Barbara A. Reeves, Esq., CEDS (Certified E-Discovery Specialist) is a highly regarded and well-respected mediator and arbitrator. She is a quick study, prepared, personable, creative, and flexible.
As an arbitrator, Barbara Reeves is known to be fair, practical, and not afraid to make tough decisions. As a mediator, she is strong, good at listening and reading people, and a tenacious closer. She is known for her ability to quickly establish rapport with parties and counsel and enable them to recognize their legal risks. She is known for her ability to connect and communicate with clients emotionally involved with their positions and usher parties toward mutually acceptable solutions.
Before becoming a full-time neutral, Barbara Reeves was a litigator for more than 30 years, with the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, a partner at national law firms and Associate General Counsel and Vice President for Southern California Edison and Edison International.
Barbara Reeves is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the College of Commercial Arbitrators, and a certified mediator with the International Mediation Institute. She received her J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School.
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Representative Matters Antitrust
Dispute between competitors involving standard essential patents
Mediated and served as special master in class actions involving computer components, pharmaceuticals, life insurance and telecommunications
Mediations involving civil damages actions arising from international cartels and price fixing distribution arrangements
Mediated a settlement involving a joint venture in the healthcare industry
Served as court-appointed master for discovery and settlement issues in patent/antitrust case involving “patent hopping” in pharmaceutical industry
Business/Commercial
Mediated trade secrets dispute involving theft of customer information and lists by a former employee
Mediated class action matter involving credit card privacy statute and the entitlement to attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1021.5 (private attorney general statute)
Mediated breach of contract action between a Danish seller of agricultural products and the American company that purchased the products
Mediated dispute over a lease option to buy a truck stop with significant issues involving terms of sale and business valuation methods
Mediated trademark infringement and copyright suit involving a major jewelry manufacturer
Mediated matter involving termination of a business partner and valuation of the business
Mediated disputes involving investment fraud and breach of contract
Mediated breach of contract action involving a dispute over the proper functioning of computer software
Mediated dispute involving the breakup of a failed partnership involving a large commercial property development
Arbitrated foreclosure on a construction loan and effect of general contractor’s completion guarantee
Arbitrated termination of a law firm shareholder and valuation of partnership share
Arbitrated and mediated matters in connection with breach of contract, mergers and acquisitions, fraud, corporate disclosure issues, franchising, accounting disputes, and partnership dissolution
Mediated dispute between group of physicians and billing company
Arbitrated case involving breach of fiduciary duty between client and investment advisor
Mediated franchise agreement dispute
Class Actions
Arbitrated and mediated class actions involving consumer fraud, antitrust, health insurance, wage and hour, and employment discrimination issues
Served as special master in employment and civil rights class action matters
Construction and Engineering
Mediated construction dispute involving large residential developments with environmental issues
Special master to resolve allocation of payments among subcontractors in a highway construction project
Mediated dispute by contractors against a public entity arising out of a tunneling operation that encountered unexpected conditions and weather problems
Handled claims between a public entity and contractor and insurance companies involving nuclear power plant
Mediated and served as discovery referee in matters arising out of qualified facility power plant construction
E-Discovery
Contract dispute arbitration between biotech company and its software provider over scope of service agreement
Partnership dispute arbitrations involving startup companies and sharing of network
Court appointed discovery referee for predictive coding process and protocol for e-discovery disputes
Employment
Arbitrated and mediated more than 100 matters involving employee termination, disability discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour disputes, sexual harassment, and labor code violations, including wage and hour class actions
Mediated and arbitrated disputes arising out of alleged employee theft of trade secrets
Claims by senior executives of alleged breaches of employment contract
Mediated dispute involving allegations of sexual discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive wrongful termination
Mediated sexual harassment and discrimination case involving an employment agency
Mediated whistle blower claim involving alleged retaliation and wrongful discharge
Arbitrated employee termination matter involving sexual harassment and hostile work environment issues
Arbitrated wrongful termination case involving allegations of incompetence and insubordination
Mediated dozens of ERISA case
Energy
Practiced for many years handling litigation and regulatory matters for electric public utility, alternative energy providers and co-generators
Successfully mediated disputes in energy industry involving public utility matters, natural gas pricing disputes, cogeneration construction disputes, oil and gas environmental issues, and construction contracts
Handled disputes involving construction of a biogas facility
Mediated claims of breach of Power Purchase Agreement between a power company and a renewable power project developer
Entertainment and Sports
Arbitrated and mediated disputes between talent and agents, talent and advertisers, and production and distribution companies
Arbitrated and mediated disputes involving accounting for royalties and contractual payments
Mediated Title IX disputes in multiple sports including softball and gymnastics
Handled disputes between coaches and athletes
Mediated disputes involving exhibitors and venues for athletic events
