Biography
Richard Chernick, Vice President and Managing Director of JAMS’ Arbitration Practice, is a nationally recognized expert in the resolution of complex and multi-party matters. Mr. Chernick has arbitrated and mediated numerous real property, construction, and infrastructure cases involving contractual, delay, change order, termination, and performance claims, as well as disclosure, fraud, land subsidence, earthquake damage, real estate valuation, and insurance coverage issues. These disputes involved public and private property including public utilities, theme parks, hotels, casinos, schools, recreational structures, mobile home parks, and shopping centers.
Representative Mediations
- Claims concerning construction of cogeneration power plant
- Dispute between owner and prime contractor regarding construction of school
- Land use dispute between utility, developer, and public entity
- Multi-party dispute between landowner, developer, and public entities regarding land use in connection with multi-family planned development
Representative Arbitrations
- Commercial leasehold/option dispute
- Dispute between developer of convenience center and restaurant complex and general contractor
- Dispute between excavation subcontractor and prime contractor on large infrastructure/public works project
- Dispute between major electrical contractor and estimator (SFO expansion)
- Infrastructure dispute between owner and contractor of design-build toll road contract (more than thirty separate arbitrations consolidated before one tripartite panel)
- Dispute between residential real property developer and landscape contractor
- Dispute between school district and prime and subcontractors regarding construction of middle school
- Dispute over the terms of a major shopping center lease and related damage claims
- Dissolution of real estate limited partnership including valuation of residential real property holdings
- Fraud claim in sale of residential apartment complex
- Fraud claim involving the sale of a 205-unit apartment house
- Homeowners Association dispute with Management Company (contractual and management issues)
- Hotel construction project: mechanical contractor claims
- Hotel management dispute
- Partnership/LLC dispute regarding attributes of ownership of shopping center
- Periodic rental adjustment under long term lease
- Public works project: infrastructure dispute between prime contractor and drilling subcontractor
- Rent reset under 99-year ground lease for major office building
- Sale of residential real property: disclosure and fraud issues re land subsidence
- Title insurance coverage dispute (commercial property)
Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS.
- Recognized as "Lawyer of the Year" for Arbitration in Los Angeles, 2020
- Listed on "Best Lawyers in America," Best Lawyers, 2020-2022
- Recipient of the "Champion of Justice" Award, Western Justice Center, 2019
- Recognized as an “ADR Champion”, National Law Journal, 2016-2018
- Los Angeles Arbitration Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers, 2016
- Recognized as a Best Lawyer, Alternative Dispute Resolution Category, Best Lawyers in America, 2005-2016
- Selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution, 2010-2016, 2019-2021
- Los Angeles ADR Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers, 2011 and 2015
- Los Angeles Mediation Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers, 2013
- Recognized as a leader among world's commercial arbitration specialists, Global Arbitration Review, 2013
- Recognized as a Top California Neutral, Daily Journal, 2003, 2006-2010 and 2012
- Recognized as a Best Lawyer, Southern California's Best Lawyers, 2012
- Recognized as a leading practitioner, Alternative Dispute Resolution Category, Who's Who Legal: California, 2009
- Selected as an entertainment law "Power Mediator," Hollywood Reporter, 2007
- Recognized as One of the 500 Leading Judges in America, Lawdragon Magazine, 2006
- Peacemaker of the Year, Southern California Mediation Association, 1999
- Griffin Bell Volunteer Service Award, Dispute Resolution Services, 1994
- Bernard E. Witkin Amicus Curiae Award, California Judicial Council, 1994
- Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Responsible Use of ADR, American Arbitration Association, 1993
- Presidential Award, Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association, 1993
- Legal Services Leadership Award, Western Center on Law and Poverty, 1993
- Norma Zarky Memorial Award, Beverly Hills Bar Foundation, 1991
- Board member: California Dispute Resolution Council; Western Justice Center
- Former Chair of the American Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Section and of its Arbitration Committee
- Founding President of the College of Commercial Arbitrators
- Founding Chair of the ADR Committee of the State Bar of California
- Past president, Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, and past Chairman of the Board of Dispute Resolution Services, Inc., the dispute resolution program of the Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Co-presenter, "Drafting and Enforcing Effective ADR Provisions," State Bar of California 84th Annual Meeting, 2011
- Author or co-author of leading texts on ADR, Employment ADR, and international arbitration and mediation; frequent trainer and lecturer on arbitration and mediation topics. Author of monthly ADR Practitioner column in Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal
- Received comprehensive training in JAMS in-house Entertainment Law workshops including, but not limited to:
- “Net Profits and New Media: The Future of Entertainment Litigation”
- "Legal Issues and Developments in Video Game Law"
ADR Profiles
- "The Pioneer," Daily Journal, ADR Profile, December 29, 2017
- "Right Place, Right Time," Daily Journal, ADR Profile, April 10, 2009
- Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, 1977-1994; (associate, 1971-1976); specialized in commercial litigation and domestic and international arbitration
- Law Clerk, Donald R. Wright, Chief Justice of California, 1970-1971
- J.D., University of Southern California (USC), 1970 (Order of the Coif, Articles Editor, S. Cal. L. Rev.)
- A.B., University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), (English), 1967
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