MGC - Mediator Bios
Neil Berman practices personal injury law, including products liability, automobile
accidents, toxic torts, wrongful death, and premises liability matters. He is admitted
to practice in California and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District
of California. Neil also practices Social Security Disability law, Workers’ Compensation
and employment law. Neil has been selected to the Northern California Rising Stars
List by Super Lawyers each year between 2013 and 2019.
Neil earned his Juris Doctor degree from Santa Clara University School of Law and
his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Washington.
Outside of his practice, Neil is dedicated to helping members of the community who
need legal assistance. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys
of California (CAOC), an organization dedicated to protecting the constitutional right
to trial by jury for all consumers and championing the cause of those who deserve
redress for injury to person or property and resisting efforts to curtail the rights
of such injured persons. Neil is also on the Parks & Recreation Commission for the
City of Morgan Hill.
Mr. Burton has been practicing since 1974. He currently is with Burton & Cooper LLP. Based out of Santa Cruz, the firm has held a strong presence on the coast for the past 25 years. He is skilled in ADR and Professional Mediation as well litigation in areas ranging from Insurance Defense, Insurance Claims Related to Fire and Property Damage, Dog Bites, Premise Liability, Products Liability and many other branches of law.
Ms. Campbell retired in May 2018 after 44 years of practicing law. She is now working as a private mediator, and she specializes in cases which involve family conflict, such as trusts and estate litigation, contested conservatorships, and guardianships.
Mr. Cook is a seasoned trial attorney, mediator, and arbitrator with over 40 years of litigation experience. A recipient of the prestigious Lewis Fenton Award for Excellence and Advocacy, Mr. Cook is a well-integrated staple in the Monterey Legal Community. He has served as lead counsel in a large number of jury and court trials, appellate proceedings, arbitrations, mediations, and agency proceedings. His experience as a mediator has included construction, trust and estate, personal injury, and real property disputes.
Mr. Daunt is an attorney-mediator whose practice focuses on resolving legal issues presented in real estate and small business contexts. Mr. Daunt has served as an ADRA-trained and certified commercial mediator since 1993. He has served as a ``Resolution Advocate`` for the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California’s Bankruptcy Dispute Resolution Program since 1994. He completed additional mediation training with the Conflict Resolution & Mediation Center of Monterey County in 1995 and has served as a volunteer mediator with that organization. He has served on the Mediator Panel of the Monterey County Superior Court’s Court-Directed Mediation Program since 2006. He has served on the California Association of Realtor’s Attorney Referral Panel since 2014. He has served on the Mediator Panel of the California Association of Realtor’s Mediation for the Consumer Program since 2014. He has practiced law on the Monterey Peninsula since 1984 and has been the principal of Strategic Loan Solutions, a short sale facilitation company, since 2007. He also served as an Adjunct Professor at the Monterey College of Law between 2006 and 2009. He is fluent in French and has a knowledge of Spanish and German.
Admitted to the bar in 1975, Mr. Duffy has provided an indispensable service to the Monterey legal community. His areas of practice include commercial litigation in both federal and state trial and appellate courts, including construction defect litigation, agricultural industry litigation, investor fraud matters, anti-trust/unfair competition litigation, estate/trust litigation, general business matters, as well as serving as a mediator.
Ms. Gaudette practices civil litigation, with a broad practice covering business and contract disputes, employment matters, real estate litigation, etc. She has represented companies and individuals throughout the country before federal and state courts and government agencies, and in alternative dispute resolution via arbitration and mediation. Ms. Gaudette is an experienced trial lawyer, with extensive experience in managing issues involving electronic discovery, taking, and defending depositions, working with experts, arguing motions, and litigating cases through trial by judge or jury. She particularly enjoys helping clients make litigation decisions that make good business sense.
