OPTIMAL SOLUTIONS IN PERSON OR ACROSS THE GLOBE
We can mediate in person, over the phone, or through the Internet to connect people who do not want to meet in person. We help parties with multiple issues come up with mutually beneficial solutions. No settlement or verdict has to be final. When settlements or verdicts have already been determined, we will get you a better settlement or our services are FREE.
FOUNDER OF MEDIATOR.LA
Honorable Keith Schulner, as a trial attorney, worked for plaintiffs and defendants and tried cases before juries and judges. He received worldwide recognition for his leadership role in a multimillion-dollar dispute that was successfully mediated. He has appeared in the media including CNN, NBC, Dutch Television, The Los Angeles Times, Money Magazine and The Wall Street Journal.
He realized his greatest talents were helping people to understand when it was in their best interest to settle and how to structure a settlement for maximum benefit. He knew that mediation would be the best use of these talents. To better help people with disputes and complicated financial or business problems, he earned a merit scholarship and was the first attorney to graduate with a Pepperdine Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Dispute Resolution (MDR). He taught Business Negotiation and the Resolution of Conflict to graduate students at Pepperdine University, which tied Harvard for having the best Dispute Resolution program in our nation.
He has facilitated settlements as a Judge Pro Tem and Mediator in California�s Superior Courts. He has served as an arbitrator for the California Bar and Superior Court, lectured about dispute resolution at the University of California Santa Barbara and appeared in Marquis� prestigious Who�s Who in America. Currently he is on the Dispute Settlement Board for Ford Motors.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
No one can negotiate, mediate, communicate, solve problems, and find opportunities for mutual gain better than Keith Schulner. With his experience as a businessperson, entrepreneur, manager and attorney, combined with his MBA and MDR, he can expertly bridge the gap between lawyers, business and financial professionals, customers, suppliers and others.
AT FEES YOU CAN AFFORD
We can save you far more than the cost of our services. Our mediations usually end up in settlements with only a small fraction of the time and expense of litigation and trial. Ask about discounts for longer engagements, guaranteed hours, prepayment, fee matching, or on an ability to pay basis.
WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING?
I want to personally thank you for your great work!
BRAD LUSTER, Managing Partner, Major Properties
Keith is particularly skilled because of his depth as an MBA and an MDR and his experience as a Lawyer. Because of Keith�s depth, he has been able to handle complex issues that require years of skill and training. He has demonstrated an ability to help parties communicate better, analyze risks, and explore options for their mutual satisfaction. In the last thirty years at UCSB, I have not seen anyone with Keith�s breadth and depth in being prepared for the hard and complex cases.
GEOFFREY WALLACE PhD, UC, Santa Barbara Ombudsman
I give my highest recommendation to Keith A. Schulner. Mr. Schulner conducts himself with the utmost professionalism. He always prepares thoroughly and speaks articulately; his comments are always carefully thought out. In addition, Mr. Schulner has keen business and analytical skills.
REVEREND YOLANDA SOTO, JD, Law offices of Ricardo A. Torres II
Thank you for your efforts on the Simpson v. Pierce matter [settled]. We truly appreciated all that you did and I found you to be an excellent mediator. Many mediators do nothing but try to make you uncomfortable with your case by attacking either the attorney, the facts or the law to try to force a settlement. Your services were truly unique in that you were very courteous and respectful to both the parties and counsel and you helped us arrive at a solution without suffering abuse and battery.
Most of all, at least on our side, we had total confidence and trust in what we could tell you and how you would approach the mediation. You are well suited for being a mediator in both approach and personality. I wish you the best of luck. I truly mean this, I was truly surprised. I did not expect you to be as good a mediator as you were. No offense, it is just that I know you do not have a full head of gray hair.
J. GRANT KENNEDY, Law Office of J. Grant Kennedy
I was very impressed with Mr. Schulner�s outstanding mediation skills and his ability to focus all parties on the issues at hand. His experience was evident during our negotiation discussions. Mr. Schulner was able to persuade both the plaintiff attorney and his client to settle this matter in the interest of all parties. Mr. Schulner is an excellent mediator.
BONNIE JACOBS, Claims Specialist, The Doctors� Company
I wanted to thank you for your most diplomatic handling of an antagonistic situation. You provided a quiet, peaceful, smoke-free, informal setting that was conducive to the exchange of information. You explained everything in a way that a non-legal person like me could understand, yet without �talking down� to me. You maintained your composure throughout. You maintained eye contact as well and did not react emotionally to anything I said. I had the impression that you were listening carefully to our point of view and that you gave the same consideration to the other side with no previous bias. Do I have any suggestions that would make you a better mediator? No, none.
