Mediator Resume

JPMeyer Associates-Principal, Mediator & Arbitrator

Attorney, Judge Pro Tem, Discovery Master, Referee, Adjunct Professor

Principal, JPMeyer Associates Mediator & Arbitrator, 1995-Present; Judge Pro Tem, Commerce Court of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, 2005-Present; Arbitrator, US District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2008-Present; Mediator, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, 2016-Present; Adjunct Professor, ADR, Cornell Law School, 1999-2013; Discovery Master, Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2009-2010; EEOC Mediator, 2007-2012; Referee, Reliance Insurance Liquidation, 2010-2016; Litigation Of Counsel, Bazelon Less & Feldman, 1988-1995; Litigation Partner, Lande, Rolston & Meyer, 1984-1988; Hearing Examiner, Los Angeles Police Commission, 1979-1988; Litigation Partner/Associate, Meserve Mumper & Hughes, 1974-1984.

Currently only available for virtual arbitration and mediation sessions. Over 25 years as civil trial lawyer in business litigation, construction, real estate, eminent domain, insurance law and commercial lending. Served as the Discovery Master in a multi-district litigation against 25 major pharmaceutical companies for fraudulent pricing. Referee in Reliance Insurance Liquidation, hearing cases and issuing recommendations to the Commonwealth Court of PA; Judge Pro Tem, Settlement Master, Commerce Court and Court of Common Pleas Philadelphia. Experience in serving as an emergency arbitrator in granting interim relief. Mediator, EEOC. Arbitrator, Court of Arbitration for Art. Arbitrator, USDC for the Eastern District of PA; Pennsylvania Bar Association ADR Committee Sir Francis Bacon Award 2016 for excellence in mediation; Adjunct Professor of Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration at Cornell Law School, 1999-2014. "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer," 2005 - 2020; "Best Lawyers in America," 2006 - 2020; and Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners Merit Award for Service as Hearing Officer, 1987. Workplace investigation experience: large investigations extending over a period of time and requiring written analysis and recommendations. Workplace investigator to a local school district which had received complaints from female middle-school teachers of intimidation, harassment and bullying by a male faculty member; Investigated dysfunctionality in the relationship of the eLearning/Online Head of a university with various Department Chairs whose Department courses were being advertised and offered online; Interviewed 22 witnesses and prepared a 70 page report for Community College charged with racial discrimination by an administrative employee who served three departments housed in the same premises; Investigated charges of harassment, impropriety and discrimination brought by female students and department colleagues against a male tenured faculty member in a Big Ten University. Separate rate for workplace investigation: $425/hr.

Began mediating in Los Angeles, CA by appointment of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Has mediated in fifteen states and the District of Columbia. Litigation "Of Counsel" to a Bazelon, Less & Feldman, Philadelphia, PA, 1988- 1995. Has mediated disputes in almost all civil law arenas, including construction defect, contract breach, copyright, licensing agreements, breach of warranty, partnership dissolution, environmental remediation, franchisee/franchisor disputes; employment claims [Title VII, ADA, ADEA, ERISA benefits], industrial accidents, product liability and wrongful death, malpractice [legal, accounting and medical], insurance coverage and bad faith, ICANN [domain name] disputes, franchise disputes, class action settlement fund allocations, bankruptcy preference avoidance actions and UM/UMI cases. Taught mediation and arbitration at Cornell Law School, 1999-2013. Frequent lecturer on mediation. Author ABA-ADR Section Magazine column "On Professional Practice" in Dispute Resolution Journal, 2015-2018.