Maxine Howard has been mediating and arbitrating since 2001. Following college at Cornell University, law school at Georgetown University and clerkship with a Federal Appellate Judge in Washington D.C. she worked as a litigator at Dow Lohnes & Albertson in Washington. After moving to New York she broadened her practice to include real estate, trusts and estates, and small business representation in Westchester County. She served as Acting Village Justice in Ardsley, New York, and later became a prosecutor in Ardsley and Elmsford Village Courts. Following her training as a mediator and arbitrator, she handled attorney/client fee disputes and was a member of the Westchester County Supreme Court Commercial Division Alternative Dispute Resolution Program. Since moving to Santa Cruz, she has received additional training in both community and divorce mediation. She works through the Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz as a mediator in Small Claims Court and resolving community disputes. She is a member of the Court Directed Mediation Program of Monterey County and has a private mediation practice based in Scotts Valley. In addition to her mediation practice, Maxine is a licensed Realtor at Montalvo Homes & Estates in Santa Cruz and is an Ombudsman for the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors.
The Law Offices of Kenneth J. Kroopf is a bilingual plaintiff’s personal injury and employment law firm, located in Monterey. For over 40 years Ken, a graduate of Southwestern Law School, has been representing plaintiffs in a variety of personal injury matters, including, wrongful death, motor vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian and premises liability. In the past several years he has joined the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA) and has expanded the firms focus into the area of employment law, including, wrongful termination, age and disability discrimination, harassment, whistleblowing, retaliation, government entity and wage claims. Having been an advance level arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association for approximately 10 years, Ken now participates as a volunteer in the Monterey County Direct Panel Mediation and Arbitration Programs, and accepts private mediation and arbitration matters. He has been an instructor in paralegal programs at UCLA and UC Davis/Santa Cruz and has participated in continuing education programs. He received a Certificate of Recognition from Congressman Sam Farr and State Senator Henry Mello for his commitment and voluntary activities with local non-profits.
Elizabeth’s practice focuses on civil litigation, primarily in the areas of employment,
healthcare, and business disputes. Elizabeth represents clients in state and federal
courts, in private arbitrations and mediations, and before state and federal administrative
agencies. Representative matters include workplace harassment and discrimination
claims, wrongful discharge and retaliation claims, wage and hour issues, including
class actions, contract disputes, real estate disputes, and healthcare industry disputes.
Elizabeth is happy to be practicing on the Monterey Peninsula where she was born and
raised.
Principal Areas of Practice
Civil litigation, including labor and employment law, healthcare disputes, and general
business litigation; employment counseling.
Mr. Masuda specializes in civil litigation, trial and appellate practice, arbitration and mediation. He was chosen as 2014, 2015 and 2016 Northern California Super Lawyer. In addition, Mr. Masuda received the 2013 Lewis L. Fenton Excellence in Advocacy Award and was selected as a 2016 Top Rated Lawyer in Appellate Law by Martindale-Hubbell. He has tried over 90 cases in both state and federal courts throughout California.
Christopher Panetta is an attorney and Shareholder at the law firm of Fenton & Keller. Chris’ practice focuses on civil litigation, including labor & employment law and general business litigation. Chris has been in practice since 1994 representing both employees and employers, large and small businesses in many local industries, and individuals with a variety of civil litigation needs. Chris also regularly serves as a mediator and has successfully resolved numerous employment related cases.
I first became involved in mediation as a discipline in 2009, and with the Mandell
Gisnet Center since 2015. I started as a volunteer mediator in Small Claims Court,
and greatly enjoy helping litigants reach their own settlement agreements.
Currently, I also actively serve on the Board of the United Nations Association, Monterey
Bay chapter, and am concluding my third term. A highlight was participating in the
Global Engagement Summit at the UNHQ in NYC in Feb. 2018, in which Secretary General
Antonio Guterres mentioned in his address to us in the General Assembly hall, that
“The UN’s role as mediator is vastly underutilized.” That was four years ago, and
his words are still true today.
I continue to study conflict resolution, and enjoy working with the Mandell Gisnet
Center and being a member of its mediation team. Working with my esteemed colleagues,
we are
honored to assist the Court and litigants alike, as well as the Neighbor Project and
other situations before they lead to a court filing. The MGC is a valuable resource
in our community, we’re here to help!