The Person behind the practice

Before mediation became his calling, Bret spent years walking the litigator’s path. Complex cases across the country. Securities law. Multidistrict litigation. Individual plaintiff work.  Jury trials. At Latham & Watkins, working alongside the world's top litigators.

Then he discovered what he was really built for: the moment when parties who couldn't imagine agreement find themselves shaking hands.

    • UCLA

    • UCLA School of Law

    • Over 4 years full-time mediation experience

    • 300+ matters mediated

    • 1 year with CA Civil Rights Dept. (DFEH) as employment and housing mediator

    • Extensive training and ongoing continuing education, including through International Academy of Mediators

    • Catastrophic Personal Injury

    • School District Abuse and Bullying

    • Wrongful Termination

    • Wage and Hour

    • Agribusiness

    • Contract

    • Fraud

    • Wills and Trusts

  • Connect first. Brief calls with each side before we begin. No charge. Mediation works best when everyone knows what they're walking into.

    Prepare deeply. Your brief should tell the whole story—strengths, weaknesses, what keeps you up at night about this case. If it matters to you, it matters to the process.

    Resolve wisely. Virtual or in-person. Downtown Visalia or location of your choosing. Caucuses, joint sessions, whatever serves the goal.

    What you can expect: Radical preparation. Unflinching honesty about your case. An instinct for finding the deal that works. Direct conversations. Creative solutions. Walking away with something better than what brought you here.

    One thing remains constant: a relentless focus on finding what works.

  • Over four years as a full-time mediator and hundreds of cases mediated have taught Bret this:

    Resolution doesn't live in the argument.

    It lives in the silence between words.

    In what people mean but cannot say.

    In the human story beneath the legal story.

    The pattern is always different. The outcome is increasingly predictable.

Part lawyer, part student of human nature, part collector of stories

The cowboy hats on the wall? That's family—families's cattle ranching roots. The vinyl collection? Always hunting for the next great jazz find. The hiking boots by the door? Weekend trails with the dogs clear the mind for Monday's impossible cases.

Rraised in the San Joaquin Valley. The land teaches patience and persistence. Some things can't be rushed. Others shouldn't be delayed.

This isn't typical mediator packaging, and that's precisely the point. When parties see someone who doesn't fit the mold, assumptions break down. Guards come down. Real conversations become possible.