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MICHAEL D. YOUNG, ESQ.

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MICHAEL D. YOUNG, ESQ.

Available in Los Angeles, Nationwide
Available for Mediation, Arbitration, and Private Judging assignments

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Introduction

Michael D. Young, a former employment, intellectual property and business litigator and mediator with the national firm Alston & Bird, has been mediating cases since 1989. Building off of his extensive litigation experience, and his training through the nationally acclaimed Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine Law School, Mr. Young assists parties to resolve contentious and complex civil disputes, often in creative and innovative ways that the parties themselves had not previously considered. Mr. Young has extensive experience both litigating and mediating all varieties of employment, intellectual property, and business disputes, including class actions and single-plaintiff matters. On the employment side, these have included wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, disability, public policy, wage and hour, and misclassification disputes, among others. On the IP side, Mr. Young had handled disputes over trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, patents, and restrictive covenants. In addition, in his 25-plus year legal career, Mr. Young has mediated, litigated, and tried hundreds of disputes involving unfair competition, antitrust, and environmental issues (including CERCLA and RCRA cases), among other complex business disputes. Attorney's have praised Mr. Young's creativity and doggedness. Said one attorney following a difficult employment mediation: "Your ideas were very creative, and your no-nonsense approach was exactly right for this case. I've been in over 200 mediations from all perspectives, but the job you did this week really stands out." Commented another: "Mike was very effective in building credibility with both plaintiffs and the defense in an emotionally charged case involving several plaintiffs. He was able to get to the heart of the issues and put the parties on a path to resolution while giving everyone an opportunity to be heard. His tireless follow up and accessibility was crucial to the resolution of the case." Said a third: "I have used mediators for over three decades, and Mike came up with approaches, ideas, and solutions that were new to me. That mediation was a success because Mike Young refused to let it fail."

Specialties

ADR Highlights

Distinguished Fellow and President (2014-2015), International Academy of Mediators
Adjunct Professor, Mediation Theory, Pepperdine University Law School
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Website

http://www.mikeyoungmediation.com/

ADR Highlights

Distinguished Fellow and President (2014-2015), International Academy of Mediators
Adjunct Professor, Mediation Theory, Pepperdine University Law School
Adjunct Professor, Mediation and ADR Processes, USC Law School for nearly a decade
Super Lawyer in ADR, Employment Law, and IP Law every year since 2005
Legal commentator on national entertainment news program regarding mediation
Member of California State Bar's Standing Committee on ADR for five years
Frequent writer and speaker on ADR topics

Testimonials

Mike was very effective in building credibility with both all sides in an emotionally charged case involving many parties. He quickly zeroed in on the heart of the issue while giving everyone a chance to be heard. He then set the stage for the path that ultimately led to resolution. I would not hesitate to recommend Mike and will certainly use him in the future.
- Attorney, Orange County, California

Mike was able to overcome strong emotions and animosities that had prevented the resolution of this dispute. Throughout the process he was calm and professional; and he was able to keep the parties focused on making progress in the negotiations. I would gladly use Mike Young as a mediator again.
- Attorney, Irvine, California

Mike handled a large group of attorneys with very different positions very well.
- Attorney, Los Angeles, California

Mike was fair and understood copyright law better than many other mediators.
- Attorney, Nevada

Mike got quickly up to speed on a year-long settlement process an hour after stepping in. He did a great job.
- Attorney, Santa Ana, California

I appreciated the way he gave our side room to talk and express emotional issues at the beginning but then moved to practical issues to bring the parties to a close.
- Attorney on an Employment/Discrimination Wage & Hour Dispute

Links and Articles

Experience Summary

Legal Career

Civil Litigation Trial Attorney in California since 1985, with emphasis in employment, intellectual property, business, commercial, environmental, and other civil disputes (Alston & Bird; Weston Benshoof, Rochefort, Rubalcava & MacCuish; Los Angeles, CA)
Mediator since 1989 and Chair, Neutral Services Department of Weston, Benshoof
Adjunct Professor, USC Law School, Negotiation and ADR Processes for nearly a decade

Education & Professional Affiliations

J.D. University of Southern California Law School (1985)
B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara (1981)
Strauss Institute For Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law, Mediation and Negotiation Training (1995-96)
Dispute Resolution Services, L.A.County Bar Assn., Mediation Training (1989, 1991, 1994)
Negotiation Strategy Institute, Negotiation Training (1996)
International Academy of Mediators, Continuing Education, Annually
Distinguished Fellow, International Academy of Mediators
California State Bar ADR Committee (2006-2010)
Former Co-Chair, ABA Intellectual Property Law Section, Trade Secrets SubCommittee
Former Chair, ABA Intellectual Property Law Section, Mediation Sub-Committee
USC Law School Annual Fund Executive Committee (1985-Present)

Achievements & Awards

Mr. Young has been named "Super Lawyer" for ADR, Employment, and Intellectual Property every year since 2004.
Additionally, he has written numerous articles on ADR for Dispute Resolution Magazine, California Lawyer, LA Daily Journal, The Advocate, California Law Business, Alternatives, and many more.
Mr. Young was an adjunct professor of law in Negotiation and ADR processes at the USC Law School for nearly a decade.

Legal Experience

Intellectual Property
Employment (including Class Actions and single Plaintiff)
Complex Business/Commercial
Environmental (including Toxic Tort, CERCLA, RCRA, CWA)
Restrictive Covenants
Unfair Competition
Antitrust
Multi-Party and Multi-Interest Disputes

Representative Case Information

Recent Representative Cases

Business/Commercial

Banking/Finance

Unfair Business Practices/Mortgage Industry: Dispute between State, a number of banking entities, and a number of service entities, all arising out of the banking crisis of 2008. The mediation involved facilitating settlement negotiations between and among a variety of related and contentious interests over a lengthy period of time.