Mediated complex business disputes in the commercial, insurance and employment fields: Commercial: claim of unfair competition by franchisor with franchisee, leading to termination of franchise agreement; alleged breach of franchise agreement by national franchisor in locating new store within customer-draw radius of existing store; breach of distributorship agreement providing for entry of major US brand into EU; claim for reimbursement for managed behavioral health services to medical assistance recipients; claim for failure of software written for HMO; dispute between pharmaceutical firms over Asset Purchase Agreement; allocation between Responsible Parties of $2 million US EPA claim for Super Fund clean up; accidental death of husband and son brought by wife/mother (surviving as amputee) against a construction company, trucking company, and DOT; attorney malpractice for alleged failure to understand and/or advise client of terms of Joint Tortfeasor Release reducing $2.5 million verdict to $400,000; breach of distributorship agreement providing for entry of an American brand name product to European Union; claim of system failure by NASD broker against clearing firm; declaratory judgment action determining whether a single deductible covers "interrelated wrongful acts"; denial of tenure to university hospital physician in Department of Psychiatry; gender and religious discrimination, and interference with contractual relationship claims surrounding the termination of a department of nuclear medicine tenured chairman; 11 U.S.C. Section 547 preference avoidance actions; medical malpractice and wrongful death claim resulting from a craniectomy and removal of brain stem meningioma involving a corporate exmulti-contractor dispute arising from the construction of a landmark Philadelphia business and retail center; and a national class action alleging fraudulent sales practices in the placement of life insurance. Employment: sexual harassment and retaliation claim against an executive at a Fortune 500 Company; mediated termination of 61-year-old parts manager of automotive dealership; discrimination claim by 66-year-old executive assistant; ADA claim by blind employee of not-for-profit company; ADA claim against U.S. Air Force by civilian employee; ADA claim by union member newspaper mailroom employee for failure to accommodate diabetes; hospital and medical office workplace claims - mediated refusal of PPO to re-list doctor against whom patient complaint made; sexual harassment claims by nurses against doctors; discrimination claim by female partner terminated by law firm; sex and religious discrimination claim by Muslim medical faculty member; mediated harassment and hostile environment claim by female HR director against male company president; harassment claim of male sales representative against female supervisor; hostile environment claim of two female employees of utility company; denial of tenure to university hospital physician; termination of employment of tenured Department Chair of Medical Faculty; and claim for $500

I strongly believe that the parties to litigation are the owners of their disputes. Although guided by wise counsel, ultimately a party must make the ultimate and tough decision of what to do with his dispute. More than 98% of all cases resolve before trial, often on the courthouse steps, when the risk of a third party judge or jury deciding the outcome of your dispute becomes uncomfortably real. The litigation process does not provide an opportunity where counsel, clients, carriers and anyone else with a direct interest in the outcome of a dispute, can gather in a "behind the screen," confidential setting to discuss not just the rights and obligations of the litigants, but also the interests and needs of the parties. The mediator guides, but does not own, this conversation - holding to the oath taken by doctors' in a different setting of doing no harm. I like to say to counsel and their clients in a mediation setting that in all likelihood the conversation we will engage in will help them focus on what they need to put this claim to bed and help them engage in creative ways of fulfilling that need. I believe that a dispute is a problem to be solved, not a battle to be won. If a dispute does not settle in mediation, the parties will know clearly what the stumbling block is and, with the help of the mediator, will know how to clear it, if they so desire. Although I am a mediator, there are all kinds of reasons, and not just monetary, why a case needs to be tried. I do not believe in bludgeoning the parties into settlement. Am I evaluative, facilitative or transformative? Do I use joint caucusing and private caucusing? Do I reach out to counsel and the parties before the mediation? Do I require pre-mediation briefing? To all of those questions the answer is "it depends." It depends on the type and complexity of the dispute. It depends on the needs and preferences of the parties. It depends on the personalities of the participants, and the relationships between parties and parties, parties and counsel, counsel and counsel, and counsel and adjusters. One size does not fit all, and unlike litigation, a hallmark of mediation is not just its confidentiality, but its flexibility. As a mediator, I try to be responsive to the changing needs of the parties in the mediation. A mediation that starts out facilitative may turn to the evaluative at a late hour in the day. However, the evaluation, unless specifically requested, is usually in the form of a "what if" or a mediator's suggestion or a mediator's range, with continuing options that flow from those. The mediator is the devil's advocate, the asker of hard questions, the agent of reality, the thoughtful shaper of negotiations. The mediator, by her questions, tries to shape and sharpen the reality of each party. Our legal system, the best in the world, allows everyone his day in court. But I have yet to meet a party who after the emotional, financial and time cost of trial, combined with its uncertainty and limited-remedy outcome, is eager to go that route again.

Barnard College (BA, 1966); Cornell University Law School (JD, 1974)

Admitted to the Bar: Idaho (2004), Pennsylvania (1988), California (1974-inactive); U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1988), Southern (1984), Eastern (1983) and Central (1975) Districts of California; U.S. Court of Appeals: Ninth Circuit (1985); U.S. Tax Court (1982).

