Bay Area Mediation Services
Kerry Gough
State Bar Number 039966
(510) 610-7105
Kerry has successfully litigated and mediated hundreds of employment, civil rights and personal injury cases for the past three decades.
As a litigator, he has encouraged his clients to utilize mediation in order to minimize the costs, anxiety and stress and delays of trial.
Billing Rate
$350 per hour for time spent in preparation for and conduct of the mediation. No extra charges for administration, travel in the Bay Area, or cancellation. There is no minimum charge.
Curriculum Vitae
Education. J.D., School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, California, 1966; Order of the Coif, a national society honoring the top 10% of law school graduates; B.A. University of California, Santa Barbara, 1961, with Highest Honors.
Experienced Neutral for over 15 years. Member, Early Neutral Evaluation, Mediation and Arbitration Panels, United States District Court, Northern District of California; member Alternative Dispute Resolution Panels, Alameda and Contra Costa County Superior Courts; Served as Early Neutral Evaluator, Mediator or Arbitrator in approximately 250 employment and personal injury cases.
Training. Over 110 hours of Mediation, Arbitration and Negotiation training, including a 40 hour intensive program at The Congress of Neutrals in 2009; Specialized mediation of employment, personal injury and medical malpractice cases, Summer, 2005 at the Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University; and mediation, arbitration and early neutral evaluation training through the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the United States Federal District Court, Northern District of California.
Legal Experience. United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Washington, D.C., 1966--1967. Hired in the Attorney General's Honors Graduate Program; Assigned to Southeastern Mississippi to investigate voting rights, public accommodation, summary punishment and civil rights conspiracy cases. Litigation practice focused upon employment, personal injury and civil rights cases. Obtained multiple verdicts and settlements ranging from the high six figures to over five million dollars.
Admitted to State Bar of California, United States District Court, Northern District of California, United States Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit, and United States Supreme Court.
Organizations. Member, Alameda Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association (ACCTLA) and of Alameda County Bar Association. Former President of the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County; former member of the Board of Directors, Alameda County Bar Association; former President of Allied Fellowship Service, which operates half-way houses for ex-offenders. Former Advisory Board Member, Project Sentinel, a non-profit organization that investigates, mediates and litigates housing discrimination cases
Presentations. A comparison of the Civil Rights Movement in the South in the 1960’s with the Women’s Rights Movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Universite Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs, Goma, DRC, Novemeber 2009; Consumer Attorneys of California, Moderator and Presenter, Developing Powerful Pre-Trial Strategies in Selected Cases; Selection, Investigation and Preparation of Employment Cases, November 1994; Consumer Attorneys of California, Annual Tahoe Seminar, Prosecuting Tort Claims Against Governmental Entities, April, 1994; Consumer Attorneys of California, 35th Annual Tahoe Seminar, Double Taxation of Emotional Distress Awards, April, 2000.
Mediation Style. Gough's approach to mediation varies depending upon the case and the parties, but he has found that often it helps to spend some time early in the session to establish rapport and gain the trust of the parties. Once that trust is established, the difficult, emotional issues of the litigation often lend themselves to calm and effective discussion and eventual resolution. Litigants and their counsel in ADR sessions where Gough served as mediator or evaluator have found that Gough's preparation, demeanor and effectiveness put their clients at ease and facilitated reaching settlements.