Barbara A. Reeves, Esq., CEDS

Barbara A. Reeves, Esq. has been a full-time mediator and arbitrator since January 2006. She is a quick study, prepared, personable, creative, and flexible.

Before becoming a full-time neutral, Barbara Reeves had an extensive and varied litigation practice, clerking with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, as an attorney with the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, then a partner at national law firms, and finally Associate General Counsel and Vice President for Southern California Edison and Edison International with responsibility for litigation and regulatory matters, as well as Procurement/Supply Chain, Real Estate and Transportation. 

Ms. Reeves applies a flexible approach to mediating disputes, ranging from facilitative to evaluative, depending on the nature of the case and the needs and wishes of the parties. She carefully reviews all materials and speaks with the parties' counsel in advance of in-person sessions to understand the interests of each party. She is strong, good at listening and reading people, and a tenacious closer. She quickly establishes rapport with parties and counsel and enables them to recognize their legal risks. She connects and communicates with clients emotionally involved with their positions and works to find mutually acceptable solutions. She is adept at working with parties to craft practical and commercially advantageous solutions to disputes at any stage. As a former corporate counsel and litigator, she is also able to establish the trust and confidence of both in-house lawyers and litigation counsel.

As an arbitrator, Ms. Reeves is known to be fair, practical, and not afraid to make tough decisions. She is also methodical in her preparation for arbitrations, and closely manages her cases to ensure that the parties obtain the benefits of arbitration while obtaining access to the information needed to prosecute or defend their case. She encourages combining other ADR techniques with the arbitration process to conserve time and resources. Ms. Reeves carefully analyzes parties' briefs and cited authorities, gives parties ample time to present oral argument on motions, and writes rulings and awards that explain her factual findings and legal analysis. 

Barbara Reeves is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the College of Commercial Arbitrators (Vice President 2021), an arbitrator on the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a certified mediator with the International Mediation Institute. She is also a certified e-discovery specialist. She received her J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School.

ADR Experience

Representative Matters

Representative Matters Handled through Arbitration, Mediation and Special Master Assignments

Antitrust

• International dispute between competitors involving standard essential patents (SEP) and FRAND licensing and allegations of Sherman Act violations
• Refusal to license and discriminatory licensing disputes between and among industry members in standard setting organizations
• Indirect purchaser class actions involving computer components, pharmaceuticals, life insurance and telecommunications industries
• Civil damages actions arising from international cartels and price fixing distribution arrangements
• Disputes involving joint ventures in the healthcare industry
• Served as court-appointed master for discovery and settlement issues in patent/antitrust case in the pharmaceutical industry
• Sherman Act, state antitrust issues in the healthcare and bio tech industries, including tying and abuse of patent positions
• Agreements between and among industry members regarding covenants not to compete and “no poach” agreements.

Business/Commercial

• Broad range of commercial disputes including procurement and supply chain disputes involving distribution to supply, labor shortages, and impact of local regulations on supply contracts, fraud, commercial code issues, and warranties. 
• Partnership and corporate governance disputes involving professional business, legal and medical corporations and partnerships, and valuation of the businesses
• Disputes involving investment fraud, investment advisors and breach of contract
• Disputes involving a failed partnership involving a large commercial property development
• Disputes arising out of mergers and acquisitions, fraud, corporate disclosure issues, franchising, accounting disputes, and partnership dissolution, including professional corporations and partnerships
• Partnerships and joint ventures disputes involving payments and ownership, removal of general partner, fiduciary duties, accounting, mismanagement and misappropriation 

Intellectual Property

• International and domestic technology licensing disputes in the fields of artificial intelligence, telecommunications, media and tech, patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and R&D.
• Numerous trade secret theft cases arising out of misappropriated computer data, hiring away of corporate executives, joint ventures and corporate acquisitions
• Patent and technology disputes involving a wide variety of industries and fields, including voice recognition patented technology, licensing of technology used in flat screen panels, SEP and FRAND licensing in several industries, biosimilars, traffic control technology, diagnostic treatment methods, GPS applications, development and marketing of a point-of-care screening test
• Copyright disputes involving music sampling, screen play submissions, fashion design, and original art works
• Contract disputes involving pharmaceutical supply chain performance issues, including patent issues
• Trade secrets disputes involving alleged theft of technology, strategic plans, confidential information, and customer information of former employees in industries including entertainment, autonomous vehicles, cloud computing, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, electrical equipment, computer chips, sports agency, performance supplements and cannabis
• Disputes involving software piracy claims

