Mediator Resume

ADR professional and Adjunct Professor of Law, teaching Arbitration and Insurance Law. Former litigation attorney (AV-rated). Serves as arbitrator and mediator in complex insurance and healthcare disputes. Has presided over approximately 200 arbitrations, including matters involving seven-, eight-, and nine-figure exposure. Experience includes high-exposure insurance coverage disputes, healthcare reimbursement and payor-provider matters, and related commercial disputes involving layered policies, statutory and contractual interpretation, and expert-driven evidence. Awards are issued promptly and reflect a direct application of governing law and the evidentiary record.

Nierman ADR - Arbitrator and Mediator University of Iowa College of Law - Adjunct Law Professor teaching Arbitration

Arbitrator, Mediator, Attorney, Adjunct Law Professor

Arbitrator and Mediator, Nierman ADR, 2025 - Present; Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Iowa College of Law, 2008 - 2014, 2025 - Present; Partner, Phelan Tucker Law LLP, 2017 - 2025; Attorney/President, Nierman Law PLC, 2001 - 2017; Adjunct Lecturer-Business Law, Kirkwood Community College, 2009 -2011; Adjunct Professor of Law; Handong International Law School, 2009; Attorney, Dell Richard Law Firm, 1999 - 2000; Claim Specialist, State Farm Insurance, 1990 - 1997; Staff Assistant, State Farm Insurance Agents, 1979 - 1990.

Extensive experience serving as arbitrator, mediator, and counsel in complex insurance and healthcare disputes, including matters involving eight- and nine-figure exposure. Work includes layered coverage analysis, statutory interpretation, and contract-based dispute resolution in technically complex, document-intensive cases. INSURANCE COVERAGE DISPUTES Experience includes first- and third-party coverage disputes involving business, professional, and personal lines, including excess and layered coverage towers, exclusions, allocation, subrogation, and extracontractual exposure. Additional experience includes ERISA-governed disputes involving standard of review, federal preemption, discovery limitations, and equitable remedies, as well as carrier–producer disputes and professional liability claims involving agents and brokers. Adjunct Professor, Insurance Law, University of Iowa College of Law (topics included contract interpretation, duty to defend, long-tail claims, excess coverage, allocation, ERISA, producer liability, subrogation, and extracontractual damages). HEALTHCARE DISPUTES Experience includes complex payor–provider reimbursement disputes involving medical necessity, experimental/investigational determinations, emergent care classification, network participation, and administrative exhaustion. Additional matters include coding and billing disputes (CPT, HCPCS, ICD), pre-authorization and pre-certification issues, No Surprises Act, balance billing, and coordination of benefits across primary and secondary payors. Work also includes disputes involving ERISA plans, commercial and governmental managed care organizations, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Marketplace plans, as well as provider contracting and compliance issues. Experience further includes healthcare-related disputes involving fraud allegations, HIPAA compliance, professional negligence, and liability issues arising in clinical and institutional settings.

Representative cases: Overlapping eight-figure litigation and arbitration matters involving a specialized medical clinic, affiliated real estate holding company, and former employee-stockholder, including claims for breach of employment agreement, shareholder oppression, fiduciary duty, and defamation. Dispute between a regional medical clinic and national care-coordination network involving competing breach of contract claims and business-related damages. Policyholder/producer case involving allegations of suitability, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. Multiple third-party insurance cases involving professional negligence, auto and premises injuries, and employment.

Overlapping eight-figure litigation and arbitration matters involving a specialized medical clinic, affiliated real estate holding company, and former employee-stockholder, including claims for breach of employment agreement, shareholder oppression, fiduciary duty, and defamation. Dispute between a regional medical clinic and national care-coordination network involving competing breach of contract claims and business-related damages. Policyholder/producer case involving allegations of suitability, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. Multiple third-party insurance cases involving professional negligence, auto and premises injuries, and employment.

I add value by diving deep into the facts, so I come in having a significant amount of the briefing memorized. My style is dictated by the needs of the parties. I am not limited to “evaluative,” “transformative,” etc.; rather I discern what is needed in each room and connect accordingly. At the same time, there is one constant: I do not bully. Moving the needle requires making sure everyone has the same information, respectfully giving them compelling feedback, and letting them evaluate their own risks. Persistence matters: Recently, I followed up for over a year post-mediation date to finish a settlement. I have published on mediation psychology and how our brains function differently in the virtual environment. So, whether we are in person or online, I am ready to deliver every available resource to secure resolution.

Highly proficient with arbitration technology, including virtual hearing platforms. Early adopter of legal technology, including AI-assisted tools. Actively engaged in the ethical and efficiency-enhancing use of artificial intelligence; has presented on these topics at CLE programs. Experience addressing ESI issues in both federal and state court. Practice supported by structured case-management workflows and software designed to ensure efficient processing and timely issuance of awards.

