Crafting Effective Mediation Briefs: Strategies for a Successful Mediation

Judge House retired in 2018 after 22 years on the Los Angeles Superior Court, where she presided over countless jury and court trials in the Civil and Probate departments. With experience serving as the Supervising Judge of the Northeast and North Central districts, Hub Operations and Assistant Supervising Judge of Civil countywide, Judge House brings a unique and in-depth understanding of all aspects of civil case processing and case values. She is touted for her calm demeanor and unbending graciousness to all that appeared in front of her, as well as her extraordinary and relentless, common-sense approach to settling cases.

For over 36 years, Judge Tarle served as a Municipal Court and Superior Court Commissioner, as well as a Superior Court Judge in Los Angeles County. Since 2004, Judge Tarle presided over civil direct calendar and trial courts in the West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica Courthouses. During this time, he handled hundreds of jury and bench trials involving personal injury, professional malpractice both medical and legal, breach of contract, real property, warranty of habitability, and landlord/tenant cases. In addition to his civil assignments, he also sat in criminal courts for half his career, presiding over nearly every type of criminal case imaginable, from drug possession to murder. Many of these cases, such as sexual assault in schools, assault and murder by government employees, and DUI collisions, have had their counterparts in civil lawsuits.

Tigran Palyan, founding partner of Storm Palyan LLP and Certified Family Law Specialist, practices exclusively in family law. He graduated cum laude from UC San Diego and Southwestern Law School, later clerking for the Ninth Circuit and serving as a research attorney for family law departments at the Stanley Mosk Court. Before founding Storm Palyan LLP, he led Palyan Law APC and worked at Trope and Trope LLP. A published author and adjunct professor at Southwestern Law, Tigran was named a top family law attorney by the Daily Journal and is a “Super Lawyer.” He serves as Vice-Chair of LACBA’s Family Law Section and on boards for the Armenian Bar Association and LevittQuinn.

Hon. Susan Lopez-Giss (Ret.) joined ADR Services, Inc. in 2022 after 15 years of distinguished service as a Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court.

After graduating from Loyola Law School, Judge Lopez-Giss joined the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, where she served 30 years as a prosecutor and later Assistant City Attorney. She developed a groundbreaking domestic violence prosecution program that was implemented statewide, only one of such programs in the country at the time. She was instrumental in drafting a domestic violence prosecution manual, filing guidelines, and restraining order statutes, and helped train law enforcement and medical personnel across the country. Judge Lopez-Giss developed guidelines for the handling of child abuse and child sexual abuse and served on interagency councils that addressed child abuse and neglect that included training for mandatory reporting. She also reviewed and personally oversaw the prosecution of hundreds of such cases. For her pioneering work developing these programs, Judge Lopez-Giss was presented with a Resolution by the Mayor and the Los Angeles City Council.