Education
University of Nevada (BS, Mining Engineering, four year honors)
Harvard Law School (JD, cum laude)
Bar Admissions
California
Nevada
All U.S. District Courts in California and Nevada
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Ninth and Federal Circuits
U.S. Supreme Court
Employment
Full time Arbitrator and Mediator, 2012-present
ADR Neutral for over 40 years
Partner/Senior Counsel, Sidley Austin LLP, 2003-2012
Partner/Founder, Skjerven Morrill MacPherson LLP, 1976-2003
Adjunct Professor, Golden Gate University Law School, 2001-13
Law Clerk to Judge William E. Orr, United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Professional Associations
State Bars of California and Nevada
Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) since 1976, member of the AAA Large Complex Case and Technology Panels
Arbitrator for the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution ("CPR") since 2005, member of the CPR Technology, Cross-Border and San Francisco Panels
Arbitrator, Mediator and Early Neutral Evaluator for the United States District Court, Northern District of California since 1988
Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center ("SVAMC") - Co-founder and listed on its "Tech List" of the World’s Leading Technology Neutrals
Certified Mediator of the International Mediation Institute ("IMI")
Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (“CIArb”)
Training
I have had extensive training as an arbitrator since I began acting as a neutral. Recent training includes:
AAA: Red Flags & Risk Areas: Challenges to Arbitrator Authority, 2017
ICC: The Conduct of Proceedings and Case Management – the Arbitrator’s Perspective, 2017
CIArb: Arbitrating Patent Disputes: Innovative Approaches and New Concerns, 2017
AAA Roundtables 2014-2017: Mediation Legal Updates; Arbitration Panels; Substance Abuse and the Twinkie Defense in ADR; Arbitrator Use and Misuse of Experts; Arbitration and Mediation New Case Updates, etc
AAA: It’s Not Just “ Litigation Lite” – Making Rulings on Evidentiary Objections, 2015
AAA: Dispositive Motions in Arbitration, 2015
AAA: Damages for Neutrals, 2015
AAA: Decision Making Skills for Arbitrators, 2014
AAA: Dealing With The Pro Se Party, 2014
Bar Association of San Francisco: Significant Arbitration Cases in 2013
AAA: What's a Respondent Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Confronting Arbitrability and Jurisdiction Issues in Arbitration, 2013
Berkeley Journal of International Law, Advancing Arbitration: An Examination of Modern Trends in International Arbitration, 2010
ICC: East Meets West: Evolving Issues in International Arbitration in the Asia-Pacific Region, 2010
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Effectively Mediating Claims About Money, 2009
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Arbitrator, Mediator and Early Neutral Evaluator training
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, monthly Advanced Mediation Practice Group 2 meetings 2004-present
Speaking Engagements
Recent speaking engagements include:
SVAMC/AAA: "Smarter, Faster, Cheaper Technology Dispute Resolution," 2016
GGULS: "Developments in Patent Law 2015," Golden Gate University Law School 14th Annual Recent Developments in IP Law and Policy Conference, 2015
GGULS: “The Year in IP Law: Patent ‘Reform,'" Golden Gate University Law School 10th Annual Conference on Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Law, 2011
GGULS: "The Federal Circuit Takes On Patent Damages Reform," Golden Gate University Law School 9th Annual Conference on Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Law, 2010
NCCAVS Plasma Applications Group: "A Patent Owner's Forum of Choice - The Rise of the ITC," 2010
GGULS: "Trickle Down Jurisprudence," Golden Gate University Law School 8th Annual Conference on Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Law 2009
GGULS: "The Patent Pendulum Reverses," Golden Gate University Law School 7th Annual Conference on Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Law, 2009
Digital Hollywood Conference: Moderator, "Rights vs. Implications of Technology Innovation - From UGM to P2P," 2008
GGULS: "The Supreme Court and Congress Tackle Patent Law," Golden Gate University School of Law 6th Annual Conference on Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Law, 2006
Digital Hollywood Conference: Moderator, "Economics of Interactive TV," 2004
12th International Conference on Gambling & Risk-Taking: "Gambling on Patents," 2003
Honors
Named as a Northern California Super Lawyer in Intellectual Property Litigation, 2005-2013 and in Alternative Dispute Resolution, 2014-2017
Named to the Best Lawyers in America in Litigation - Intellectual Property and Patent Law, 2013-2017
Named as a Martindale-Hubbel Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law, 2013-2017