Harvard Law School (Negotiation Master Class - 2024); University of Iowa College of Law (JD, with High Distinction, Order of the Coif - 1999); University of California, Davis (BA - 1990).

Admitted to the Bar: U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit (2001); U.S. District Court: Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa (1999); Supreme Court of Iowa (1999).

Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals; American Academy of ADR Attorneys (Board Certified Arbitrator and Mediator; immediate past president); American Arbitration Association (Arbitrator and Mediator); American Bar Association (Business Law, Dispute Resolution, Health, GP Solo, Litigation, as well as Tort, Trial and Insurance Sections (plus several subcommittees)); David R. Hansen Inn of Court (immediate past President); Eighth Circuit Bar Association; International Academy of Dispute Resolution (Mediator of the Academy); Iowa State Bar Association (Alternative Dispute Resolution (Chair), Business Law, Health, Labor and Employment, and Litigation Sections as well as Federal Practice Committee); Johnson and Linn County [Iowa] Bar Associations; National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals; and Order of the Coif.

PUBLICATIONS: Lloyd’s of London’s Impact on U.S. Insurance Litigation, 55 The Brief ___ (2026) (lead author). Arbitrating Out-of-Network Reimbursement: The No Surprises Act, 38 Health Lawyer ___ (2026). Principles of Multi-Layer Insurance Coverage: Duties, Allocation, and Risk, 35 Insurance Coverage Litigation 2 (2026). Not What We Bargained For: Deception's Unintended Consequences, 54 The Brief 4 (2025). Data-Driven Negotiations: Applying Counterintuitive Research to Avoid Bargaining Regrets, 53 The Brief 4 (2024). Arbitration of Iowa Insurance Claims, 83 Iowa Lawyer 6 (2023). Virtually as Good? Psychological, Practical, and Performance Issues in Online Mediation, American Bar Association, Professional Liability Litigation Committee (original publication: 83 Iowa Lawyer 2 (2023)). Comprehensive Business Law, 3rd ed., Cognella (2022) (co-author). SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS: American Academy of ADR Attorneys: Not What We Bargained For: Deception's Unintended Consequences, 2025 What I Want from My Mediator, 2025 Data-Driven Negotiations: Applying Empirical Research to Mediation, 2025 Virtual Mediation: Psychology and Practice, 2024 American Arbitration Association: Deception: Ethics, Internal Consequences, and Prevention, 2026 Applying Psychological Research to Improve Mediation Success, 2025 Virtual Meetings: Science, Challenges and Solutions, 2024 American Bar Association: The No Surprises Act: Taking Out-of-Network Out of Court, 2026 (invited) Towers of Risk: Duties, Ethics, and Extracontractual Exposure in Multi-Layer Coverage, 2026 From Lime Street to Main Street: The London Market’s Influence on American Coverage Disputes, 2026 Mediating Insurance Coverage Disputes, 2025 Electronic Medical Records, 2025 Data-Driven Negotiations: Applying Counterintuitive Research to Avoid Bargaining Regrets, 2025 Using Scientific Research to Out-Negotiate Your Opponent, 2025 Online Mediation: Five Years In, 2025 Mediating Professional Liability Cases, 2024 Tested and Proven Strategies for Success in Insurance Coverage Mediations, 2024 Virtual Mediation: Psychology and Practice, 2024 American Health Law Association: Process for Selecting an Arbitrator; Arbitrator Ethics and Disclosures, 2026 Berkeley Judicial Institute, University of California, Berkeley School of Law: Virtually As Good? Psychological and Practical Issues in Online Communication and Mediation, 2025 Iowa Judicial Branch: Virtual Mediation: Psychology and Practice, 2025 Iowa State Bar Association: Deception Boomerang: The Ethical and Well-Being Consequences of Dishonesty, 2026 Corporate Representative Depositions, 2025 Effectively Connecting with Jurors through Technology, 2025 Using Focus Groups, Jury Surveys, and Jury Consultants, 2025 Data-Driven Negotiations: Applying Counterintuitive Research to Avoid Bargaining Regrets, 2025 Litigating Certificate of Merit Issues, 2025 Effective Summary Judgment Strategies, 2025 Mediation Panel, 2024 Best Practices in Jury Selection, 2024 Ethics Issues in Litigation, 2024 Taking Medical Provider Depositions, 2024 Proving and Defending Attorney Fee Claims, 2024 Arbitration of Health Insurance Claim Disputes, 2023 Judge David R. Hansen Inn of Court: Using Technology to Connect with Juries, 2026 Practical Uses of AI, 2025 National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary: Virtual Mediation: Psychology and Practice, 2024 (space limitations prevent a comprehensive listing)

Hourly Rate: Not provided Daily Rate: $7,500.00 Study Rate: Not provided Cancellation: $2,500.00/Day Cancellation Period: 4 Days Comment: Plus travel expenses as incurred. $1,500 discount for virtual sessions.

English

United States of America

Iowa City, Iowa