{"id":459209,"date":"2026-09-10T09:12:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T09:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/459209\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T09:12:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T09:12:44","slug":"lawyer-eric-ivary-now-mediates-legal-disputes-keeping-them-as-relaxed-as-he-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/459209\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawyer Eric Ivary now mediates legal disputes \u2014 keeping them as relaxed as he can"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the legal world, mediation is defined<\/a> as \u201can alternative dispute resolution method with a neutral person helping the parties find a solution to their dispute.\u201d But Eric Ivary prefers to think of it as a \u201ctime-out\u201d from litigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany litigants have lost the ability to see the forest for the trees because they\u2019re so wrapped up in the case,\u201d said Ivary, a longtime mediator and arbitrator at ADR Services, Inc. in San Francisco. \u201cMediation can give the parties a different perspective in looking at their own case. It can be such a relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mediation is an increasingly common legal approach. Eric Ivary<\/a> lives in the East Bay and mediates cases throughout the Bay Area. These include personal injury, product liability, employment, civil rights, discrimination and disability. Judges in both state and federal courts frequently mandate pretrial settlement conferences to lower the burden on the courts, Ivary said. In fact, the vast majority of cases \u2014\u00a0as many as 92% \u2014 settle out of court<\/a>, making mediation an important relief valve for a heavily backlogged legal system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But there are many benefits for litigants, too, Ivary said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelping people find what\u2019s in their own best interest can be a challenge, because people can\u2019t always see far enough ahead,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a neutral third party, I can tell plaintiffs \u2014\u00a0most of whom will only have one case like this in their lifetime \u2014 how their case might hit a jury.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his cases, Ivary leans into the informality of mediation proceedings to help the parties reach mutual agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to make it resemble a court trial as little as possible,\u201d he said. \u201cWith few exceptions, I don\u2019t do joint sessions, which means I\u2019m talking to plaintiffs and defendants separately in separate rooms. Mediations are confidential by statute, so I take advantage of that and keep things very informal so people feel at ease and comfortable when speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier legal career<\/p>\n

\"\"The Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers\u2019 Association named Eric Ivary the 2026 Member of the year, following his long career as an attorney and then a legal mediator. Credit: Diane Rames<\/p>\n

In his more than 15 years with ADR Services, Ivary has mediated upward of 1,000 cases. Prior to being a mediator, Ivary spent more than three decades as a civil trial attorney and was the managing partner at Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer<\/a>, the Oakland-based firm he co-founded in 1978 with noted consumer trial attorney Gary Gwilliam<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGary and I were good friends, although we were competitors at two different firms,\u201d said Ivary. \u201cThen the firm he worked for dissolved, and he asked me \u2014 I think on a Wednesday \u2014 \u2018Hey, do you want to come with me and we\u2019ll form our own firm?\u2019 I said, \u2018Give me some time to think about it.\u2019 And he went, \u2018Sure. Can you let me know by tomorrow?\u2019 And so I just jumped ship.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a litigator with extensive trial experience, Ivary tried all types of personal injury, medical and insurance bad faith cases. He now regularly draws on that extensive courtroom experience in front of juries to understand the perspectives of litigants, how prospective jurors might view the case, and works to find solutions that satisfy both parties.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One case from Ivary\u2019s trial career that he\u2019s particularly proud of involved a medical insurance company that denied treatment of a patient\u2019s multiple sclerosis because the treatment was \u201cexperimental.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, the treatment had been shown to be effective in a peer-reviewed study conducted by a Harvard professor,\u201d said Ivary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The highlight of the case came at trial, Ivary said, when the insurance company\u2019s medical director explained to the jury that the treatment was \u201ctoo risky\u201d because it caused liver cancer. \u201cSo I asked him, \u2018How many cases of liver cancer were there?\u2019 And he just looks around sheepishly and goes, \u2018Zero.\u2019 When I asked him why he stated it causes cancer, he goes, \u2018I made a mistake.\u2019 I saw 12 pairs of eyes rolling into the back of the jurors\u2019 heads. The case was over for them right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a long career in the law, Ivary said he never expected to find himself back in the saddle. \u201cI was on an indefinite hiatus after stepping down from Gwilliam Ivary, when Lucy Baron (ADR Services\u2019 president) asked me out of the blue if I\u2019d like to come be a mediator,\u201d said Ivary. \u201cI had no real training, but I was intrigued. So I went through the formal education process and started mediating, and I found I liked it more than litigating cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

In most civil lawsuits in California, parties can expect to go to mediation after discovery \u2014 the phase where both sides exchange documents and evidence \u2014 and before going to trial. For plaintiffs heading into mediation, Ivary has this advice:<\/p>\n

\u201cThink of mediation as a chance to have your side of the story heard and for you to hear the other side\u2019s views. Mediation is an opportunity to reach a settlement you have directly discussed and agreed to with the other side, instead of having a judge or jury decide the outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

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