Bruce A. Edwards, Esq.

T: 415-982-5267
F:415-982-5287
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Bruce A. Edwards, Esq. is one of JAMS founding partners and most experienced attorney mediators.

Mr. Edwards has served as a mediator, arbitrator, and special master since 1986.  During that time, he has developed extensive expertise in handling complex, multiparty cases with emphasis on construction, business, employment, and traumatic personal injury matters. He frequently writes and teaches about the benefits of ADR throughout the United States and Western Europe.

Construction Conferences

  • Moderator: MC2: Semi-Annual Construction Defect Litigation Conference in Nevada, Colorado and Florida (2003-2008)
  • Speaker: West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Conference; Mealeys Construction Defect Conference; Construction Defect Super Conference; DRI, Construction Defect Conference; American Bar Association, ADR Subcommittee Annual Conference

ADR Experience and Qualifications

  • Mediated over 4,500 disputes throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico since 1986; disputes have involved a wide variety of legal issues including construction, personal injury, healthcare, employment, business, professional malpractice, mass tort, and insurance coverage
  • Settled over one-half billion dollars in construction claims since 2001 in California, Nevada, and Washington

Representative Matters

  • ADA/Fair Housing:
    • Reno, NV, suit by Justice Department against apartment owners for violation of ADA/Fair Housing
  • Business/Commercial:
    • Chicago, Business loss claim following refrigerant line explosion at production plant, $22 million settlement
    • San Francisco, CA, partnership dissolution, breach of licensing agreement for worldwide distribution of contraceptive device
  • Construction Defect:
    • Las Vegas, NV, Condominium conversion case involving fraudulent misrepresentation and construction defects; $11.8 million
    • Carson City, NV, 376 single-family homes with construction defects and mold contamination, $14.75 million settlement
    • Las Vegas, NV, 720-unit condominium project with construction defects and mold contamination, $20.5 million settlement
  • Class Action:
    • Las Vegas, NV, class action involving defective pipe fittings in 35,000 homes in Southern Nevada, $240 million settlement
    • San Francisco, CA, Multiple class actions involving aluminum window product manufacturers, settlement terms confidential
  • Employment:
    • Louisville, KY, 62-year-old associate general counsel for Fortune 400 Company brought claim for wrongful termination and age discrimination, settlement terms confidential
  • Environmental:
    • San Francisco, CA, plant explosion resulted in the release of asbestos over a public marina and surrounding neighborhood; 175 plaintiffs brought claims for personal injury and property damage, settlement terms confidential
  • Fire Loss/Subrogation:
    • Sacramento, CA, sparks from a utility line ignited a fire resulting in the destruction of homes and personal property, $10 million settlement
  • Healthcare:
    • San Francisco, CA, negotiated reimbursement agreement between regional trauma center and healthcare provider for emergency patient care
  • Insurance Bad Faith:
    • San Francisco, CA, automobile accident resulted in paraplegic injury to nine-year-old girl
    • San Francisco, CA, claim against carrier for failure to settle within policy limits, $6.5 million settlement
  • Personal Injury:
    • Las Vegas, NV, Bad faith refusal to settle following $41 million jury verdict in off road motorcycle accident, settlement terms confidential
    • Salt Lake City, UT, vehicle roll over death involving Firestone tires; settlement terms confidential
    • San Francisco, CA, 14-month-old toddler was killed by ingesting baby oil, settlement terms confidential
    • Washington, D.C., two Marine Corps pilots killed in crash of “Osprey” tilt rotor helicopter, settlement terms confidential

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

  • Recognized as a "Best Lawyer, Alternative Dispute Resolution Category," Best Lawyers in America, 2006-2012
  • Recognized as Top California Neutral, Daily Journal, 2011
  • Recipient, Jerrold S. Oliver Award of Excellence presented at West Coast Casualty Construction Conference for outstanding contribution to the construction community, 2007
  • Member, American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution
  • Adjunct Professor, Advanced Mediation, Mediation Process Design, and Ethics in Mediation, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law in California, Vermont, Hawaii, (1994-Present)
  • Adjunct Professor, Partnering, and Construction Mediation, Summer School on Business Mediation, Admont, Austria (2002-Present)
  • "A Neutral Pioneer," ADR Profile, Daily Journal, June 6, 2011

Background and Education

  • Chief Mediator and Executive Vice President, JAMS/Endispute, 1999
  • Co-Founder, Bates Edwards Group, 1991
  • Litigation Partner, Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, San Francisco, CA, 1981-1991
  • J. D., Hastings College of Law, 1981
  • B.A., Psychology, University of California, Davis, 1978
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