SANFORD JOSSEN, born in New York, New York, 1951; admitted to Bar, May 1982 as follows: State of California; U.S. District Court for all districts of California; U.S. Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit; U.S. Tax Court; and U.S. Supreme Court.
Rating: Martindale-Hubbell - "AV" rating.(Highest available rating.)
Recent Awards:
2010: Super Lawyer - Los Angeles Magazine.
2009: Super Lawyer - Los Angeles Magazine.
2008: Super Lawyer - Los Angeles Magazine.
2008: Super Lawyer - Los Angeles Magazine.
2007: President’s Award-Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles.
2005: President’s Award - Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles.
2005: President’s Award - Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles.
2005: Outstanding Citizen - City of Manhattan Beach (For Child Advocacy).
2005: Outstanding Citizen - City of Manhattan Beach (For Child Advocacy).
2004: Super Lawyer - Los Angeles Magazine.
Judicial Experience: Referee [As Needed]: Los Angeles Superior Court/Juvenile Division, 2000 - 2001. Reappointed January 2006 to present. Sitting as Referee in both Dependency Court (2000-2001) and Delinquency Court (presently).
State Bar Commissions: Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission [JNE]: Commencing February 2006 to February, 2009. Evaluate nominees for Judicial positions and report to Governor’s office.
Judicial Task Force (1999 - 2009): Task force on Tort Reform of the Los Angeles Dependency Court. Appointed to this task force by the Honorable Michael Nash, Juvenile Court Judge Presiding. 827 Confidentiality of Records Committee, Los Angeles Superior Court-Dependency Division.
Los Angeles Superior Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee: Appointed July 2006-2007.
Administrative and Personnel Hearing Examiner for the City of Santa Monica: Appointed December 2008.
Adjunct Professor: University of Pepperdine, School of Law - Client Interviewing and Counseling Techniques, August 2008 - December 2008; August 2009 - December 2009. Invited back for Spring, 2010 Semester.
Appellate Decisions:
Jazzmon R., etc. et al. vs. County of Los Angeles, etc. et al., Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three
Case No.: B153854; (2002) 2002 Cal. Lexis 8658.
Jamal B., etc. et al. vs. County of Los Angeles, etc. et al., Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three, Case No. B168175; (2005) 2005 Cal. App. Unpub. Lexis 2806.
Brandon S. etc. et al. vs. County of Los Angeles, etc. et al., Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 4, Case No. B196249; (2009) 2009 Cal.App. Lexis 1099 [Petition for Review to California Supreme Court, Denied].
Areas of Concentration: Extensive litigation experience as well as mediation and arbitration in the following areas: Governmental Tort Claims of all kinds; Business litigation (all types), partnership, corporate disputes and dissolutions; Personal injury - all types including automobile, motorcycle, uninsured motorist, insurance claims and bad faith, slip/trip and fall; Civil Rights violations [42 U.S.C. § 1983]; Legal Malpractice; Attorney-Client Fee Disputes; Real Estate matters; Entertainment Industry matters including film production and distribution, trademark and copyright infringement.
Education: Southampton College, Long Island University (B.A., English, 1974); University of Hawaii, (1977-1978); University of San Diego, School of Law (J.D., 1980). University of Southern California School of Law-Publishing and Recording Aspects of the Music Industry. [Certificate received 1985.] Hastings College of Law, University of California Advanced Advocacy Program. [Certificate received March 1991.]
Arbitration and Mediation: Los Angeles Superior Court, 1987 to present. United States District Court–Settlement Officer/Mediator Panel, 2001 to present; California Court of Appeals–Mediation Panel, 2002 to present; Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association, 1990 to present; Los Angeles Bar Association Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Resolution Program, 1987 - Present; Beverly Hills Bar Association Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Program, 1987 - 2008.
I have arbitrated/mediated over 2,300 cases.
Mediation Training:
Pepperdine Law School, Improvisational mediation presented by Jeff Krivis - Strauss Institute of Dispute Resolution, June 2009 [18 hours].
Mediating in the Red Zone presenting by Eric Galton and Tracy Allen-Strauss Institute of Dispute Resolution, June 2010 [20 hours].
Los Angeles Superior Court Alternate Dispute Resolution: Voluntary Settlement Conference Orientation Program (4 hours) March, 2009.
Los Angeles Superior Court ADR Committee: Ethical Quandaries for Court-Connected Mediators (3 Hours) 2008; Los Angeles County Bar Association -- Dispute Resolution Services -- Mediation Training. [40 hours] Certificate received, 2001.
U.S. District Court: Nuances and Complexities in Commercial Professional Practice - presented by Peter Robinson and Bruce Edwards - Strauss Institution for Dispute Resolution (16 hours) May 5-6, 2010; Advance Mediation Skills - Recent Developments in Stages of Mediation presented by Peter Robinson, Dana Curtis and Dwight Golann - Strauss Institution for Dispute Resolution (Pepperdine University) (13 hours) April 29-30, 2009; Advanced Mediation Training - Presented by Peter Robinson, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (Pepperdine University) (3 hours), May, 2008; U.S. District Court - Advanced Mediation Training -The Activist Mediator: Rethinking the Place and Role of the Mediator presented by Peter Robinson and Robert Benjamin, Strauss Institute of Dispute Resolution (Pepperdine University) [16 hours], May, 2007; U.S. District Court - Advanced Mediation Training - presented by Peter Robinson, Strauss Institute of Dispute Resolution (Pepperdine University) [16 hours], March, 2006; U.S. District Court - Advanced Mediation Training - presented by Peter Robinson, Strauss Institute of Dispute Resolution (Pepperdine University) [13 hours], March, 2005; U.S. District Court-Advanced Mediation Training-Cross Cultural Training [16 hours], March 2004; U.S. District Court - Advanced Mediation Training - presented by Peter Robinson, Strauss Institute of Dispute Resolution (Pepperdine University) [16 hours], February 2003; United States District Court, Mediation -- Refresher -- Presented by Peter Robinson of Strauss Institute of Dispute Resolution (Pepperdine University) January 2002, [8 hours]; Mediating the Litigated Case - Presented by Peter Robertson - Strauss Institute of Dispute Resolution (Pepperdine University), March-May 2002, [42 hours].
