Masters of Dispute Resolution

Season 07 Episode 05

Hon. Verna Adams (Ret.) is a nationally recognized expert in mediation and adjudication of complex family law and probate cases. Judge Adams recognizes the power of non-monetary settlement terms and strives to identify creative solutions tailored to each family’s unique needs. In this episode, Judge Adams shares the story of a married couple, who also owned a successful business, going through a highly contentious dissolution of their marriage and possibly their business. A process for resolution that began as a marital settlement conference before Judge Adams morphed into a complex probate mediation conducted by the now-retired judge. How did her depth of knowledge about mediation process and the law lead the parties to resolution?

Season 07 Episode 04

Hon. Paul A. Bacigalupo, Ret., joined ADR Services, Inc. in 2024 after 22 years as a Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court. As a mediator, Judge Bacigalupo is characterized by his persistent curiosity to achieve resolution and his ability to ask the right questions at the right time. In this episode, Judge Bacigalupo shares the story of a woman’s death in a skilled nursing facility and the dynamics of a mediation between the family of the woman and that facility, complicated by the family dynamics between the deceased woman’s adult children. Which mediation tools did Judge Bacigalupo apply to successfully resolve the dispute?

Season 07 Episode 03

Hon. Victoria Wood (Ret.) established her successful track record of settling highly disputed cases during her time as a Judge for the Superior Court of Napa County, where she served her community with dedication for nearly two decades. In this episode, she relates the story of a mother and two adult daughters, co-owners of a house in which they lived, embroiled in a contentious and sometimes violent relationship which could not continue. Faced with a multitude of challenges in reaching an agreement that would allow the parties to move forward with their lives, Victoria used her considerable skills to assist the parties, only to have the agreement undone by a sudden and catastrophic event. Listen and learn how a master mediator gets it done!

Season 07 Episode 02

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 tells the story of a deaf woman, in the United States illegally, in the process of self-deporting, arrested by ICE and detained in a city jail for five months. She was not given access to interpreters or provided with any means by which she could communicate, effectively cutting her off from her lawyers or family, and preventing her from communicating her need for medical procedures or basic needs. What were her rights in such circumstances? Did her immigration status impact her ability to recover compensation by way of legal action? How was Phyllis Cheng able to mediate a resolution of this matter?

Season 07 Episode 01

Following a stellar career as a trial lawyer, Eric Ivary has resolved more than 1,000 cases across a variety of substantive areas during the course of his mediation career at ADR Services, Inc. To kick off Season 7, Eric relates the aftermath of a 9-year-old boy’s toy-related death, where the adults in his life had failed him, and the retailer and distributor of the toy had neglected to include any instructions relating to its use, a combination that proved fatal. His father, who had gone to prison early in the boy’s life with no contact after his release, sought to share in compensation and threatened to jeopardize any settlement that did not include a substantial recovery for himself. How did master mediator Eric Ivary guide the parties to a resolution?