Masters of Dispute Resolution

Season 06 Episode 12 With over 25 years of experience, MyKhanh Shelton, Esq. brings a unique blend of legal acumen, practical business insight, conflict resolution expertise, and emotional intelligence to her full-time employment mediation practice. In this episode, MyKhanh conveys the story of a woman who moved across the country, enticed by a job offer with a company whose goals and values appea...

Season 06 Episode 11 Lindsey Bayman, Esq. is a mediator with a strong track record of resolving complex civil disputes, particularly in the areas of employment, sexual assault and misconduct, entertainment, business litigation, and personal injury. She is particularly effective in moving difficult cases to resolution, especially those involving high emotion, reputational risk, or entrenched positi...

Season 06 Episode 10 Brad Bening is one of the most effective and well-regarded neutrals in Northern California, acting in the role of mediator as well as Special Master in cases which present unique challenges to case management and resolution. He has successfully mediated more than 2,000 cases with a success rate of more than 98 percent. In this episode, Brad tells the story of a conflict that a...

Season 06 Episode 09 Michael G. Balmages, Esq., is an accomplished mediator and discovery referee with extensive experience as a trial lawyer, general counsel, and transactional lawyer, and has resolved more than 1,000 cases as a mediator and neutral with ADR Services, Inc. In this episode, Michael tells the story of a dispute between two neighbors over a 20-foot piece of property owned by the pur...

Season 06 Episode 08 Judge Vedica Puri (Ret.) has served as a trial lawyer, a partner in private practice, and a San Francisco Superior Court judge—experience that places her among the few neutrals who have sat in every seat that matters when cases are evaluated, tried, and resolved. In this episode of Masters of Dispute Resolution, Vedica Puri shares the story of a family torn apart in a dispute...

Season 06 Episode 07 Jeff Trueman, Esq., is an experienced, full-time mediator and arbitrator. He helps parties resolve a wide variety of litigated and pre-suit disputes and interpersonal problems concerning catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, professional liability, toxic and environmental torts, employment, business dissolution, and real property. Jeff joins Len Levy to tell the story of a bu...

Season 06 Episode 06 Phyllis W. Cheng, Esq., has excelled at every stage of her career, and for nearly seven years was Director of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the largest state civil rights agency in the United States. In this episode, Phyllis relates the story behind a dispute involving a recovering addict, her father, and the guru who had helped the daughter achieve sobriety i...

Season 06 Episode 05 Lance A. LaBelle, Esq., is a highly regarded mediator. Prior to joining ADR Services, Inc., and before embarking on a career as a full-time neutral, he practiced law as an AV-rated attorney for over 30 years, handling a wide variety of matters and specializing in insurance cases. In this episode, Lance and Len Levy discuss a dispute involving a seriously injured fireman, an in...

Season 06 Episode 04 Claudia Hagadus Long is one of the leading alternative dispute resolution neutrals in the Bay Area. An exceptionally skilled mediator, Ms. Long has mediated over 3000 cases and is currently a member of the ADR Services, Inc. panel of mediators. In her return visit to Masters of Dispute Resolution, this master storyteller and mediator shares a story of a caregiver hired to assi...

Season 06 Episode 03 The Honorable Thomas L. Willhite, Jr., joined ADR Services, Inc. in February 2023 after a distinguished judicial career of more than 30 years, having served on the former Los Angeles Municipal Court, the Los Angeles Superior Court, and the California Court of Appeal. In this episode, Tom Willhite and Len Levy discuss the resolution of a wrongful death case concerning a father...

Season 06 Episode 02 Hon. David A. Rosen (Ret.) serves as a mediator and arbitrator at ADR Services, Inc., drawing on over forty years of experience in litigation, the judiciary, and alternative dispute resolution. In this episode, Judge Rosen joins Len to discuss the aftermath of a marital dissolution where an initial amicable agreement was derailed by changing circumstances and an attorney's fai...

Season 06 Episode 01 For over 27 years, Lee Mendelson, Esq. has been at the forefront of civil litigation, advocating for clients in high-stakes disputes across a broad spectrum of legal matters and seeking to achieve resolution outside the courtroom—not through contentious trials, but through the art of negotiation. In this episode, Lee and Len discuss mediation of a dispute between a property ow...

Season 05 Episode 12 Lee Jay Berman became a full-time Los Angeles mediator 30 years ago and has since mediated over 3,000 cases. He is an International Academy of Mediators’ Distinguished Fellow and a National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN) Charter Diplomate. In this episode, Lee Jay and Len discuss an escalating dispute between neighbors, owners of adjoining beach properties, which had...

Season 05 Episode 11 Raphael Lapin brings an extensive and unique background to his practice as a mediator. He has not only mediated more than 1,000 litigated disputes, but he has also mediated across a variety of sectors, and taught conflict resolution at Southwestern Law School and Whittier Law School. In this episode, Raphael talks about a multi-party dispute involving a school district, three...

Season 05 Episode 10 Now a member of the ADR Services, Inc. panel of neutrals, Debra Bogaards served as a private mediator for over six years, as well as a mandatory settlement conference officer in San Francisco for over five years and in Marin County for almost 30 years. In this session, Debra and Len discuss the mediation of a matter involving child molestation of both the victim and the molest...

Season 05 Episode 09 Drawing upon a career spanning over four decades as both a mediator and trial lawyer, Mark D. Kramer, Esq., utilizes his extensive experience to assist parties in resolving disputes, bringing invaluable expertise to the mediation field. In addition to his litigation and trial expertise, Mr. Kramer distinguishes himself through his extensive mediation experience. In this episod...

Season 05 Episode 08 Steven Abern, Esq., brings unparalleled expertise to ADR Services, Inc. His extensive legal career spans 34 years, during which he served as the Managing Partner at Haapala, Thompson & Abern, one of the preeminent insurance defense firms in the Bay Area. In this episode, Steve tells the story of a dispute between a long-term tenant and a landlord who had recently purchased a f...

Season 05 Episode 07 Peter Linn, Esq. is a seasoned mediator and litigator with nearly three decades of expertise in the Bay Area legal landscape. In this episode, Peter tells the story of a dispute between competing businesses, two nail salons, one of which was owned by former employees of the other, who “poached” the employees of their former employer and opened its doors across the street. How...

Season 05 Episode 06 Geri Green, Esq. is a full-time mediator and discovery referee. Her straightforward approach and open-minded pragmatism generate the trust necessary for litigants to entertain the possibility of resolution and arrive at solutions. In this episode, Geri shares the story of a family, still dealing with the emotional trauma of their father’s death, being sued by their tenant, an...

Season 05 Episode 05 Irene Takahashi is widely recognized as one of the Bay Area’s leading mediators, and, since 2017, has been a member of the ADR Services, Inc. panel of neutrals. Building on a solid foundation of trial experience, she adds the insights gained while serving as a trial judge for both bench and jury civil and criminal cases. In this episode, Irene and Len discuss the mediation of...

Season 05 Episode 04 Carmen Alberio is a recognized expert in the field of Probate, Estates, and Trusts law, with 37 years of experience as a Probate Attorney for the Los Angeles Superior Court that has been invaluable in both her probate consultation and mediation work. In this episode, Carmen will share the story of a probate mediation about a dispute between a beneficiary and the successor trus...

Season 05 Episode 03 Bette Epstein, Esq. has been mediating trust and estate disputes since 2000, following a remarkable career as a trust and estate litigator, and is highly regarded as one of the Bay Area’s leading probate specialists. In this episode, Bette shares the story of a conflict between the widow of a wealthy man whose intent was to ensure that his widow (who provided all the necessary...

Season 05 Episode 02 Steve Cerveris is a full-time, independent mediator and principal of CERVERIS MEDIATION. Assisting his clients through the emotionally and economically draining, time-consuming challenges of litigation earlier in his 40-year career ultimately led Steve to pursue the field of alternate dispute resolution for the past 25 years. His goal was and is to help people embroiled in lit...

Season 05 Episode 01 Welcome back for a brand new season of Masters of Dispute Resolution ! Joining Len is returning guest Phyllis W. Cheng, Esq., former Director of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), the largest state civil rights agency in the United States. In this episode, Phyllis tells the story of a man in his twenties, alone in a cell in a jail run by a firm under contrac...

In the first four seasons of Masters of Dispute Resolution , host Len Levy and his expert guests have not only made it their mission to share how mediation has brought about resolution but also to educate. Not just educate by giving attorneys, mediators, and others tools to perform their respective roles more effectively, but also to illustrate that kindness, dignity, and empathy all carry with th...