Most Highly Regarded Firms: California 2009 - Arbitration
Arbitration continues to be a much favoured method for dispute resolution, particularly for international disputes and for those in industries such as construction.
Our team of researchers set out to identify the leading panellists and counsel based in California, and in this chapter we list 16 outstanding practitioners.
Richard Chernick is vice president and managing director of JAMS' arbitration practice and was described to us as "absolutely outstanding". A "hugely eminent figure in the arbitration marketplace both in California and in the US", he is a former chair of the American Bar Association's dispute resolution section and of its arbitration committee, and founding president of the College of Commercial Arbitrators. Also based at JAMS, Kenneth Gibbs is reported to be "the leading authority on construction arbitration" by one source. He has arbitrated over 175 disputes and "did an absolutely fantastic job in extremely trying circumstances", according to one impressed source who had seen him at work in a recent case. Zela Claiborne appears for the first time in this edition, and is "extremely skilled". A former member of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) board of directors, she is known for chairing the arbitration panel for a dispute involving licensing claims over cardiac stents patents, with rights valued at approximately $4 billion. June Lehrman is another new entry, gaining a place in the following pages on account of repeated nomination from her peers. A council member of the ABA dispute resolution section, she is "calm, skilled and effective" and was picked out for her expertise in employment, health-care and general commercial disputes.
In Silicon Valley, Scott Donahey is "incredibly active" and universally viewed as an "excellent arbitrator". He has taken part in over 150 domain name arbitrations, and received commendations for his work as sole arbitrator in the AAA, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Centre for Dispute Resolution and the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution. The general view on the high quality of his practice can be summed up by a comment from one survey-respondent: "He is an absolute guru for technology disputes."
Edward Costello owns a "very strong reputation" and has carried out "a huge amount of work in this area", including recent work as AAA Olympic panellist. With more than 600 cases as arbitrator, mediator or private judge behind him, he is also a member of the AAA's large complex case, construction, employment, health-care, IP and international panels and is "well established as a leader in the California market".
The "outstanding" Charles Renfrew is based at his own law offices and gained nominations from across the US and beyond. A former US District Judge and Deputy Attorney General of United States, as well as a past president of the American College of Trial Lawyers, he is viewed as "a legend".
Bruce Belding is president elect of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, and gains inclusion in this year's publication on the back of strong recommendations from those we canvassed. Based in Sausalito and fêted for his AAA work in particular, he has been arbitrated over 350 domestic and international disputes across a range of sectors, and "fully deserves inclusion on any list of the best in the state".
Thomas Stipanowich is based at Pepperdine University School of Law and is revered as "one of the guiding lights in the US". A "vast repository of knowledge", he is one of four (and the only non-British) Companion of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and earlier this year received the prestigious D'Alemberte/Raven Award from the ABA section on dispute resolution. Former president and CEO of the CPR Institute, he received votes from across the US in our research.
Deborah Rothman appears on the AAA large complex case panel, and was repeatedly commended to researchers as a "thoroughly efficient and impressive operator" in arbitration and mediation.
Our research uncovered a wealth of expertise in commercial law firms. At Irell & Manella LLP, Christine Byrd is on the AAA's commercial, large complex case and national energy panel, as well as the panel of distinguished neutrals of the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution. She was consistently recommended as an "excellent arbitrator with a fine reputation". Charles Ragan at Redgrave Daley Ragan & Wagner LLP "really knows what he's doing", while the "very knowledgeable" Steven Smith chairs O'Melveny & Myers LLP's international arbitration practice. A "first-class advocate", he has served as an arbitrator in ICC and UNCITRAL arbitrations, and also gained international recognition for his work as lead counsel for clients such as Mitsubishi, Occidental Petroleum and HBO Asia, as well as Lockheed Martin, for whom he acted as co-lead counsel in its successful defence of an ICC arbitration brought by South Korea.
Fred Bennett has a "very fine" practice and leads the arbitration practice at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP. Known for his work in ICC and AAA proceedings, he sits on several AAA national board of directors' committees.
Cedric Chao is another practice leader, in this case of Morrison & Foerster LLP's international litigation and arbitration group, and is known for his "first-class" international arbitration work - he has experience of proceedings under the rules of the major arbitral institutions. "As well versed in this field as anyone, he gets my vote without hesitation" was the recommendation of one interviewee.
Yarko Sochynsky of Wulff Quinby & Sochynsky Dispute Resolution completes this chapter, and is a "tremendously impressive, a real expert". His track record includes appointment as arbitrator chair in cases before the ICC-ICA in Paris and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution in New York. He is a member of the AAA large and complex case, construction, technology, employment and energy mediation and arbitration panels.