https://www.adr.org/videoresume?paramName=818431848<br/>

Litigation and trial attorney since 1988, representing individuals, corporations and partnerships, employees and employers, wealth management firms, financial advisors, investors, developers, and municipalities. With broad litigation and trial experience, has managed hundreds of cases and now dedicates practice to serving as a Mediator and Arbitrator in the areas of Employment, Business and Real Estate Law, as well as Attorney Malpractice matters. Provides executive conflict resolution services and discovery referee services.

Eskridge Law and Mediation – Arbitrator/Mediator

Arbitrator and Mediator (and former litigator)

Principal Attorney, Eskridge Law, 1997 – Present; Associate Attorney, Hornberger & Criswell, 1996 – 1997; Litigation Attorney, Title Recon Tracking Inc., 1995; Associate Attorney, Goode & Peterson, 1993 – 1994; Associate Attorney, William F. Woods P.C., 1989 – 1993; Associate Attorney, Coppo & Cosgrove, 1988-1989.

Attorney in private practice since 1988, and also worked as an arbitrator and mediator since 2002. Currently working full time as an arbitrator and mediator. Matters handled as an attorney include:<br/><br/>EMPLOYMENT LAW<br/>Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (based on race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, reproductive health decisionmaking, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military status) <br/>Whistleblower<br/>California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)<br/>Labor Code violations – meal period, rest period, overtime pay, minimum wage, failure to pay all wages earned, violation of California Equal Pay Act, and Private Attorney General Act (PAGA)<br/>Wrongful termination<br/>Public policy violation – termination or adverse employment action<br/>Exempt/non-exempt misclassification<br/>Employee/independent contractor misclassification<br/>Breach of implied or express contract<br/>Invasion of privacy<br/>Defamation – libel and slander<br/><br/><br/>REAL ESTATE LAW<br/>Purchase and sale of residential, commercial, or raw land (undeveloped land)<br/>Breach of contract<br/>Determination of fair market rental value of commercial property<br/>Unilateral mistake and mutual mistake<br/>Specific performance<br/>Broker malpractice and salesperson malpractice<br/>Failure to inspect and failure to disclose<br/>Fraud – concealment, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, false promise, constructive fraud, internet fraud, and wire transfer fraud<br/>Promissory estoppel<br/>Property lines, boundary lines, and encroachments<br/>Easements – express, prescriptive, by necessity, and implied<br/>Adverse possession<br/>Ejectment<br/>View disputes (including tree disputes)<br/>Breach of fiduciary duty<br/>Unjust enrichment<br/>Contractor malpractice<br/>Escrow <br/>Grant deeds, deeds of trust, and reconveyances<br/>Specific performance<br/>Quiet title actions<br/>Partition actions<br/>Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act – homeowners association, Covenants, <br/>Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs), and bylaws<br/>Commercial leases and residential leases (including force majeure clauses)<br/>Property management<br/>Breach of the right to quiet possession/quiet enjoyment<br/>Eminent domain<br/><br/>BUSINESS LAW<br/>Breach of contract – written, oral, and implied<br/>Specific performance of contract<br/>Fraud – concealment, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, false promise, and constructive fraud, internet fraud, wire transfer fraud<br/>Promissory estoppel<br/>Banking malpractice<br/>Conversion<br/>Common counts – money had and received, mistaken receipt, action for accounting<br/>Unjust enrichment<br/>Misuse and/or abuse of control<br/>Corporate waste<br/>Constructive trust<br/>Violation of the California Unfair Law (UCL)<br/>Antitrust violations<br/>Violation of the Cartwright Act and Sherman Act, §§ 1 and 2<br/>Violation of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act<br/>Violation of trade name protection law (trademark law)<br/>Breach of fiduciary duty, duty of care, and duty of loyalty<br/>Corporation, partnership, and limited liability company (LLCs) – formation, operation, sale, and dissolution<br/>Shareholders<br/>Shareholder derivative actions<br/>Negligent interference with prospective business advantage<br/>Conspiracy to induce breach of contract<br/>Trade libel<br/>Gray market importation <br/>OEM versus non-OEM law<br/>Automobile repair law<br/>Negligence and negligence per se<br/>Express and equitable indemnity<br/>FINRA issues<br/><br/>ATTORNEY ETHICS<br/>Professional Responsibility<br/>Legal Malpractice<br/><br/>EXECUTIVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION<br/><br/>CANNABIS LAW