Mediated claim by owner against trainer for misappropriation of proceeds from sale of horse
Mediated claim by athlete against trainer for accounting discrepancies
Equine Law
Successfully mediated disputes involving purchase/sale agreements and disputes involving show managers and exhibitors/vendors
Health Care
Contract and reimbursement disputes involving health care joint ventures
Arbitrated and mediated laboratory billing disputes
Arbitrated and mediated disputes between providers and insurers, Arbitrated dispute between a hospital and supplier of nuclear medicine equipment and technical assistance
Discovery Referee in qui tam whistle blower case involving drug prices charged to government health care programs
Mediation of False Claims Act cases involving produce sales to the Department of Defense
Mediation of False Claims Act cases involving surgical center and non-physician charges
Mediation of False Claims Act/qui tam case involving major defense contractor
Arbitration of dispute between purchaser and seller of dialysis practice
Arbitrated major reimbursement disputes between hospitals and health care plans and insurance companies involving issues of reasonable value, Medicare coverage, use of leased networks, stability determinations and alleged inappropriate coding
Arbitrated managed care disputes between payers and providers involving contract interpretation, risk sharing, insurance, reimbursement and administrative issues
Employment contract disputes between physicians and medical groups or between physicians and hospitals (including covenants not to compete)
Shareholder disputes with physician practices:
Mediated disputes between third party vendors, durable medical equipment providers and unauthorized distributors
Arbitrated accounting dispute over the dissolution of a medical group
Arbitrated and mediated Insurance carrier disputes with providers over coding, billing and claims payment
Arbitrated medical necessity disputes between hospital chains and health care plans
Arbitrated international contract dispute involving pharmaceutical company and joint venture partner for distribution
Arbitrated medical malpractice cases covering alleged improper prescribing of medication, improper use of restraints, failure to prevent drug-resistant infections, failure to diagnose cancer and numerous instances of failure to prevent medical condition from deteriorating
Mediated action challenging a public health citation against a skilled nursing facility for violations leading to a patient’s death
Arbitrated declaratory relief dispute between major health care providers regarding contract interpretation
Insurance
Arbitrated environmental coverage disputes, director and officer coverage, healthcare coverage, and professional liability coverage
Mediation of claims by an insurance company underwriting the business of third party administrator of extended warranty plans
Mediated disputes involving construction of residential buildings with underlying coverage issues related to alleged defects and/or negligence
Mediated cases involving alleged bad faith refusal to defend
Served as neutral to resolve dozens of coverage disputes between FEMA and policyholders arising out of Hurricane Sandy and damage to a variety of structures and whether the damage was covered under existing policies
Mediated and cases involving the sale of life insurance and retirement policies by a major insurer
Mediated claims against surety for failure to pay under construction performance bond
Mediated coverage claims arising out of a major environmental contamination in Southern California
Mediated disputes arising out applicability of directors and officers liability insurance and cyber breaches
Mediated claims related to allocation of defense costs among insurers in environmental cases
Intellectual Property
Mediated numerous trade secret theft cases arising out of misappropriated computer data, hiring away of corporate executives, joint ventures and corporate acquisitions
Mediated dispute involving voice recognition patented technology
Mediated patent dispute involving licensing of technology used in flat screen panels
Mediated copyright disputes involving music sampling
Mediated dispute involving biosimilar approval pathway impact of patent term
Mediated patent dispute involving trade association development of industry standards
Mediated dispute involving patentability of biological invention using established scientific processes
Mediated dispute involving patent infringement/invalidity of traffic control technology
Mediated patent infringement dispute between two online game developers
Mediated dispute involving patentability of diagnostic method of treatment patent
Arbitrated joint venture dispute involving the development and marketing of a point-of-care screening test
Arbitrated dispute between manufacturer and distributor over shoe line designs (included copyright issues and contract issues)
Arbitrated marketing dispute involving off-label use of patented drug
Arbitrated contract dispute involving pharmaceutical supply chain performance issues, including patent issues
Arbitrated dissolution and post-dissolution trademark and contractual claims among members of professional partnership
Mediated product-hopping dispute involving antitrust and patent issues between patentee and generic drug manufacturer
Mediated case involving software piracy claims
Professional Liability
Arbitrated and mediated legal, accounting and medical malpractice claims
Mediated legal malpractice cases regarding alleged conflicts of interest and multiple representations
Real Property
Mediated case involving damage to real property, negligence, and insurance issues
Arbitrated breach of contract case brought by a land owner and developer against major retail company
Mediated cases involving environmental cleanup liability, contractual indemnification, and real property leasing issues
Mediated dispute between hotel developer and owner arising out of political unrest in the affected country
Mediated actions alleging involving enforcement of CC&Rs by homeowners’ association
Arbitrated and mediated real property purchase/sale agreements, and landlord/tenant disputes
Special Master/Discovery Referee
Served as court-appointed discovery referee and special master in cases involving electronically stored information (ESI), corporate dissolutions, partnership dissolutions and division of assets, contract disputes, employment discrimination, civil rights, and professional liability
