Primary Areas of Focus
- Mediator
- Arbitrator
- Special Master
- Settlement Consultant
- Mediation Trainer
- Negotiation Trainer and Consultant
- Communication Skills Trainer
- Group Facilitator
- Keynote Speaker
Lee Jay Berman
Settling cases in a mature mediation market like California over the past 17 years has required me to become more adept at managing negotiation subtleties, client expectations, difficult personalities, and enhanced details and complexities of cases. Mediation today involves a whole different set of skills than it did 5-10 years ago. I attribute a large part of my success to being a quick study, having deep and broad experience, incredible patience and tenacious energy.
Biography
Lee Jay Berman has unparalleled experience in the field of Mediation which sets him apart from the rest of his peers. In his 17 years as a full-time mediator, he has mediated over 1,600 cases. He is an Internationally Certified Mediator with the International Mediation Institute in the Netherlands, and was named the California Daily Journal’s Top Neutral in 2008 and 2009. He has worked several hundred business/commercial, construction, real property, employment, entertainment and health care cases, as well as administering several hundred mediations as the inaugural ADR Director who launched the Santa Barbara Superior Court’s CADRe program.
The ADR Panels that Mr. Berman has worked on have included the American Arbitration Association, the California Second District Court of Appeal, the Superior Courts of Los Angeles, Kern, Santa Barbara and Sonoma Counties, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Hospital Association of Southern California. He is currently a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, a Diplomat of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, and a Diplomat of the California Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.
Mr. Berman is the Founder and President of the American Institute of Mediation (AIM Institute), which offers world class training for the complete mediator. A former member on the advisory board of the Harvard Negotiation Insight Initiate, Mr. Berman comes to PMA after seven years as Director of Pepperdine Law School's "Mediating the Litigated Case" program. In addition to training judges, attorneys, insurance claims professionals across the country, Mr. Berman has trained leaders in Croatia, Jordan, India, The Netherlands and United Arab Emirates.
Representative Cases
- Complex Business Litigation
- Breach of Contract, Mass Claims
- Construction
- Real Property, Title Insurance, Land Use and Environmental
- Employment Discrimination, Harassment, Termination, Wage & Hour
- Entertainment Law
- Shareholder Disputes, Corporate Dissolutions
- Intellectual Property
- Trade Secrets, Unfair Competition
- Bankruptcy
- Franchise and Partnership Disputes and Dissolutions
- General Civil Cases
Recognition
- Who's Who in International Commercial Mediation 2012
- California Daily Journal “Top Neutral” 2008 and 2009
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, California Central District, Mediator of the Year 2007
- Southern California Mediation Association’s Randolph L. Lowry Lecture Award 2010
- International Academy of Mediators, Distinguished Fellow 2003-present
- National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, Diplomat, Charter Member 2010-present
- California Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, Diplomat, Charter Member 2005-present
- Advisory Board of the Harvard Negotiation Insight Initiative 2005-2006
- American Bar Association, Section on Dispute Resolution, Training Committee National Chair 2003-2007
- State Bar of California, Standing Committee on ADR, 2007-2010, Ethics Subcommittee 1999-2000
- California Dispute Resolution Council, Board of Directors 1995-2000
- CDRC Qualifications and Standards Committee, Chair 1995-2001
- California Judicial Council drafting committee Rules of Court for mediators, Member
- California Court ADR Directors Council 1999-2000
- Southern California Mediation Association 1994-present
- Los Angeles County Bar Association – Litigation and ADR Sections 1995-present
- Beverly Hills Bar Association – Litigation, Entertainment and ADR Sections 1995-present