ESTHER NELSON, Professor, Cal State University Northridge
PARTIAL CLIENT LIST
As a professional neutral, Keith has helped many settle their cases in a variety of issues included the below organizations:
A.S. Gillespie & Associates
AAA / Automobile Club Insurance
Allan K. Cutler, Attorney at Law
Allstate Insurance Company
Beach, Procter, McCarthy & Slaughter
Bonne Bridges Mueller O'Keefe & Nichols
Bragg, Short, Serota & Kuluva
Carroll, Kelly, Trotter, Franzen & Mckenna
Catholic Healthcare West
Charlie's Fixtures
Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
CHW Risk Services
Cline & Associates
Cunningham & Lindsey
Early, Maslach, Rudnicki & Rossnagel
Explorer Insurance Company
Farmers Insurance
Gilbert, Kellly, Crowley & Jennett
Girardi and Keese
Hacker, Kanowsky & Braly, LLP
HCN Realty
Hornberger & Brewer, Attorneys at Law
Jack L Mattingly, APC
Keating & Keating
Klein, Testan & Brundo
Kuzyk Law
Law Office of Robert J. Waechter
Law Offices of Amante A. Pimentel
Law Offices of Brian S. Weinberger
Law Offices of Brownwood & Rice
Law Offices of Chapman, Gluckman & Dean
Law Offices of Craig A. Humphrey Esq.
Law Offices of Douglas J. Schiffer
Law Offices of Eugene Egan
Law Offices of Hausman & Sosa, LLP
Law offices of Hawkins, Schnabel, Lindahl & Beck
Law Offices of Isaac Nalive
Law Offices of J. Grant Kennedy
Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Reichman
Law Offices of Knapp, Marsh, Jones & Doran
Law Offices of Larry A. Rothstein
Law Offices of Lawrence W. Scott, MD & Associates
Law offices of L. M. Schulner & Associates
Law Offices of Marsha Munemura
Law Offices of Mohammad Nadim
Law Offices of Neil F. Schwartz
Law Offices of Nolan B. Henderson
Law Offices of Peter R. diDonato
Law Offices of Rex Parris
Law Offices of Richardson, Bambrick, Cermak & Fair
Law Offices of Robert B. Treister
Law Offices of Tabone A Professional Corporation
Law Offices of Zimmerman & Kahanowitch,
Lewis, D'Amato, Brisbois, & Bisgaard, LLP
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Los Angeles City
Los Angeles County
Lowthorp, Richards, McMillan, Conway & Templeman
Major Properties
Manning & Marder, Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez
Mercury Insurance
Michael S. Mischel & Associates
O'Connor & Martin
Osborn & Associates
Paul and Janofsky
Pacific Employers Insurance Company
Pacific First
Progressive Insurance
Prudential Property and Casualty Insurance Company
RE/MAX
Robert A Lisnow A Prof. Corp
Rosen and Loeb
Royal Specialty Underwriting Inc., (RSUI)
SAFECO Insurance
SBC Pacific Bell
Schaffer, Lax, McNaughton & Chen
Shane & Digiuseppe
Spray, Gould & Bowers
Stone, Rosenblatt & Cha
The Doctors' Company
Travelers Property Casualty, A member of Citigroup
Wood & Bender
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Judge
California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, Oxnard Office of Appeals, CA 2004 - Present
Hear and rule on cases as a permanent full time administrative law judge for the board which hears cases involving unemployment, disability and state tax issues.
Principal Mediator, Arbitrator, Consultant
Mediator.LA, Oak Park, CA 1997 - Present
Settled hundreds of cases saving participants millions of dollars in litigation costs by mediating or arbitrating business or personal disputes, especially those with complicated financial matters; advise clients regarding business, financial, conflict resolution, negotiation and communication matters; speak about negotiation and conflict resolution subjects; approved mediator for NASD Securities Exchange and Federal Bankruptcy Court--specializing in bankruptcy preference matters. Act as Judge Pro Tem for Superior Court saving the government thousands of dollars in trial costs sitting as Judge for Mandatory Settlement Conferences for Presiding Judges. Act as General Counsel. Handled every aspect of forming and running a new, profitable, business including creating, negotiating and writing up contracts for strategic partnership formation; planned and executed marketing strategy; created web pages; formed spread sheets and data processing files to track financial and client information; prepared and filed tax returns; mediated, litigated, arbitrated, and consulted for personal, family and business disputes.