Corporate Mergers, Acquisitions, Dissolutions, Shareholder Disputes

• Post-acquisition disputes regarding reps and warranties, post-closing adjustments, and earn-outs entitlement.
• Violation of non-compete agreements
• Asset valuation disputes 
• Fraud claims 

Securities

• Disputes involving fraudulent claims
• Customer/broker/investment adviser disputes, including breach of fiduciary duties and violations of Investment Adviser Act and regulations
• Private placements disputes
• '34 Act class action claims in retail and financial industries
• Securities class action against directors and officers and outside auditor of financial institution
• Breach of fiduciary duty claims alleging flawed processes, fraud or fairness of merger transactions
• Claims arising out of leveraged buy-out
• Disputes arising out of post-closing adjustment claims

Class Actions

• Mediated class actions involving consumer fraud, antitrust, health insurance, wage and hour, and employment discrimination issues
• 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
• Served as special master allocating funds among claimants to a government fund, REITs, gig employee companies, and consumer class action settlements.

Construction and Engineering

• Construction disputes involving large residential developments with environmental issues
• Engineering dispute involving the construction of highway bridges
• International cases involving construction of wind turbines for generating units
• Mediator in dispute arising out of the construction of natural gas pipelines and owners of rights of way
• Special master to resolve allocation of payments among subcontractors in a highway construction project
• Dispute by contractors against a public entity arising out of a tunneling operation that encountered unexpected conditions and weather problems
• Claims between a public entity and contractor and insurance companies involving nuclear power plant
• Disputes arising out of qualified facility power plant construction

Consumer

• Mediated disputes involving violations of state and federal consumer protection acts, including unauthorized collection and use of a consumer's personal information, Unfair Competition Law, false advertising, and TCPA

E-Discovery

• Court-appointed discovery referee for predictive coding process and protocol for e-discovery disputes in various matters, most often involving competition issues and trade secret disputes

Professional Liability

• Legal, accounting and medical malpractice claims
• Legal malpractice cases regarding alleged conflicts of interest and multiple representations
• Matters involving breach of fiduciary duty by financial advisers, legal advisers, and talent agents

Employment

• More than 100 matters involving employee termination, disability discrimination, whistle blower claims, retaliation, wage and hour disputes, sexual harassment, and labor code violations, including wage and hour class actions
• Union contract disputes
• Disputes arising out of alleged employee theft of trade secrets
• Claims by senior executives of alleged breaches of employment contract
• Disputes involving allegations of sexual discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive wrongful termination
• Sexual harassment and discrimination cases involving #MeToo allegations
• Whistle blower claims based upon retaliation and wrongful discharge
• Matters involving sexual harassment and hostile work environment issues, including #MeToo claims
• Wrongful termination cases involving allegations of incompetence and insubordination
• ERISA cases

Energy

• Practiced for many years handling litigation and regulatory matters for electric public utility, alternative energy providers and co-generators
• Disputes in energy industry involving public utility matters, natural gas pricing disputes, cogeneration construction disputes, oil and gas environmental issues, and construction contracts
• Disputes involving construction of a biogas facility and a wind farm
• Claims of breach of Power Purchase Agreement between a power company and a renewable power project developer

Entertainment and Sports

• Serve as an arbitrator on the Court of Arbitrations for Sports (CAS), handling a range of cases including cases involving sports federation governance, doping and interpretation of rules, Olympic qualification disputes, involving equestrian,  track and field, ice skating, swimming, and weightlifting
• Disputes involving accounting for royalties and contractual payments arising out of television syndications
• Trade secret and employment disputes between studios, new media, and streaming platforms
• Dispute between and among artists, agents and art publisher
• Dispute between e-sports team and sponsor
• International dispute between movie producer in U.S. and distributer in China
• Disputes involving international investment in movie production and related international tax credits
• Dispute between sports agents and promoters in the United States
• Dispute involving investment by well-known athletic brand in launching products in South America
• Mediated disputes between celebrities involving #MeToo allegations
• Disputes involving post-production services for an international series of television broadcast episodes
• Disputes between talent and agents, talent and advertisers, and production and distribution companies
• Employment disputes involving employees, on the one hand, and studios, productions companies, and new media, on the other hand
• Arbitration between music festival producers involving co-promotion agreement
• Numerous arbitraitons and mediations involving insurance coverage issues arising in the entertainment field
• Serves as an arbitrator handling cases in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), including cases involving sports federation governance, doping and interpretation of rules, including equestrian and track and field, ice skating, and swimming
• Serves as an arbitrator in numerous SafeSport cases, including the sports of equestrian, weightlifting, track and field, sailing, water skiing, and gymnastics
• Disputes involving exhibitors and venues for athletic events
• Title IX disputes involving sexual misconduct at universities

