Professional Experience
United States Magistrate Judge, United States District Court, Western District of Texas (part-time) (1981-1989)
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Conducted evidentiary hearings and handled requests for injunctive relief.
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Presided over civil pre-trial hearings for actions that covered personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, contract law, education law, labor law, employment law, and securities-related litigation.
Attorney/Arbitrator/Mediator
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Since 1989 has mediated and arbitrated over 2000 disputes, valued at $2.5 billion.
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Primary emphasis is on complex, multi-party cases.
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Extensive mediation experience in areas of banking, business, commercial, construction, corporate, employment, fraud, insurance, malpractice, municipalities, partnership, personal injury, real estate, and securities litigation.
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Mediator/Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the National Arbitration Foundation (NAF), and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR).
Professorship
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Adjunct Professor, St. Mary’s University School of Law (1998-Present)
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Visiting Professor, Pepperdine University School of Law (2007)
Primary Practice Areas
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Twenty-five years of ADR experience in commercial contracts, partnership agreements, corporate acquisitions and dissolutions, dealership relationships, securities, insurance, and employment disputes.
Selected Honors, Awards, Publications
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Honors/Awards: ABA Judicial Division (2015-Present); ABA Standing Committee on Public Education (2014–Present); Martindale-Hubbell peer-rated AV Preeminent; Named “Texas Super Lawyer” by Texas Monthly (2004 –2013), peer-nominated, Texas Super Lawyers represent the state’s top 5% of attorneys determined by a statewide panel and ballot review; Named one of “San Antonio’s Best Lawyers” Scene in SA Magazine (2006); Listed in first and seventh editions of Who’s Who in American Law; Presidential Citation (1989 & 1995); Tex. Commission for Lawyer Discipline (1998-2004); Texas Bar Foundation: 50 Year Outstanding Lawyer Award (2018); San Antonio Business Journal: 2018 Outstanding Lawyer and Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Publications: "Continuing Efforts for World Peace in Asia and North Korea: Current Events Affecting the Effort with Asia and North Korea" (SA LAWYER MAGAZINE, 2020); "The Path to Maintaining/Promoting Institutional Justice, Stability, and Rule of Law" (Speech at International Court of Justice in Hague, 2017); "Bridge Over Troubled Water: Resolving the Rio Bravo/Rio Grande Water Dispute“ (St. Mary's Law Journal, Spring 2016); "It’s a Small World After All: Why it is so Important for Texans to Understand the ICJ” (Tex. Bar Journal, April 2014); “Whaling in Antarctica: A Landmark Case for the World Court” (Social Education Magazine, 2014) (international); “Attorney Disciplinary Procedure in Texas: Competing Interests and Philosophies 1988-2004” (St. Mary’s Law Journal, 2005); “ADR Personalities and Practice Tips” (American Bar Association, Section of Dispute Resolution, 1998); “Alternative Dispute Resolution of International Private Commercial Disputes Under NAFTA” (Tex. Bar Journal); “Civil RICO: Overview on the eve of the 200th Anniversary of the Federal Judiciary” (St. Mary’s Law Journal, 1989); “Civil Procedure in Federal Courts” (Texas Practice Guide, 1985); “Mediation, dispute resolution programs are key assets” (San Antonio Express-News, Nov. 17, 2014).
Education
Bachelor of the Arts; Doctor of Jurisprudence
The University of Texas, Austin, Texas
Negotiation and Leadership Course (post-graduate)
Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Negotiations Course (post-graduate)
Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania