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Barbara Brown is an insightful, perceptive, analytical mediator who brings flexibility to the mediation process. She quickly reaches an understanding of what is driving each particular dispute and, calling on her experience with different styles of mediation, how best to assist the parties to work through that dispute toward resolution or settlement.
Mediation Experience
After practicing as a litigator for over 28 years, Barbara turned her practice to mediation full time in 2006, focusing on employment and business matters. She has well over 500 hours of training in different styles of mediation and has successfully mediated hundreds of cases. Representative matters include:
Employment wrongful termination and discrimination matters
Workplace disputes
Wage and hour claims
Harassment claims
Lemon Law claims
Collection disputes
Real estate partnership disputes
Real estate fraud claims
Commercial lease disputes
Family real property and business disputes
Trust and estates disputes
Violation of civil rights claims
Breach of contract claims
Panel Appointments
Barbara is an independent mediator who, in addition to her private practice, serves on the following panels:
Los Angeles Superior Court “Party Select” mediator panel (until it was disbanded by the court)
U.S. District Court, Central District, settlement officer panel
Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, mediator panel
United States Post Office mediator panel
Professional Memberships
American Bar Association
Member, Section of Dispute Resolution
Association for Conflict Resolution
Member, Commercial, Workplace, Spirituality, and Elder Sections
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Member, Labor and Employment Law Section
Mediators Beyond Borders
Southern California Mediation Association
Member, Board of Directors
President, 2012
SCMA Education Foundation
Past President
Member, Board of Directors
State Bar of California
Member, Labor and Employment Law Section
Litigation Experience
During her 28 years as a litigator Barbara represented individuals and companies both large and small on both plaintiff and defense sides. She had her own firm, The Brown Law Firm, for over 10 years. Before that she spent five years as Senior Counsel at First Interstate Bank and 12 years in private practice.
Professional Licenses
United States Supreme Court
State Bar of California
United States District Court, Central and Northern Divisions
Ninth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals
United States Tax Court
Education
UCLA School of Law (JD, 1978)
Michigan State University (MA, 1970)
Ohio Wesleyan University (BA, 1966)
Presentations and Publications
Panel: Cross-Cultural Mediation, SCMA Employment Conference (2008)
BiMonthly Newsletter on Mediation, see Newsletter Archives
Legal-Ease for Mediators, SCMA training on contracts for non-lawyers, presenter (2010)
A Practical Bibliography of Books for the Mediation Practitioner (2009 and 2010 Update),
Panel: “An Exploration of the Use of Transformative Mediation in the Litigated Case,”
Association for Conflict Resolution, Annual Conference (2010)
Panel: “Making It Work: Further Use of Transformative Mediation in the Litigated Case,” Association for Conflict Resolution, Annual Conference (2011)
Author: “What Did You Just Say? How to take charge of your negotiations to communicate what you really mean (and want)” Advocate, September 2011 ADR Issue
Chair: SCMA 23rd Annual Conference (2011)
Panel: “The Many Faces of Impasse,” Ventura Center for Dispute Settlement Mediation Conference (2013)
Panel: “SCMA Mediator Certification Initiative,” SCMA 25th Annual Conference (2013)
Panel: “The Dark Side of Mediation,” SCMA 25th Annual Conference (2013)
Panel: "Mediator Certification: Is It Time?" VCDS/VCBA ADR Section (2014)
Other Experience
Barbara has a wealth of personal experience outside the legal field that gives her a broad perspective and enables her to understand and work with different life experiences and viewpoints.
Peace Corps Volunteer, Thailand, teacher of English as a Second Language (1966 - 1968)
Teacher of English as a Second Language (1968 - 1975)
Planning Commission, City of Santa Monica (2000 - 2007); chair (2004 - 2005)
Sojourn, a shelter for battered women and children, Advisory Board (1996 - 2004)
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