Equine Law

• Disputes involving purchase/sale agreements and disputes involving show managers and exhibitors/vendors
• Cases before CAS involving federation governance, rule violations and doping
• Claim by owner against an equestrian trainer for misappropriation of proceeds from sale of an elite level show jumper (horse)

• Served as a mediator in several qui tam cases involving parallel civil and criminal proceedings against government contractors in diverse industries, including health care, aerospace, and food and beverage concessions
• Mediated False Claims Act cases involving health care

Health Care

• Pharmaceutical disputes involving product development, royalties, distribution, marketing, pricing, rebates, manufacture, delivery, licensing, joint ventures, and experimental/investigational treatments.
• Life sciences disputes involving intellectual property and licensing
• Major reimbursement disputes between hospitals and health care plans and insurance companies involving issues of reasonable value, Medicare coverage, managed care, use of leased networks, stability determinations and alleged inappropriate coding, risk sharing, and administrative issues
• Employment dispute in medical groups and hospitals arising out of whistle blower complaints
• Disputes relating to Mental Health Parity Act
• Disputes preemption issues between state law causes of action and ERISA
• Disputes over experimental/investigational disputes where plaintiff contended the drugs or devices had not been determined and effective
• Numerous contract and reimbursement disputes between providers, insurers and health plans
• Disputes arising out of private equity buyouts of health care systems
• Disputes over ancillary services, including laboratory billing disputes
• Disputes involving health care joint ventures
• Dispute between a hospital and supplier of nuclear medicine equipment and technical assitance
• Discovery Referee in qui tam whistle blower case involving drug prices charged to government health care programs
• Benefits disputes regarding health plans and insurers with insureds/members
• False Claims Act cases involving surgical center and non-physician charges
• Dispute between purchaser and seller of dialysis practice
• Employment contract disputes between physicians and medical groups or between physicians and hospitals (including covenants not to compete)
• Shareholder disputes within physician practices
• Disputes between third party vendors, durable medical equipment providers and unauthorized distributors
• Accounting dispute over the dissolution of a medical group
• International contract dispute involving pharmaceutical company and joint venture partner for distribution
• Dispute involving non-contracted providers alleged to have engaged in practices to induce insureds to treat out of network
• 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
• Action challenging a public health citation against a skilled nursing facility for violations leading to a patient's death
• Declaratory relief dispute between major health care providers regarding contract interpretation
• Employment dispute in medical groups and hospitals arising out of whistle blower complaints
• Disputes arising out of private equity buyouts of health care systems
• Discovery Referee in qui tam whistle blower case involving drug prices charged to government health care programs

Insurance

• Disputes involving complex coverage matters including professional liability, specialty lines, D&O and EPLI; environmental; advertising; personal injury; product liability, including asbestos and chemical exposures; and construction defect cases
• Claims of bad faith and improper claims handling
• Applicability of directors and officers liability insurance and cyber breaches to allocation of defense costs among insurers in environmental cases

Life Sciences

• Contract disputes between and among biotech companies and drug manufacturers over failure to use proper marketing efforts
• Disputes between biotech company and drug manufacturer over wrongful termination of development agreement
• Supply chain disruption disputes and termination of long-term supply agreement
• Dispute arising out of premature termination of clinical trial between members of a joint venture
• Dispute between development and distribution rights and obligations
• Post-acquisition dispute over failure to achieve sales and revenue targets 
• Valuation of ownership interests in joint venture
• Securities violations, including fraud class actions

Real Property

• Case involving damage to real property, negligence, and insurance issues
• Breach of contract case brought by a landowner and developer against major retail company
• Cases involving environmental cleanup liability, contractual indemnifications, and real property leasing issues
• Dispute between hotel developer and owner arising out of political unrest in the affected country
• Dispute among owners of commerical property over whether and when to sell 
• Actions alleging involving enforcement of CC&Rs by homeowners' association
• 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

• Trade secrets disputes involving alleged theft of technology, strategic plans, confidential information, and customer information of former employees in industries including entertainment, autonomous vehicles, cloud computing, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, electrical equipment, computer chips, sports agency, performance supplements and cannabis
• Trade secret dispute between Chinese and US former business partners in the athletic equipment business
• Misappropriation of trade secrets case involving aspects of self-driving vehicles
• International misappropriation of trade secrets dispute between long-standing supplier-distributor involving the high-tech security business
• Theft of trade secret cases in the entertainment industry and fashion industry
• Served as special master and court-appointed discovery referee in cases alleging theft of trade secrets in industries ranging from high tech to electrical equipment to entertainment