Over the past 30 years, mediated over 280 cases, including employment, business, real estate, legal ethics/malpractice, and cannabis matters, as well as serving as an attorney representing a party in another 60-plus mediations. Served as a court-appointed mediator an as a Superior Court Settlement Officer for years. Has assisted parties in arriving at settlements involving everything from an apology to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Has mediated cases involving numerous parties. One matter was a partition case that involved six siblings and their spouses. Has also mediated multi-party real estate cases, which can sometimes involve the buyers, the sellers, the buyers' agent, the sellers' agent, the termite inspector, and the general inspector (plus all their attorneys). Has also mediated employment cases involving multiple plaintiffs. Also conducts executive conflict resolutions. Also mediates discovery disputes.

The employment matters mediated included harassment and discrimination based on race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, gender, age, and veteran or military status, termination or other adverse employment action in violation of public policy, breach of employment contract, defamation, and all types of wage and hour issues, among other things. <br/><br/>The real estate matters mediated included disputes between buyers and sellers, such as buyers suing home inspectors and termite inspectors, construction defect/breach of warranty cases, quiet title cases, actions for declaratory relief, neighbor disputes, property line disputes, tree/view disputes, claims against title insurance companies, landlord/tenant disputes involving commercial leases, and partition cases. <br/><br/>The business litigation matters mediated included disputes involving the purchase/sale of small businesses, partnership disputes, legal malpractice claims, FINRA claims, claims against contractors, auto leasing disputes, breach of contract cases, and lemon law cases, among other things.<br/><br/>The attorney ethics matters mediated include client allegations of attorney malpractice.<br/><br/>The cannabis matters include cases involving the purchase/sale of cannabis businesses, Los Angeles County Social Equity Program, and METRC access, among others.

Regarding mediation style, I know there are mediators who yell, and even curse at the parties. That style may work for some mediators, and with some parties, but that is definitely not my style. I have a much calmer and more respectful approach. I talk to each side about what happened, about how they feel about the situation, about what I see as the strengths and weaknesses of their case and the other party's case, and about the benefits of resolution versus continuing the fight. If a case doesn't settle during the mediation, I'll follow up with phone calls and emails until the case settles, or the attorneys tell me to stop. <br/><br/>I am not a fan of starting mediations with a joint session. In my experience, opening with a joint session often puts the parties and attorneys into an adversarial, rather than a cooperative, state of mind, which is the opposite of what I want to achieve. I may conduct some type of joint session later in the mediation, however, if it makes sense under the circumstances.

Enjoys resolving discovery disputes and is experienced at handling disputes relating to e-discovery of all types. With the huge amount of electronically stored information which is involved in litigation today, skill in this area is practically mandatory for attorneys and arbitrators, alike.<br/><br/>Available for mediations and arbitrations – in person anywhere in California, or via videoconference

National University (JD-1988); University of Missouri (BA, Music and Journalism-1982); Los Angeles County Bar Association Dispute Resolutions Services (Certificate in Mediation-2002).

Admitted to the Bar: California (1988). California Real Estate Broker's License.

Member of the American Arbitration Association Mediator and Arbitrator Panels (employment, commercial, and consumer), a Professional Member of the Southern California Mediation Association, a Senior Mediator with Mediate.com, a member of the California Dispute Resolution Council, and a member of the Association of Attorney-Mediators.<br/><br/>Currently is or has been a member of the American Bar Association, including the Dispute Resolution Section (1988 – present); the State Bar of California (1988 – present) – including the Litigation section (1988 – 2018), Labor and Employment Law Section (1994 – 2018), Real Property section (1988 – 2018), and Business Law section (2006 – 2018); California Lawyers Association (2018 – present) – including the Litigation section (2018 – present), Labor and Employment Law section (2018 – present), Real Property section (2018 – present), and Business Law section (2018 – present); the Los Angeles County Bar Association – including the Business Law, Real Property, Labor and Employment, and Litigation sections (1994 – present); the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles – including the Business-Corporations, Real Property, Employment and Labor, Litigation, and ADR-Mediation sections (2006 – 2018), the Judicial Appointments Committee (2007 -- 2011), and the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee (2014 -- 2023); the Sacramento County Bar Association (currently a member of the board of directors), including the Alternative Dispute Resolution (currently on leadership), Labor and Employment Law (currently on leadership committee), Real Property Law, Business Law, and Civil Litigation sections (2021 – present); the South Bay Bar Association (1994 – 2020); the South Bay Women Lawyers Association (1997 – 2000); the California Employment Lawyers Association (2002 – 2020); the National Employment Lawyers Association (2002 – 2020); the American Association for Justice (2006 – 2020); the San Diego County Bar Association – including the Business & Corporate Law, Real Property Law, Labor and Employment Law, General Civil Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections (1988 – 2015), and the Animal Law Section (1997 – 2015); and Lawyers Club of San Diego (1988-1994). While living in San Diego, Ms. Eskridge served the San Diego County Bar Association as Chair of the Civil Litigation Section (1990-1992) and as Editor of Dicta, The Lawyer’s Magazine (1990-1993).

Numerous editor's page columns for DICTA, THE LAWYER'S MAGAZINE; “Death of a Sole Practitioner: Planning for the Event and Administering the Aftermath,” COUNTY BAR UPDATE, Vol. 33 No. 11, November 2013; “Settlement Agreement Provisions That Purport to Restrict an Attorney’s Right to Practice Law” COUNTY BAR UPDATE, Vol. 34 No. 3, March 2014; “Attorney’s Duty in Releasing Former Client’s File,” COUNTY BAR UPDATE, Vol. 34 No. 11, November 2014; “Attorneys Have a Duty to Adequately Communicate with Their Clients – No Excuses,” COUNTY BAR UPDATE, Vol. 35 No. 4, April 2015; "Preserving Former Clients Confidentiality in Successive Representation of Clients with Conflicts of Interest," COUNTY BAR UPDATE, Vol. 34 No. 3, March 2014; "Attorney's Duty in Releasing Former Client's File," COUNTY BAR UPDATE, Vol. 34 No. 11, November 2014; "Malpractice Action by One Client Destroys Attorney-Client Privilege of Jointly Represented Client," COUNTY BAR UPDATE, Vol. 35, No. 6, June 2015; "Settlement Agreement Provisions Which Purport to Restrict an Attorneys Right to Practice Law," COUNTY BAR UPDATE, August 2016; "New Rules of Professional Conduct Include Much Broader Rule Regarding Civil Rights," December 2018; "Out-of-State Attorneys Participating in Arbitrations in California: Duties of the Attorneys, Co-Counsel, Opposing Counsel, and Arbitrators," COUNTY BAR UPDATE, November 2021; "Whose Money Is It – Attorney Duties Regarding Funds of 'Other' Persons," COUNTY BAR UPDATE, May 2022; "Considerations and Potential Consequences of Becoming an Advocate-Witness," COUNTY BAR UPDATE, November 2022.

In Southern California, no charge for travel expenses within Los Angeles County. In Northern California, no charge for travel expenses within Sacramento County. (Never any charge for travel time -- anywhere in the USA.)

$6,000 Per Day

English

United States of America

Los Angeles, CA