Ridgecrest Arbitration & Mediation Lawyers

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Miles, a Phillips ADR mediator, excels in securities, antitrust, professional liability, mass torts, and complex commercial litigation, closing settlements totaling nearly $2 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...

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...

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...

John E. Borba graduated from Hastings College of the Law, University of California in 1993 and was admitted into the California Bar in December 1993. John graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in International Relations in 1985. College for John began at Santa Rosa Junior College where he met his wife while earning his A.A. Degree in 1982. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: * Member of the Sonoma County Bar Association Board of Directors (2006-2010). * Co-Editor, Sonoma...