College of Commercial Arbitrators (Fellow); Association of Workplace Investigators; Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Fellow); Academy of Court Appointed Masters; International Mediation Institute (Independent Standards Commission, Chair); American Bar Association (Section on Dispute Resolution); Pennsylvania Bar Association (Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee); Philadelphia Bar Association (Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee); Association of Workplace Investigators; Court of Arbitration for Art; American College of Civil Trial Mediators (Distinguished Fellow); International Academy of Mediators (Distinguished Fellow; Past Board Member); International Institute for Prevention and Resolution of Disputes; Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution (Delaware Valley Chapter, Past President); Anti-Defamation League (Philadelphia and Delaware Valley Region, Vice-Chair; Chair, Legislative Task Force; Chair, Civil Rights Committee), Board Chair ADL 2015-2017.

Frequent Panelist on ADR for CLE, PBI, Bar Associations and Law Firms. Adjunct Professor in ADR Cornell Law School. Editorial Board, ABA ADR Section. Judge, ABA – ADR Section, 2021, Regional Final Round Representation in Mediation Competition, March 2021. Lecturer on Negotiation and Mediation, Beasley School of Law of Temple University, January and October, 2020. Panelist, “Private Arbitration Decisions,” Employment Law Institute 2020, August 2020. Panelist, “Best Practices for In-House Counsel and Litigators in Dispute Resolution,” Health Law Institute 2020, March 2020. Panelist, 12th Annual Arbitration Training Institute, American Bar Association, May 2019. Panelist, Pre-Trial Practice in Philadelphia, PBI Continuing Legal Education, April 2019. Panelist, CPR Annual Meeting, “Master Mediators Answer Mediation’s Most Intriguing Questions,” February 2019. ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, Publications Board, 2018 – ARTICLES: “Arbitration Cases (I Wish I Had Mediated), Mediation Cases (I Wish I Had Arbitrated) and Applying Arbitral Skills in Mediation,” Pennsylvania Bar Association, ADR Committee Newsletter, May 2021. “Arbitration in the Time of COVID,” The Legal Intelligencer, September 8, 2020. “Guided Choice and Mixed Modes Mediation,” ABA-ADR Dispute Resolution Magazine, Spring 2017. Conversations on the Practice of Mediation, ABA –ADR Dispute Resolution Magazine, Winter 2016. Book Review, “Inside Out: How Conflict Professionals Can Use Self-Reflection to Help Their Clients”, ABA-ADR Dispute Resolution Magazine, Summer 2015. Book Review, “Anatomy of a Mediation”, James C. Freund, ABA-ADR Dispute Resolution Magazine, July 2013. Book Review, “Blind Spots”, Max H. Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel, Mediation Letter International Academy of Mediators, July 2012. Book Review, “Bargaining With the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight” by R. Mnookin, Mediation Letter International Academy of Mediators, June 2010. “Mediator Certification: What Are Some Practitioners Afraid Of?” Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation, CPR International Institute for Conflict Preventions & Resolution, Vol. 26, No. 10, November 2008. “Mediator Certification: A Look at the IMI Standards,” Dispute Resolution Journal, August-October 2008, vol. 63, No.3. Mediators’ Alert: Now, Certification Goes Global”, Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation, CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, Vol. 26, No. 3, March 2008. Book Review “Alternative Dispute Resolution”, by Robert Creo, The Pennsylvania Lawyer Magazine November 2007. “When the Neutral’s Dilemma Hits: Routine Problems, and the Not-So-Routine Repercussions, of Common Arbitration Conflicts”, Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation, CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, Vol 25, No. 5, May 2007. “ADR v. the Bench: Why Are Neutrality Standards Different?”, Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation, CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, Vol. 25 No. 4, April 2007. “Mediation: 20 Tips in 40 Minutes”, 3rd PBI Institute, March 2007. “Powerful Persuasion: What Mediators Really Want to Hear”, Trial Magazine, Vol. 42, Issue 4, April 2006. “Telling Stories: Lessons from the Bible, Literature and Film Provide a Reference for Mediation Work”, Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation, CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, Vol. 23, No. 10, November 2005. “Think Outside the Box: Use Mediation Proactively”, Corporate Counsel Magazine, January 2005. “Providing Alternatives to Litigation”, WomensBiz.US, October 2004. “Seven Common Myths of ADR”, Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, September 2004. “Creating and Certifying the Professional Mediator – Education and Credentialing”, American Journal of Trial Advocacy, Cumberland School of Law of Samford University, Vol. 28, Issue 1,

Philadelphia County, Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County - Pennsylvania

Hourly Rate: $580.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $580.00/hr Cancellation: $1,000.00/Day Cancellation Period: 21 Days Comment: Mediation day is $580/hr with 7 hour minimum. Study time includes preparation and follow-up. Travel time is charged at $50/hour if travel time exceeds 1 hour.

English

United States of America

Haverford, Pennsylvania