Descanso Arbitration & Mediation Lawyers

James (Jim) Parke has practiced law in California for over 45 years. Jim graduated from California State University, Fullerton in 1975 and from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1978. An esteemed expert in all areas of family law, Jim has spoken on several family law-related topics throughout Southern California and regularly contributes to divorce recovery workshops. He has also written several articles related to family law. Jim understands the psychological aspect of family law and he knows the importance of helping a client pass through the dissolution process as quickly, painlessly, and fairly as possible. He is diligent, caring, and works...

Garcia & Birge, A Professional Corporation is a comprehensive Employment Law firm committed to making a difference in the lives of our clients. Practice areas include: ● Wage and Hour -- minimum wage, overtime, breaks, personal attendants, mischaracterization ● Discrimination – race, national origin, age, disability, sex, pregnancy, gender identity/expression, religion, veteran status ● Harassment - Sex and Class-Based ● Workplace Retaliation ● Wrongful Termination ● Caregivers and Domestic Workers ● Disability Accommodation ● Severance Agreements, Contracts Marian Birge has extensive experience representing clients in litigation, before administrative agencies, in mediation, and through negotiations. The firm places a...

Mr. Helm, a Phillips ADR neutral, has mediated disputes up to ten figures in securities, class actions, shareholder disputes, corporate transactions, mass torts, professional liability, land use, sexual misconduct, ERISA, and intellectual property. He serves on the PG&E bankruptcy mediator panel and studied mediation at the Straus Institute. Previously, he was on the U.S. District Court, Central District of California ADR panel. A panelist on the American Arbitration Association roster and Institute for Transnational Arbitration advisory board, Mr. Helm has arbitrated business and consumer disputes and advocated in complex arbitrations involving asset management, trade secrets, and international investments. Before Phillips ADR, Mr....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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”...

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...

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...

Andra Greene, a Phillips ADR neutral, has mediated disputes from seven to 11 figures in mass torts, class actions, 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 California” by the Daily Journal five...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

John S. Kiernan retired from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in 2022 after 40 years, serving on the Management Committee, co-chairing the Litigation Department, and chairing the Ethics Committee. He handled commercial litigation, arbitrations, mediations, and investigations in contracts, corporate governance, securities, intellectual property, and mass torts. Recognized by Chambers USA as an “extraordinary commercial litigator” with “great judgment” and by IFLR Benchmark Litigation as a leading litigator since 2010, John is also noted in The Legal 500 US and Best Lawyers for securities and dispute resolution. He chairs the Boards of Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York, the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation,...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

Danielle Menitove is an independent arbitrator and mediator specializing in commercial, consumer, and sports-related disputes, including antitrust, employment, intellectual property, gambling, anti-doping, and player-agent issues. Before 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, trade secrets, non-compete agreements, and unfair competition. In her sports practice, she represented major organizations like the PGA TOUR, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and NCAA, and served as a clerk for arbitration panels...