“A balance point is very rarely, if at all, impossible; patience, discipline, and stamina are required.” – Michael Grab
—
RÉSUMÉ
—
Geri Lynn Green, Esq. is a full-time mediator and discovery referee. She is highly skilled and experienced in both facilitative and evaluative dispute resolution styles, and specializes in complex high-conflict matters. She has successfully mediated and presided over nearly 1,000 disputes in the areas of Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Business, Employment, Real Estate, Landlord-Tenant, Insurance Coverage, Civil Rights & Disability Rights, Police Misconduct, Probate, Conservatorships, and Elder Abuse.
MEDIATION
Ms. Green is described as a “true neutral” who zeroes in on the strengths and weaknesses of a case with surgical precision. Her straight-forward approach and open-minded pragmatism generates the trust necessary for litigants to entertain the possibility of resolution and arrive at solutions. She is known for settling impossible cases by connecting with litigants and “bringing them on board for the ride.”
Ms. Green’s approach to dispute resolution is shaped by her diverse background – as a litigator representing both plaintiffs and defendants, as general counsel, and her owner/management experience in the hospitality industry. Her commitment to the settlement process is demonstrated by her early immersion in a case and connection with counsel. She works closely with the parties to realistically assess risks and impediments to resolution. Her thorough preparation, exceptional listening skills, and judicious, evenhanded approach leads to creative solutions for intractable problems.
As a Settlement Officer for the Superior Courts of San Francisco, Alameda, Marin, and Contra Costa, Ms. Green has conducted settlement conferences in most areas of the law and gained a reputation as one of the most successful settlement officers serving the Bay Area.
DISCOVERY
Litigating early ESI cases, including the “largest [ESI] case ever filed in the Northern District,” Ms. Green developed expertise in E-Discovery matters, and even developed her own software and systems to manage them. As a discovery referee, she has presided over discovery matters in a wide variety of cases, such as family law, probate, personal injury, real estate, fraud, medical malpractice, construction defect, employment, civil rights, sexual harassment, and allegations of sexual abuse at educational institutions. Due to her extensive trial and appellate experience and evidence scholarship, she has the expertise to handle complex privilege claims and ESI matters. Ms. Green sits as Discovery Judge Pro Tem, Facilitator, Referee, and Special Master at courts around the Bay Area.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
- Personal Injury/Insurance Coverage/Government Liability: Auto accidents; Wrongful death & catastrophic injury; Government tort/municipal liability; Nursing homes; Premises liability; Product liability; Toxic tort; Coverage & subrogation, UM/UIM, bad faith, SIU; Labor Code Section 3852 third-party tortfeasor cases
- Professional Liability/Malpractice: Medical; Hospital; Dental; Chiropractor; Psychiatric; Catastrophic injuries, birth injuries, surgical errors; Attorney; Real Estate Brokers
- Business and Commercial: Fraud/misrepresentation; Intentional interference; Antitrust/unfair competition; Partnership disputes and dissolution; Real estate investor disputes; Commercial leases; Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); Trade secrets; Industry expertise: hospitality, cannabis businesses, entertainment venues, golf courses, beauty products, fisheries, and perishable goods
- Employment: Wrongful termination; Discrimination & retaliation; Labor code; PAGA actions; Whistleblower
- Civil Rights/Police Misconduct/Government Liability/ADA: 1983 & Bivens; Title IX; Sexual harassment and abuse; Law enforcement; ADA; Premises liability; Unruh Act
- Real Estate: Partition; Sales transaction disputes; Commercial and residential leases; Development contract breaches; Nuisance/quiet enjoyment/habitability; Construction defect; Wrongful foreclosure; HOA/CC&Rs; CEQA
- Family/Probate/Conservatorships/Elder Abuse: Family, child custody and visitation, property disposition, child and spousal support; Conservatorships & Probate Code § 1471; Financial elder abuse; Nursing homes; Probate; Trust management and disposition of assets; Developed expertise in crisis intervention, trauma management, families confronting substance abuse, and mental illness
- Discovery: Complex Cases, 5th Amendment, Electronically Stored Information (ESI), Privileges &Trade Secrets