Real Estate Broker Agent 2003 - 2004
zipRealty, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, CA
Help people buy and sell Real Estate. California Real Estate Broker License; Member of the National Association of Realtors; Southland Regional Association of Realtors; California Association of Realtors. Top Producer � San Fernando Valley, January 2004.
Centers Business Management (CBM), Los Angeles County, CA 2003
Trained to help clients with their commercial Real Estate needs
Arbitrator 2000 - Present
Dispute Settlement Board, Los Angeles County, CA
Arbitrated hundreds of disputes
National Arbitration Forum Panel Member, CA
Act as a professional neutral to resolve disputes
National Center for Dispute Settlement (NCDS)
Arbitrate cases including warranty for automobiles and homes (construction defect etc.).
California Dispute Settlement Program (CDSP)
Arbitrate warranty issues for automobiles (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act / Lemon Law)
Dispute Settlement Board, Los Angeles County, CA
Arbitrated hundreds of disputes
National Arbitration Forum Panel Member, CA
Act as a professional neutral to resolve disputes
Adjunct Professor / Lecturer / Instructor / Practitioner Faculty 2000 - Present
Abraham Lincoln University Law School, Los Angeles, CA
Taught Property Law to law students who cumulatively paid over $1000/hour to attend my class and told me I am a good professor.
Pepperdine University, Encino, CA
Teach Business Negotiation and Conflict Resolution to graduate students, who cumulatively pay the university over $5,000/day to attend my class.
University of California Santa Barbara
Lectured and led class discussion regarding conflict resolution to students who enjoyed and learned from class.
University of Phoenix, Woodland Hills, CA
Teach Conflict Resolution, Negotiation, Business and Law Classes to working MBA students.
Concord Law School, Los Angeles, CA
Instructor for Contracts, Torts, and Criminal Procedure
Managing Trial Attorney
L. M. Schulner & Associates, Camarillo, CA 1992 - 1999
Managed every phase of litigation from initial client interviews to jury and court trials including negotiating settlements; acted as Plaintiff, Defense and Cumis counsel; work has included breaches of contracts, crimes, torts, insurance coverage and claims; acted as liaison counsel, successfully representing over 50 plaintiffs in a multimillion dollar settlement of high profile cases; addressed questions worldwide on camera and in print for television, newspaper and magazine reporters; increased profits over fourfold during my management
EDUCATION / EXPERIENCE
M.D.R., Pepperdine Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution 2000
GPA 87 (90 = A, 87 = A-)
M.B.A., Pepperdine University, Malibu, 2000
GPA 3.8 GMAT 770/800 (730 is top 1% for combined Verbal and Quantitative Skills); Earned full merit based scholarship at the internationally recognized MBA program; worked with Dean Goodrich and Dr. Lowry to create a program combining an M.B.A. with a Masters in Dispute Resolution; I was the first such graduate from Straus, which tied Harvard as having the best Dispute Resolution Program in the United States; Externships with California Academy of Mediation Professionals and UCSB Ombuds Office
J.D., Loyola Law School Los Angeles and Admitted to California State Bar 1992
Bar number 162937; Dean�s List; Competed in Moot Court Acted as a General Relief Advocate for Public Counsel Homeless, Advocacy Project, Externships with Los Angeles County Public Defender, Burbank City Attorney�s Office, Protection & Advocacy (non-profit organization helping physically and mentally disabled people), and the Los Angeles City Attorney�s Office
B.A., University of California Los Angeles, Economics / Business Management 1989
Dean�s Honor Role; Ombuds Mediation Program Graduate; SPE Fraternity: Founder, Executive Board Member, Social Chair, Most Accomplished Active; UCLA Crew Team member; Martial Artist (I am a black belt); Pre-Law Society Treasurer and President
POST COLLEGE / COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Mentor for Loyola Law Students; Moot Court Judge; Singles Committee Member, Group Facilitator, Organizer and Leader for Federation Council; Fulfillment Fund Mentor and Committee Chair; Men�s Club President; Jerome H. Berenson Inn�s of Court Associate; Judge and advisor for Camarillo High School in Mock Trial Competition; Camarillo Chamber of Commerce Diplomat, Legislative Committee Member and chosen for Executive Board; Capri II Home Owners� Association Treasurer, Member at Large, Vice President and President; Gold Coast Bruins President; Ventura County Bruins President; Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution; Association for Conflict Resolution, State Bar Arbitrator, Disability Mediation Center; Mentor of Los Angeles Superior Court (LASC) ADR program; UCLA training to lobby politicians
