Mediator Resume

Mediator, arbitrator, and attorney with 25 years of experience, including in the commercial, insurance coverage, construction, and outdoor recreation industries. Expertise includes construction defects, delay claims, mechanics’ liens, contract disputes, insurance disputes including subrogation and bad faith allegations, business conflicts, participant waivers, and outdoor recreation accidents and disputes. Additional experience in employment disputes, trade secrets, and homeowner disputes.

Rocky Mountain ADR – Founding Member Structura Law, LLC – Founding Member

Arbitrator, Mediator, Attorney

Founding Member, Rocky Mountain ADR, 2023 – Present; Founding Member, Structura Law, LLC, 2021 – Present; Partner and Of Counsel, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, 2017-2019; Chief Litigation Officer, Arch Insurance Group Inc., 2010 – 2017; Litigation Attorney, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, 2006 – 2010; Litigation Associate, Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP, 2004-2006; Law Clerk, Hon. Louis H. Pollak, E.D. Pa., 2001 – 2002.

CONSTRUCTION Substantial experience with construction defects; payment disputes; construction delay claims; liens; design issues; contract disputes; complex insurance-related issues; and construction trust statutes. Experience with projects of all sizes, from two-party disputes to complex multi-party disputes, including single-family residential homes, apartment complexes, condominium units, hospitals, hotels, stadiums, and large-scale municipal projects. Issues addressed include, by way of example only, faulty roofs (residential and commercial), sinking roadways, compaction, underground utilities, overheated data center, faulty concrete, window glazing, foundation movement, defective siding, window installation, mold, framing, decking, and support systems. Significant experience with general contractors, subcontractors, designers, architects, product suppliers, and insurers. INSURANCE Substantial experience with complex, multi-party commercial insurance disputes, including commercial general liability, builders risk, professional liability, directors and officers, surety, commercial property, product liability, errors and omissions, oil and gas, and franchise claims; London-based syndicates; specialty programs; excess liability; time on the risk questions; statutory and common law bad faith allegations; managing general agent (MGA) issues; third-party claims administrators; agent and broker liability; duty to defend and duty to indemnify; claims handling; and underwriting. COMMERCIAL Significant experience with business-to-business disputes and investor-business disputes, including claims of breach of contract, tortious interference, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, self dealing, collusion, securities violations, anti-trust, and civil RICO matters. Experience with claims seeking damages and injunctive relief. Experience includes disputes involving major financial institutions, trading companies, hedge funds, bankruptcy parties and creditors, recording companies, museums, media conglomerates, sports franchises, credit card issuers, and small businesses. OUTDOOR RECREATION Significant experience with cases involving personal injuries; contracts among owners, operators, trainers, developers, designers, installers, and product manufacturers; participant waivers; state investigations; business interruption; and insurance. Experience includes matters involving ziplines, ropes courses, adventure courses, free fall systems, climbing gyms, cycling groups, and water sports. EMPLOYMENT Experience with employer-employee and company-contractor disputes, including claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, nonpayment of wages, FLSA claims, FMLA claims, and class actions. Experience includes work with food industry companies, restaurants, manufacturers, media conglomerates, insurance companies, accounting firms, law firms, construction companies, and insurance companies. TRADE SECRETS Experience with allegations involving trade secrets, including misappropriation, civil theft, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. Industries include food products, advertising, accounting, design, and computer software. CONSUMER CASES Experience with disputes involving consumer - small business disputes, including auto shops, nail salons, home health aide businesses, and commercial leases.

Experience mediating disputes involving construction defects, construction payment, liens, construction delays, change orders, employment termination, misappropriation of trade secrets, commercial leases, auto shop work, business divorces, tortious interference, and real estate transactions. Experience mediating multi-party construction disputes. Facilitated nearly 200 hours of mediations.