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Founding Attorney, Law Offices of Geri Lynn Green; Green & Green LLP (1987-Present)
- Law Professor, Evidence, New College of California (1996-2001)
- General Counsel, Ocean Meadows Golf Course/Devereaux Creek Properties (1994-2013)
- Investigator, Mission Community Legal Defense (1979-1986)
EDUCATION
- L.L.M., International Law, Golden Gate University School of Law with course work at Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (2015)
- J.D., UC Hastings College of the Law (1986)
- B.A., University of California Santa Barbara (1977)
- Strauss Institute For Dispute Resolution (2013)
AWARDS AND HONORS
- Selected as a Super Lawyer annually since 2010
- Rated Top Women Attorney in Northern California since 2010
- Named to the Best Lawyers List for Civil Rights and Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Eight-time honoree by the San Francisco District Attorney for her work as a Neighborhood Courts Adjudicator and outstanding commitment to improving the quality of life for San Franciscans
PROFESSIONAL LICENSES AND ADMISSIONS
- California State Bar Arbitration/Mediation/Special Master
- Certified Arbitrator (2018)
- Certified Mediator (2013)
- United States Supreme Court (1997) and various Federal Courts
- California State Bar (1987)
ADR-RELATED APPOINTMENTS
Ms. Green serves as a Settlement Officer in the Superior Courts of San Francisco, Contra Costa, and Marin Counties; Mediator for the Superior Courts of Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano Counties; Discovery Facilitator/Referee/Special Master for the State Bar of California, San Francisco, and Contra Costa County Superior Courts; Mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California; Mediator for the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District; Special Master for the California State Bar, Adjudicator for the San Francisco Neighborhood Courts; and serves on the ADR Administration Committee for the Alameda Superior Courts.
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION TRAINING
Ms. Green is a certified mediator and certified arbitrator, and a Special Master/Referee. She has completed over 300 hours of training in a wide variety of alternative dispute resolution disciplines, including specialized training modules in mediation, cross-cultural mediation, family mediation, techniques for conflict coaching, arbitration training, arbitration for intellectual property cases, mediation and arbitration of attorney’s fees, superior court settlement case officer training, advanced appellate mediation training, and international cross-border family mediation.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS
Ms. Green is a frequent guest lecturer to local bar associations, including the Bar Association of San Francisco and the Alameda County Bar Association, and law schools, including UC Hastings College of the Law, UC Berkeley School of Law, Stanford University School of Law, Golden Gate University School of Law, and others. Ms. Green has also published articles in the Recorder, and authored reports and made presentations before the United Nations General Assembly and various treaty bodies. Ms. Green’s publications include:
• Reports and presentations to the U.N. General Assembly; Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice resulting in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and the passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act in 2003.
• Demanding Our Rights, A Manual on Drafting United Nations Shadow Reports, co-author, 2007.
• The Quixotic Dilemma, California’s Immutable Culture of Incarceration, 2010, Pace Law Review.
• A Strike Against Qualified Immunity, October 1, 2010, The Recorder, co-authored with Sanford J. Rosen.
For a complete list of publications and press, please see here.
Professional Associations
- Alameda County Bar Association
- Bar Association of San Francisco
- Contra Costa County Bar Association
- Marin County Bar Association
- American Bar Association, ADR Committee
- San Francisco Pre-trial Diversion (Board of Directors)
- Alameda County Superior Court, ADR Committee
- The Mediation Society
- Academy of Professional Family Mediators (APFM)
- Consortium for Children
- California Lawyers for the Arts
- Community Boards (Former Board President)
- Peninsula Conflict Resolutions Center
- The Doris Brin Walker Legislative Reform Committee, Conference of California Bar Associations
- National Association of Drug Court Professionals
Please contact for scheduling: