Who am I?
I began my career in 1996 working for a union-side labor law firm that specialized in the representation of law enforcement officers. I represented individual officers and their associations in administrative, civil, and criminal proceedings, as well as 1000+ plaintiff overtime action against the U.S. government that resulted in an eventual eight figure payout.
In 2002, I went to work for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, as part of their in-house legal team. In my 19 year tenure working for Sheriffs Bill Kolender and later Bill Gore, I advised the Sheriff’s Department’s Detentions, Courts, and Management Services bureaus, advised on subpoena compliance and public records requests, litigated over 30 personnel cases before the San Diego County Civil Service Commission, and represented the department in the Superior Court on motions involving the discovery of peace officer personnel records. In the year prior to my retirement in March 2021, I was part of the Sheriff’s delegation in the Justice Partners’ ad-hoc virtual meetings with the District Attorney, the City Attorney, the Public Defender, and the Superior Court tasked with keeping the criminal justice system functioning during the COVID-19 shutdown.
At the Sheriff’s Department, I developed a reputation as a problem-solver who could help members of the public and other lawyers navigate the bureaucracy of the Sheriff’s Department, an agency of over 4000 employees spread out over four distinct bureaus. It was not uncommon for me to answer a phone call from another lawyer that began with, “The judge in my client’s case suggested I call you about……”
From 2014 – 2021, I served as a Judge Pro Tempore of the San Diego County Superior Court. One day per month, I volunteered my time hearing and adjudicating small claims cases as a temporary judge. I heard a wide range of cases from auto accidents, to landlord/tenant cases, to slip-and-fall accidents. As for my judicial demeanor, I would like to think that I am more like Judge Wapner than Judge Judy.
After my retirement, I was “drafted” by my former supervisor, Robert P. Faigin, to work part time for the Orange County Office of Independent Review. In this capacity, I reviewed, analyzed , and drafted reports on use-of-force incidents by the Orange County Probation Department. I also served as a Volunteer Fee Arbitrator for the State Bar of California.
I continue to maintain a legal practice devoted to Alternative Dispute Resolution as well as Estate Planning. I serve on the Arbitration and Mediation panels for National Arbitration & Mediation, LLP (“NAM”), a New York-based ADR provider that has been ranked as the #1 ADR provider for 15 consectuive years by the New York Law Journal.
