Kern County Arbitration & Mediation Lawyers

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Certified - Pepperdine University - Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution

I am currently Litigation Director for Denning Moores APC and litigating cases in the areas of Civil Appeals and Writs, Medical Malpractice, Elder Abuse, Wrongful Death, Premises Liability, Real Estate and Land Use, Commercial Contracts, Construction Defect and Complex Business Litigation. Most of my background is in civil appeals and writs, which has given me a unique perspective on trial practice in vast areas of the law.

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,...

Karen Matcke Crosby Attorney / Mediator P.C. 35+ years of legal practice and 15+ years as a mediator. WHY MEDIATION CAN BE SUPERIOR TO COURT By Karen Matcke Crosby (2021) Court litigation exposes parties to great public exposure, expense and long delays in court proceedings. Litigants have little or no control over the procedural process. How a dispute arose in the first place, is given short shrift, failing to consider the parties’ intentions, experience in negotiations (or lack thereof), personality, ego, culture, norms, morals, bullying, customs, or values. What is heard in court is the representing attorney’s version of his client’s legal...