Disputes involving construction defects, claims of nonpayment, liens, incomplete work, employment discrimination, retaliation, back pay, trade secret theft, defective auto shop work, form sales contracts, liquidated damages provisions, false advertising, promissory notes, contract disputes, business divorces, and claims of fraud and tax evasion; parties have included general contractors, subcontractors, commercial project owners, developers, architects, homeowners, insurers, real estate agents and brokers, HOAs, landlords, tenants, employers, employees, small business owners, and consumers.

I bring a balanced approach to mediation, combining structure with flexibility to adapt to the needs of each case. My practice is grounded in neutrality, empathy, collaboration, and efficiency. I ensure that all parties are heard and respected, foster open and constructive dialogue, and encourage problem-solving that leads to mutually beneficial solutions. I create an environment where parties feel comfortable exploring options, expressing their needs, and reaching practical resolutions. I both caucus with parties individually and conduct joint sessions when and as appropriate. I request that mediation statements and any other documents the parties would like me to review be provided at least seven days in advance of the mediation. I conduct short individual calls with the parties’ attorneys before the mediation.

Very familiar with platforms such as Zoom. Willing to conduct mediations and arbitration hearings via zoom or hybrid.

Columbia University School of Law (Juris Doctor, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar - 2001); Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (Master of International Affairs - 2001); Kansas State University (Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa - 1996).

Admitted to the Bar: New York (2002 - retired), Colorado (2018); U.S. District Courts: Southern and Eastern Districts of New York (2002), District of Colorado (2017); U.S. Courts of Appeals: Third (2004), District of Columbia (2007), and Tenth (2017) Circuits.

American Bar Association (Dispute Resolution Section; Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section - Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee; Litigation Section - Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee; Solo, Small Firm, and General Practice Division), Colorado Bar Association (Alternative Dispute Resolution Section – Treasurer, Insurance Law Section, Construction Law Committee, Solo & Small Firms Section); Colorado Women’s Bar Association, Colorado Women Owned Law Firms, Mediation Association of Colorado (Professional Member), Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, Boulder County Bar Association.

Annual Colorado ADR Conference – Pardon the Interruption: Debating Shuttle Diplomacy and Joint Session only Styles (Oct. 2025); Women Owned Law Firms (W.O.L.F.) and Colorado Bar Association Solo & Small Firms Section – Insights into Alternative Dispute Resolution for Solo & Small Firm Attorneys (Feb. 2025); ACCT International Annual Conference – Early Dispute Resolution: Mediation for Adventure Course Disputes, and Lessons Learned From Incidents and Lawsuits (Jan. 2025); Colorado Bar Association CLE – Natural Remedies & Legal Realities: Ethical Implications to Guiding Clients Under Colorado’s Natural Medicine Laws (Dec. 2024); Colorado Bar Association CLE – Active Listening Skills for Mediators and Attorneys (Sept. 2024); Boulder County Bar Association CLE – The ABCs of CD: A Primer and Refresher on Construction Defect Litigation (Apr. 2024); Annual Colorado ADR Conference – Help Me Help You: How All the Players Can Help Construction Mediations Move Toward Resolution (Oct. 2023); Association for Challenge Course Technology Annual International Conference – Lessons Learned Redux: Incidents and Lawsuits (Feb. 2023); Association for Challenge Course Technology Annual International Conference – More Lessons Learned (Feb. 2022); Colorado Bar Association, Insurance Litigation Committee – Top Ten Insurance Decisions of 2021 (Jan. 2021); Association for Challenge Course Technology Annual International Conference – Game Changer: Contracts and Indemnity Provisions, and Lessons Learned From Incidents and Lawsuits (Jan. 2021); ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Semi-Annual Meeting – The Tripartite Relationship – An Ethical and Practical Minefield (Feb. 2020); 13th Annual Colorado ADR Conference – Learning to Love Insurance Cases (Nov. 2019).

Colorado Front Range - Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins

Hourly Rate: $565.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $565.00/hr Cancellation: $3,250.00/Day Cancellation Period: 10 Days Comment: No charge for travel time. The cost of either hotel or airfare (whichever is less) will be waived.

English; Spanish

United States of America

Lafayette, Colorado