Rebekah Ratliff is a credentialed commercial complex insurance claims professional with more than 25 years of experience in evaluating, negotiating and settling complex casualty claims loss matters, nationwide and internationally with settlements totaling in the millions. Having evaluated thousands of cases, Rebekah is masterful in navigating the negotiation process and understands the human condition, a key skill to enabling trust in the ADR process.
As a civil and domestic mediator and arbitrator, Ms. Ratliff has become a trusted dispute resolution professional in high stakes cases and sensitive matters involving high-profile individuals. Ms. Ratliff believes that people do not really want to be in dispute and finds fulfillment in facilitating compromises via neutral analysis to assist in moving cases to settlement or through the alternative dispute resolution process. Prior to joining JAMS, Rebekah founded her own national mediation, arbitration and case consulting firm, Capital City Mediations, LLC, based in the Atlanta, GA area.
Ms. Ratliff has been recognized nationally for her work in the alternative dispute resolution field and is a sought-after presenter and lecturer on alternative dispute resolution, case evaluation, negotiation strategies and diversity and inclusion. She is a frequent contributor to the CLM Magazine (Claims Litigation Alliance), American Bar Association (ABA) and National Bar Association (NBA) publications. Ms. Ratliff is the 2nd Vice Chair of the ADR Section of the NBA and the Diversity Committee Co-chair of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section. Her extensive insurance background expertise includes, but is not limited to, personal injury/wrongful death, medical malpractice, auto/trucking liability, commercial premises liability, products liability, nursing home liability, construction liability and municipal liability. She speaks Spanish fluently and operates internationally.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
- Extensive subject matter expertise in personal injury/wrongful death, medical malpractice, auto/trucking liability, commercial premises liability, products liability, nursing home liability, construction liability, municipal liability and coverage.
- Neutral analysis of tort claims to aid with the early case resolution
- Faculty Member, Southern California Mediation Association Advanced Track Training
- Faculty Member, National Bar Association ADR Continuing Education
- Law School Guest Lecturer at Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Howard University and Emory University
- Faculty Member, ABA Advanced Mediation & Advocacy Skills Institute
Panels
- NBA Certified Mediator and Arbitrator Panels
- FINRA (Wing) Arbitrator on panels in financial regulatory matters
- International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) Panels of Distinguished Neutrals (Mediation and Arbitration)
Representative Matters
Insurance
- Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
-
- Mediated and facilitated settlements on various types of bodily injury cases involving fatality damages (allegedly) arising from negligence
-
- Mediated medical malpractice cases involving alleged deviation from the standard care due to failure to treat, failure to diagnose, failure to warn of risks and/or improper treatment
- Mediated cases alleging psychiatrist ethical boundary violations
- Mediated dental malpractice cases alleging prescription errors, overuse of anesthesia, deviation from the standard of care and failure to render treatment
- Mediated optometry cases alleging failure to diagnose in glaucoma and vision correction surgery cases
- Commercial Premises Liability
-
- Mediated premises cases involving slip/trip and falls, rape, shootings, assault, elevator malfunction and various other incidents alleging negligent maintenance, negligent security and other (tort allegation) matters at (*apartment complexes, strip malls, restaurants, department stores, superstores and variety-type commercial properties dealing with landlord/tenant issues.
*Examples: bug/pest infestation, negligent security, security lights/gate disrepair, assault, shootings, stabbings
-
- Mediated cases involving products and components alleged not to be market worthy that caused severe injuries to the end user. Some examples include lye-based drain cleaner, ladders, skin care products, various industrial and auto industry component parts (air bags, brakes, gas line defects)
- Nursing Home/Assisted Living Liability
-
- Mediated numerous cases involving elder care neglect and bill of rights violations
-
- Mediated numerous cases involving personal auto and trucking motor vehicle accidents with severe damages of multiple passengers
-
- Mediated cases involving neighbor dispute dealing with trespass, incidents on and off property and issues arising out of pet ownership
-
- Mediated cases involving charter school boards alleging mistreatment and/or deprivation of learning of children by teachers
- Mediated cases involving municipalities dealing with disputes alleging police officer negligent acts against detainees while in custody. Facilitated resolutions dealing with self-insured retentions and governmental statutory caps
-
- Mediated contract dispute in a highly contested and newsworthy case with a pending judgment and writ of body attachment, to assist with compromise
- Mediated Homeowners Association dispute about covenant violations between HOA and Homeowner
Securities
- FINRA - Wing Arbitrator on panels to serve in adjudicating financial services industry disputes for the financial regulatory authority in the U.S. and Puerto Rico
Neutral Analysis
- Perform liability and damages case assessment on matters ripe for settlement to assist in exploring strengths, weaknesses and settlement posture to save time and overhead costs
- Facilitate coverage reviews for occurrence-based and claims-made policy contracts
