ERISA
Mediation
Skillful Resolution of
Employee Benefit Disputes
By a Veteran in the Field
ERISA
MEDIATION
Prompt Resolution of Disputes
Involving Employee Benefits
Robert R. Pohls
Litigator - Mediator - Arbitrator
Phone: 925.951.6500
(Click for Full Profile)
Primary Practice Areas:
- ERISA (and non-ERISA group benefit plans)
- Benefit Disputes
- Contribution Disputes
- Fiduciary Liability Claims
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- Life, Health & Disability Insurance
- Bad Faith Claims
- Benefit Disputes
- Privacy Issues
- Rescission Claims
- Sales Practices
- Unfair Competition Claims
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- Long Term Care Insurance
- Bad Faith Claims
- Benefit Disputes
- Elder Abuse Claims
- Sales Practices
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- Managed Care
- Benefit Disputes
- Provider Disputes
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EXPERIENCE
Matters
Through ERISA's preemption clause, Congress ensured that litigation involving employee benefits would be unique. In an employee benefit (or contribution) dispute, then, it's not enough for a mediator to simply know what ERISA stands for. Rather, to effectively assist parties with an ERISA dispute, a mediator should have:
- a comprehensive understanding of the insurance and financial services products used by employee benefit plans;
- familiarity with both the applicable plan language and how employee benefit claims are presented and administered;
- knowledge of ERISA's controlling cases, numerous rules and many procedural peculiarities;
- genuine, real-world experience with litigating employee benefit disputes in a variety of courtroom settings; and
- a reputation in the field that will prompt all participants to seek out and genuinely consider suggestions for how an employee benefit dispute can and should be resolved.
Having litigated ERISA claims and life, health and disability insurance disputes throughout California and numerous other parts of the country for more than 35 years, Rob Pohls has that background.
As a 9-time Northern California Super Lawyer who also has earned recognition as a Top-50 Attorney in San Francisco, Rob Pohls has a
unique ability to communicate with both plaintiff's and defense
attorneys who handle ERISA litigation. Moreover, with over 25 years' experience as a mediator, he is equally skilled at helping individual and institutional parties in a dispute understand the risks inherent to litigation, identify alternative solutions, and evaluate whether a negotiated resolution would better meet their needs.
Contact us today to schedule your next mediation. We are eager to help you find solutions that make sense.
Experience matters.
FEE SCHEDULE
Rob Pohls actively participates in alternative dispute resolution programs administered by several state and federal courts throughout California. When he is retained through one of those programs, Mr. Pohls follows the applicable program's compensation rules and charges an hourly fee for any additional time. For more information, call us at 925.951.6500.
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When Mr. Pohls is retained privately, the charges and fees for his mediation services are as follows:
Case Management
ZERO
We do NOT
charge any
case management fees.
Half Day
$4,000
Includes the first 5 hours of session time and all preparation. Additional time charged at hourly rate.
Includes all travel time and expense (unless mediation is both
in-person and outside of California.
Full Day
$6,000
Includes the first 9 hours of session time and all preparation. Additional time charged at hourly rate.
Includes all travel time and expense (unless mediation is both
in-person and outside of California.
Hourly
$600
In mediations scheduled for a half or full day, charged only for any extra session time. When retained on an hourly basis, charged for all preparation and session time.
Also charged for traveling to and from in-person mediations outside of California. Any travel expenses for in-person mediations outside of California also will be charged to the parties.
Cancellation Fees
If you settle without a mediation session, you should be congratulated . . . not penalized. Our cancellation policy therefore is as follows:
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· If a mediation is cancelled 7 or more calendar days before the date for which the session was scheduled, we will not charge any cancellation fee.
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· If a mediation is cancelled fewer than 7 calendar days before the date for which the session was scheduled, we reserve the right to charge the fixed sum of $600 (to be shared by all parties) as a cancellation fee.
Experience matters.
LOCATIONS
Available Throughout California and Nationwide
Our business office is located in Walnut Creek, California, approximately 25 miles east of San Francisco and easily accessible from the Walnut Creek BART station. When the parties want to do so, we can conduct in-person mediations in that business office. However, we have access to multiple offices throughout Northern California, Southern California and most other parts of the country. In addition, we will consider conducting in-person mediations in any other space that one of the participants makes available for that purpose.
Provided the mediation is conducted within the State of California, there is no charge to the parties for Rob's travel time or expenses, nor will they be asked to share in any of the costs of securing a mediation space. To explore the possibility of conducting in-person mediation sessions outside of California, please contact us by e-mail (rob@erisamediation.com) or phone (925.951.6500) for further details.
Online / Virtual
We regularly conduct online / virtual mediations (via Zoom or Microsoft Teams). We therefore invite you to solve any calendaring problems and eliminate the expense of having multiple participants travel to an in-person session by scheduling an online / virtual mediation with us. For more information, contact us by email (rob@erisamediation.com) or by phone at 925.951.6500.
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BUSINESS OFFICE:
ERISA Mediation
1990 N. California Blvd., 8th Floor
Walnut Creek, California 94596
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Email: rob@erisamediation.com
Tel: 925.951.6500
To inquire about our availability for your next mediation or make general inquiries about our services, please fill in the following contact form:
CONTACT
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