Mediator Resume

Global Dispute Resolution - Arbitrator, Mediator, Counsel Umberg Zipser LLP - Of Counsel

Arbitrator, Mediator, Counsel

Arbitrator/Mediator/Counsel, Global Dispute Resolution, 2023-Present; Of Counsel, Umberg Zipser LLP, 2023-Present; Partner/Of Counsel, Jones Day, 2013-2022; Counsel/Associate, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, 2000-2001, 2002-2012; Consultant for U.S. Litigation and International Arbitration, Solórzano, Carvajal, González y Pérez-Correa, 2010-2012; Law Clerk to Hon. Pamela Ann Rymer, United States Court of Appeals - Ninth Circuit, 2001-2002; Law Clerk to Hon. Alicemarie H. Stotler, United States District Court - Central District of California, 1999-2000; Research Assistant to Prof. Arthur R. Miller, Harvard Law School, 1997-1999; Teaching Assistant to Professors John Rawls and Robert Nozick, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 1994-1996.

Trial counsel with over 20 years’ experience in national and transnational arbitration and litigation, with principal focus on cases involving technology and engineering, intellectual property, construction and energy, and complex commercial disputes. Representative clients have included: international leaders in semiconductor design and manufacturing; multinational engineering and construction firms; trading conglomerates; global energy majors; market-leading consumer brands and beverage companies; state pension funds; and closely-held, family businesses in areas as diverse as landscaping and commodities trading. Typical representations have involved a wide array of disputes arising out of projects in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Apart from work in arbitration, illustrative litigation experience includes: team leadership on damages-related issues in a transnational patent dispute involving LCD display technology; strategic counselling of a U.S. chip producer in a dispute with its European licensor concerning technology for digital photography; defense of state pension fund against indemnity claims by international hedge-fund manager; representation of plaintiff cannabis testing lab against manufacturer of testing equipment; and representation of a U.S. DRAM manufacturer in its claims for trade-secret misappropriation and international commercial espionage against a leading semiconductor foundry and a DRAM start-up. Other non-ADR experience includes supervision of international litigation strategy for clients involved in proceedings throughout Latin America and numerous internal investigations under the FCPA.

San Mateo County Superior Court, Multi-Option ADR Project (October 2023-Present).

Wide range of small-claims commercial disputes.

Although I began my mediator practice in 2023, I have over 20 years’ experience as a user of mediation services - primarily as counsel in large commercial cases, many of them international. My approach as a mediator draws from my first-hand experience of what is helpful to the parties and their counsel. Mediation is a facilitated negotiation and, as facilitator, I have three tasks: (1) to help each party realistically assess the case based on the law, the evidence, and the equities that affect the decisions of arbitrators and juries; (2) to aid the parties to focus on their business interests (including how continued litigation will affect those interest) and to find creative solutions that allow for low-cost compromises; and (3) to constructively channel the human forces that play a part in the dispute and to help the parties avoid unnecessary impasse. When each of those tasks is done well, most cases can be settled or significantly narrowed in scope. At a minimum, each party will leave with a better understanding of its case and that of its adversary. To achieve those goals, some practices work well for almost any case. First, I prepare thoroughly before each mediation session: I interview each side separately before mediation day, and I typically require (and carefully review) substantive mediation briefs and key exhibits. Second, I avoid early joint sessions with the parties. I work with the parties separately and help them to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their respective positions and to explore alternative approaches to achieving their business objectives. In this “shuttle diplomacy,” I take responsibility to articulate each side’s viewpoint in the ways that will advance the negotiations. I also scrupulously protect confidentiality on all sides. Third, I take on each mediation in a spirit of openness, candor, and accessibility. Once I understand each side’s position thoroughly and sympathetically, I dialog with each side, sharing my honest (but sometimes tentative) assessments - both legal and pragmatic. Those assessments often evolve over the course of the mediation. I am honest about what I do not know and am eager to learn about the parties’ businesses and how I can help all sides advance their legitimate interests. And I try to make myself available to the parties whenever they need me to maintain the momentum in an ongoing negotiation. If a dispute cannot be resolved in a single day, well-calculated follow-up work can often prove decisive for achieving settlement.

Harvard Law School (JD, cum laude, 1999); Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (MA, Ethics, Graduate Prize Fellow, 1996); Georgetown University (BA, Philosophy, Ryan Medalist, Phi Beta Kappa, 1993).

Admitted to the Bar: California (1999); New York (2013); Texas (2022).

• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb), North America Branch, Fellow (FCIArb); • College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA), Associate; • ABA, Section on International Law, International Arbitration Committee, Steering Group Member; • ABA Forum on Construction Law, Member (Section 1: Disputes and Section 8: International); • California Arbitration, Second Vice President; • California Lawyers Association, Litigation Section (ADR Committee Steering Group) and International Law Section (Advisor); • International Chamber of Commerce (USCIB), Arbitration Committee; • Houston International Arbitration Club (HIAC), Member; • Miami International Arbitration Society (MIAS), Member; • Club Español e Iberoamericano del Arbitraje (CEIA), Member.

• Interrogatorio directo en el arbitraje internacional, ARBANZA (Lima, Peru, October 2024); • Playing Fair and Playing It Safe in International Arbitration: Establishing a Level Playing Field for Parties and Counsel Subject to Disparate Ethical Norms, AAA Arbitrator Training Series (San Francisco, October 2024); • Asian Businesses, U.S. Disputes, and the Prospects of ADR, 6th Berkeley-Tsinghua IP Litigation Conference (Berkeley, October 2024); • Arbitration in the Pacific Rim: Bridging Legal Landscapes, USC-JAMS Annual Symposium (Los Angeles, September 2024); • Inteligência Artificial e Resolução de Conflitos, Podcast Veirano, (São Paulo, July 2024); • China-U.S. International Arbitration Dialogues: Differences, Similarities, and Practice, SCIA (Shenzhen, China, July 2024); • FRAND Disputes and EV Infrastructure: The Challenges of Energy-Transition, ABA ILS, Annual Conference (Washington, D.C., May 2024); • What Construction Lawyers Should Know about International Arbitration, ABA FCL, Annual Meeting (New Orleans, April 2024); • SEPs and the Quest to Optimize Arbitration for International Disputes over FRAND Licensing, SIAC, CIAW (San Francisco, March 2024); • Interim Measures in Institutional and Ad Hoc Arbitration, Stanford International Arbitration Association (Palo Alto, March 2024); • Surprises in Global Commerce: Anatomy of an International Arbitration, Stanford IELBP (Palo Alto, November 2023); • Tiered Dispute-Resolution Clauses: Practical Tips and Innovative Applications, CalArb (Webinar, May 2023); • Strategy in the Hot Tub: Best Practices for Expert-Witness Conferencing in Commercial Arbitration, ABA FCL (Webinar, May 2023); • A Coming Wave of Mining Disputes in South America’s Lithium Triangle, CLA CIAW (Los Angeles, March 2023); • The Invisible Divide: Domestic and International Construction Arbitration Compared, ABA FCL (Webinar, 2022); • Arbitrating Domestic and Transnational IP Disputes, CLA, 46th Annual IP Institute (Dana Point, 2022); • Interim Measures and Equitable Relief in International Arbitration: A Critical Assessment, Stanford IELBP (Palo Alto, 2022); • When Silicon Valley Employment Disputes Become High-Stakes Technology Arbitrations, Stanford International Arbitration Association (2022); • International Arbitration, Marcus Quintanilla, et al. (eds.), ABA International Law Section, Year in Review (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021); • When There Is Trouble South of the Border: Strategies for Success in Business Disputes in Mexico, Marcus Quintanilla & José Antonio Vázquez, Jones Day University (2020); • Dancing with Dragons: Planning for Disputes with Pacific Rim Business Partners, Marcus Quintanilla & Charles Kotuby, Client CLE (2019); • Enforcing Agreements to Arbitrate, Steven Smith, Marcus Quintanilla & Paul Hines, International Arbitration in the United States (L. Shore et al., eds.) (2018); • The New Multipolarity in Transnational Litigation, Marcus S. Quintanilla & Christopher A. Whytock, Southwestern J. of International Law (2011). • UC Davis School of Law, Adjunct Lecturer on International Commercial Arbitration and International Mediation and Negotiation

• San Francisco, California • Los Angeles, California • Orange County, California • Houston, Texas • Miami, Florida

Hourly Rate: Not provided Daily Rate: $7,500.00 Study Rate: $695.00/hr Cancellation: $7,500.00/Day Cancellation Period: 30 Days Comment: $7,500 for one day of hearing includes significant pre-hearing work with the parties and counsel. If matters settle before the date of the hearing (which is common), or if the parties cancel the mediation before the cancellation period, the mediator's time accrued up to the time of settlement will be billed at the rate of $695 per hour (up to but not exceeding $7,500). If the matter does not settle at or before the hearing, but the parties wish to continue working with the mediator to finalize a settlement, such follow-up work will be billed at the rate of $695 per hour.

English; Portuguese; Spanish

United States of America

San Francisco, California