Description:

The Hon. Richard Flier and Rachel Ehrlich will lead a roundtable discussion of the mediator’s role and best practices in documenting an enforceable mediated agreement.

Discussion Leaders:

Hon. Richard Flier (Ret.) has settled or conducted trials dealing with the full spectrum of legal issues and factual settings during his eleven years as a Neutral with ADR Services, Inc. and his twenty years as a Superior Court Judge. Recognized as a patient, courteous and perceptive judge who has a tremendous capacity to quickly grasp issues, he is very effective in guiding parties toward resolution. He has presented programs dealing with mediation, arbitration and other ADR issues for the State Bar, Local Bar Associations and Golden Gate University.

Prior to his election to the Superior Court in Contra Costa County in 1984 (Re-elected 1990, 1996 and 2002) he served as a trial attorney with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office for over a decade and was a Hearing Examiner for the State Office of Administrative Hearings straight out of law school.

He graduated from UC Hastings College of the Law (J.D. 1971) and the University of California, Berkeley (B.A. 1967)

Judge Flier is a member of several professional and social organizations including California Judges’ Association, California Bar Association, ABTL, IABA, CBBBA, UC-Hastings Contra Costa and the Rotary Club of Pleasant Hill, to mention a few.

He and his wife live in Lafayette where they have raised four children and are eagerly awaiting the birth of their sixth grand child in September.

Rachel Ehrlich is a nationally recognized mediator specializing in complex civil disputes. She mediates litigated and non-litigated matters in the following areas: insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, construction defect, environmental, civil rights, real estate including landlord-tenant, and personal injury including catastrophic injuries.

She has successfully mediated disputes in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Oregon, Washington, London, and other jurisdictions. Prior to becoming a full-time neutral, she spent 20 years gaining an invaluable understanding of civil disputes and the insurance industry as a casualty and coverage attorney, insurance claims person, underwriter, and insurance executive.

Rachel is also a mediator for several court programs including the Federal District of Northern California. She is on the board of The Mediation Society and is active with the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, currently serving in the Claims College as Dean of the Claims Mediation School and on the Executive Council for the Construction School. She regularly presents and publishes on mediation of insurance coverage, bad faith, and construction disputes, mediation confidentiality, and ethics to a variety of audiences.