California Court of Appeal - Pre-conference Issues: Setting Up Mediation For Success; Facilitating Evaluation: Risk Analysis and Other Tools, June 22, 2006 [7 Hours]; Mediation Training presented by Dana Curtis [40 hours], February 2002.
Beverly Hills Bar Association - [8 hours] (1999).
American Arbitration Association - Mediation I, 24 hours October, 2002; American Arbitration Association-Arbitration II (16 Hours) June 2003; American Arbitration Association - Award Writing (8 hours) Dec. 2004. Numerous on line courses.
Committees: Los Angeles Bar Association, Lawyer Referral and Information Service-Advisory Committee, January 2006 to Present;
Los Angeles Bar Association Attorney Client Arbitration and Mediation Service Executive Committee Sept. 2005 to 2007; Beverly Hills Bar Association, Attorney-Client Relations Committee 1987-2007; Los Angeles Bar Association, Attorney-Client Relations Committee, 1987 - 2007; Member of Executive Committee, L.A. Bar Attorney-Client Relations Committee 1996 - 1997.
State Bar of California - Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, 2001-2002.
Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine Editorial Committee, 1987-1988.
Judge Pro -Tem: Los Angeles Municipal Court-Central District, Beverly Hills Municipal Court, Santa Monica Municipal Court and L.A. Superior Court 1987 - Present: Small Claims Trials, Small Claims Appeals and Civil Non-Jury Trials. Judicial Demeanor Seminar - March 2009.
Legal Panels: L.A. County Tort Dependency Panel of the Los Angeles Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service: Have represented many minors in governmental and non-governmental tort claims, 1990 - Present.
Author: "Attorneys Must Fight Bad PR, Convey Virtues to Public" Daily Journal, March 18, 2005; "Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Malpractice" December, 1998, Los Angeles County Bar Association Web Site. "Incorporating the Stars," Volume 4, Number 5, Los Angeles Lawyer, 16 (July/August 1981); "Fiduciary Aspect of the Personal Manager’s Relationship with a Performing Artist," 167 Cal. Rptr. 33 (Supp.) [Pocket Part] Number 4 (1980); Article of Special Interest reprinted in 11 Performing Arts Review, Journal of Law, Arts and Management 108 (1981). Panel of Editors, Los Angeles Lawyer, 1985 -1986. Numerous articles in Daily Journal and letters in Los Angeles Times.
Honors: United States Congress - Certificate of Appreciation, June 1997; California State Assembly - Certificate of Recognition, June 1997; County of Los Angeles - Commendation for Service to the Community, June 1997; City of L. A. - Certificate of Appreciation for Service to the Community, June 1997; Los Angeles Unified School District - Certificate of Recognition, June 1997; L.A. County Superior and Municipal Courts - Numerous Certificates of Appreciation for Pro Bono Services as Arbitrator/Mediator/Settlement Officer; Numerous other awards from the Los Angeles Superior and Municipal Courts.
I have been the subject of numerous articles in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, Daily Journal, Verdicts and Settlements, South Bay People, etc. [Samples available on request and on website]
Seminars Given:
June 18, 2008: Juvenile Dependency Court Tort Policy Training, prepared narrative for seminar; gave presentations on: Possible Tort Theories; Developing the Case, Mechanics of starting the case; January 31,2004: Welfare and Institutions Code § 317 Reports and Government Tort Claim [Juvenile Courts law and Procedure Seminar]. Arbitrators Evaluations - Rated by Consumer Lawyers of Los Angeles. [Evaluation available on request.]
Of Counsel Relationship : serve as "of Counsel" to William Bloch and Associates, Beverly Hills [Employment Law firm].
Professional Associations: Los Angeles County Bar Association; Beverly Hills Bar Association; Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles.
Volunteer Work: First Impressions Project, 1997-2001. Have visited Elementary, Middle and High schools throughout Los Angeles but primarily inner city to speak to students about the law and give them courthouse tours. Constitutional Rights Foundation-2001 to present. Have been a Judge in annual Moot Court Competitions involving Middle and High School Students.
Hobby: Marathon Runner - 30 Marathons started and completed. Bicyclist-San Francisco to Los Angeles, twice. Reading, music, scuba diving, sailing (have sailed from Hawaii to Tahiti), flying (private pilot-inactive), motorcycles, traveling, camping, hiking and mountain climbing. (Summiteer: Mount Kilimanjaro 2005, Mount Whitney, Summer and Winter).
References: The Honorable Dennis Perluss, Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, State of California; The Honorable Michel Nash, Presiding Judge, L.A.S.C. Juvenile Division; L.A.S.C.; The Honorable William Highberger, Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court; The Honorable Margaret Henry, Supervising Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court-Dependency Division; John Girardi, Esq. Numerous counsel, on request. Have mediated/arbitrated for over 700 law firms. [List of law firms available on request]