Harold "Peter" Smith, Esq.

Peter Smith, Esq. handles disputes spanning the spectrum of civil litigation, and is particularly adept at dealing with matters rendered complex through the prevalence of high emotions, personal pride, structural bias, complications regarding expression and content, uncertainty about intellectual property, and policy or political underpinnings. He is able to repeatedly break through barriers to resolution presented by this array of competing forces and to reach practical solutions through a delicate combination of patience, understanding, balance, fairness, and humor. Never one to simply find the “middle ground,” he does not hesitate to reach or push for a solution that may be closer to one or the other position if the circumstances merit such a resolution.

Mr. Smith’s philosophy is informed by decades of work as an attorney, mediator, and member of private, public, and non-profit governing bodies. As an attorney, his practice was to secure an early resolution through collaboration with his clients and the opposition prior to incurring large attorney fees. As a mediator, his practice has included pre-litigation mediation (primarily through the California Association of Realtors and C-level employment terminations), court-ordered early mediation (as a panelist for the Federal District Court for Northern California), and as a settlement mentor and court mediator for cases closer to day of trial. Most importantly, it is his work bringing colleagues to consensus on private and sometimes very public disputes. Whether it is a boardroom dispute for a private company, a difficult decision to terminate a high-level employee, or a public or quasi-public issue of broad interest, Mr. Smith has decades of experience and a style that combines listening, consensus building, and thoughtful resolution.

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