Civil Mediator Background Information


DISCLAIMER: This information has been provided by the mediator and has not been independently verified by the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside. The Court provides this list of mediators as a public service. The Court does not endorse, recommend, or make any warranty pertaining to the qualifications or competency of any provider on this list. Inclusion on the list is based on the representations of the mediator. The Court assumes no responsibility of liability for any act or omission of any mediator on the list.




Name:
Steinert, Eric
Firm Name:
Address:
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
560 Mission St. Suite 3100
San Francisco CA 94105
 Phone:
Email:
Website:
510 406 5034
esteinert@seyfarth.com
https://www.seyfarth.com/people/eric-m-steinert.html
BAR Number:
168384
ADR Experience: (Arbitration, Mediation & Settlement Conferences)
Los Angeles Superior Court (Resolve Law LA), Mediation, December 15, 2022
San Diego Superior Court, Mediation, September 18, 2023
California Second Appellate District, Mediation, September 20, 2023
Eastern District of California, Mediation, November 11, 2023
FINRA, Arbitration, April 13, 2024
California Civil Rights Department, Mediation, June 12, 2024, 
AAA, Arbitration, August 28, 2024
AAA, Mediation, August 15, 2024
Northern District of California, Mediation, November 1, 2024
Los Angeles Superior Court Volunteer Mediation Panel, Mediation, November 10, 2024
Riverside Superior Court, Mediation, December 4, 2024
  Remote Services:
This arbitrator / mediator offers their services remotely (over phone/video conferencing technology).
Subject Matter Expertise Area(s):
  • Business
  • Employment
Languages Spoken:
(Other Than English)
German
Representation:

Plantiff Representation: 1%

Defendant Representation: 99%

Current Practice & Professional History (Temp Judge Exp):
Mediator, December 2022-present.  Private employment mediations and panel employment mediations for California Civil Rights Department, USDC Northern District of California, USDC Eastern District of California, San Diego Superior Court, Los Angeles Superior Court (Resolve Law LA and Mediation Volunteer Panel), Riverside Superior Court, California Second Appellate District and AAA Mediation Panel. Arbitrator, AAA (August 2024 to present) and FINRA (April 2024 to present). Partner, Labor and Employment Practice Group, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, 2010-present.  California-wide employment practice involving single/multi plaintiff litigation, wage-hour class actions/PAGA representative actions, employment counseling, traditional labor and mediations/arbitrations. Employment Counsel, Wachovia Corporation/Wells Fargo & Co., 2007-2010.  In-house employment attorney for large financial services companies. Associate/Partner, Labor and Employment Practice Group, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, 2000-2007.  Associate, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, 1998-1999. Associate, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, 1996-1998. Judicial Law Clerk to Hon. Lawrence T. Lydick, United States District Court, Central District of California 1995-1996. Associate, Law Offices of Rick M. Stein, 1994 – 1995.
Educational Background:
Rice University, B.A. Economics 1990
UC Berkeley School of Law, J.D. 1993
ADR Training:
Straus Institute, Pepperdine Law School | Mediating the Litigated Case | 40 | 2022-10-28 | ~Straus Institute, Pepperdine Law School | Advanced Mediation | 30 | 2023-02-13 | ~California Lawyers Association | 2022 Advanced Mediation Conference | 6.5 | 2022-12-01 | ~ USDC, Northern District CA/Mediator/ENE Training/40 hours/2024-10-30
Professional Licenses:

    
Arbitration Approach:
After a long career as an employment litigator, I have recently started mediating cases and very much enjoy it.  Fortunately, I also seem to be relatively effective for a beginning mediator.  Having mediated hundreds of employment cases as an advocate over the last 27 years certainly has helped.  But I’ve also had some phenomenal training at the Straus Institute and learned from the best employment mediators in California during my career.  
More importantly, I’ve learned to listen and to care deeply about the parties and the process.  My philosophy is as follows:  If I do my job, by the end of the day the parties will have learned what their best alternative to litigation is at that time.  They will also have explored the strengths/weakness of each other’s cases sufficiently to make an informed decision.  But the decision belongs to the parties, and my goal is to have them make an informed decision.  If that decision is to not settle, that’s fine with me.  So long as it’s an informed decision.  
Mediators who leaned on me or my client to take a settlement when it wasn’t in my client’s best interest always annoyed me.  They seemed more interested in their settlement percentage statistics, rather than the interests of the parties.  I’m not that mediator.  I’m passionate about the process, but the decision to settle or not belongs to the parties.  My job is to get them the best alternative to litigation at that time and allow them to make an informed decision.
Briefs & Other:
Briefs and fees due 5 business days before mediation.
Fee Information:

Rate Per Hour: $800

Rate Per Half Day: $3250

Rate Per Day: $6500

Day Rate: $6500 single plaintiff; $8000 class action/PAGA
Half Day: $3250 single plaintiff; $4000 class action/PAGA
Locations:

    

DISCLAIMER: This information has been provided by the mediator and has not been independently verified by the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside. The Court provides this list of mediators as a public service. The Court does not endorse, recommend, or make any warranty pertaining to the qualifications or competency of any provider on this list. Inclusion on the list is based on the representations of the mediator. The Court assumes no responsibility of liability for any act or omission of any mediator on the list.