Los Angeles County Arbitration & Mediation Lawyers

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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. ...

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,...

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.