Lawyer in...

Elliot Brown, a Phillips ADR neutral, is the former managing partner of Irell & Manella LLP. He spent nearly 30 years in IP litigation, counseling, and licensing at a top IP practice. Elliot graduated cum laude from Harvard College (1985), earning Phi Beta Kappa and a John Harvard Scholar award. He studied philosophy of science at Princeton, receiving an MA (1987) and a Mellon Fellowship, where game theory and Daniel Kahneman’s work on bargaining and cognitive bias shaped his approach to dispute resolution. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School (1990), serving as a Harvard Law Review...

Seth Aronson joined Phillips ADR in 2023, mediating disputes up to ten figures in securities, consumer class actions, privacy, false claims, shareholder derivative, antitrust, RMBS fraud, and complex litigation. He serves on the ADR panel for the U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Retiring from O’Melveny & Myers LLP in 2022 after 40 years as a trial and appellate lawyer, Seth was managing partner of O’Melveny’s Los Angeles office and chaired its Securities Litigation practice. Ranked by Chambers USA for 20 years, he was named California Securities Litigation Attorney of the Year twice by Benchmark Litigation, a “Top 100 Lawyer”...