Complex Commercial

An established business and a marketing expert joined forces to create a start-up business that combined brick and mortar facilities and digital technology. The partnership went sour and a complex legal dispute was brewing involving corporate issues, alleged malfeasance, contract issues, breach of fiduciary duty claims, fraud, choice of law, and forum selection. The mediation was held before any legal claims were filed allowing the parties to discuss a myriad of possible business solutions.

Consumer Class Action

Unfair Competition: Class action by consumers and unfair competition claims by competitors, alleging a consumer product manufacturer wrongfully represented its product to be free of a toxic chemical.
A startup consumer product company utilized a subscription model for selling its products online. A California class action was filed challenging the disclosure provisions on the website under the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), the Automatic Purchase Renewal statute (APR), and the Unfair Competition Law (UCL). The class action followed a settlement with the attorney general's office of a neighboring state which provided for injunctive relief. As with many startups, cash flow and financial viability was an issue. A successful resolution was reached in mediation.

Contractual

Commercial case involving a non-profit's allegations that a former executive director embezzled and breached its fiduciary duties to the organization.
Trademark infringement case involving alleged counterfeit goods, alleged wrongful take-down notices to major online marketplaces, and alleged damages from online marketplace's failure to promptly reinstate vendor.
Family Business Dissolution: One brother brought claims against his other two brothers over the ownership of a family business upon the passing of their elderly father.
Warranty/Contract: Claims were made by a solar panel producer that the parts used in the production of the panels were not made to specification.
Construction: The prime contractor and subcontractor had what would have been a routine dispute over payments to the sub...had the sub not withdrawn its mechanic's lien, allegedly due to the misrepresentation of the owner of this low income housing development.
Two lawyers who formerly worked together sought to separate and resolve all outstanding issues so they could each move forward with their careers without further recriminations. Issues raised involved the nature of their prior association (employee or contractor), and compensation for potentially lucrative pending litigation that each had worked on. Keeping an eye on the ultimate goal of a professional but clean separation and retention of civility, the parties were able to resolve all issues and maintain their cordial relationship.

Fraud/Misrepresentation

Fraud/Business Torts: The parties, former agent/principal, were accusing one another of all manner of business and personal torts, among other misdeeds. One party accused the other of misappropriating over a half million dollars; while the second accused the first of breaching various contracts and other informal promises.
Settlement was reached in a commercial dispute between a bank and a property management and preservation services firm involving alleged breach of a series of complex contracts. A federal judge had denied summary judgment finding the agreements to be ambiguous, and trial was weeks away. Underlying the dispute was a concern that the court's ruling, or an adverse jury verdict, could have a precedential impact on other similar pending disputes. A short joint session with attorneys and the mediator helped focus the negotiations and led to resolution.
Real estate/development deal went bad, leaving parties suing over breach of contract, specific performance, elder abuse, fraud in the inducement, undue influence, and more. With trial looming, the parties explored and found a business deal that both were happy about.

Construction

Construction Breach Of Contract

Construction claim regarding the demolition and removal of concrete in a substantial public project. Claims were complicated by the lack of a formal written agreement, contradictory testimony regarding the nature and scope of the agreement, and contradictory evidence on the quality of the work completed. Settlement was achieved prior to full discovery being undertaken.

Construction Defects

Construction: Arbitrated a dispute between the owner of an iconic restaurant and the contractor who had constructed an addition regarding the scope and quality of the construction work.

Construction Delay Claims

Construction: Dispute between owner and project manager regarding costs, delays and alleged defects in the construction of food processing facility. Insurance issues existed in the background which needed to be resolved in the process.

Employment

A D A

Plaintiff, claiming he was unable to attend training meetings across the country as a result of his disability, brought a wrongful termination action after he was terminated for missing the meetings. He later asserted that he had discovered that the employer had secretly redacted certain incriminating emails in an attempt to hide the employer's knowledge of the employees claimed disability.

Breach of Contract

All four employees of a small office left together and opened a competing office, servicing the same clients. The owner of the business sued the four employees for breach of loyalty, breach of duty, breach of contract, interference with contract, and other business torts. The owner also sued the employees and the competitor for trade secrets misappropriation, conspiracy, and other related claims. The mediation involved addressing the complex legal issues, competing damages models, and substantial emotion.
Breach of a Marvin Agreement: The parties had been engaged in a long-term romantic relationship, though had never married. When the relationship ended, one party sued the other for financial support, alleging the existence of a so-called Marvin Agreement, a promise to provide financial support similar to the rights given a spouse. Adding to the factual complexity was the procedural posture of the dispute. By the time the parties reached mediation, a default judgment had been entered for millions of dollars, and the court was considering a motion to vacate the judgement.
In this complex business dispute involving the development of a hotel and retail center, the parties were in conflict over the existence of a partnership agreement, the terms of that agreement (if one existed), and the amount of money due each party after the project was sold to Chinese investors. The claims expanded to include various business torts, including breach of fiduciary duty and fraud. The Chinese investors were added as additional defendants and brought cross claims for indemnity. After a marathon session, all claims were resolved and the project was allowed to proceed unencumbered.

Discrimination

A minority doctor at a hospital brought claims for institutional racism, alleging that she had been forced to endure decades of racially motivated harassment and unfair treatment at the hands of administrators and other doctors.
A pregnancy discrimination/wrongful termination lawsuit against a local sports store was resolved with monetary and non-monetary.
In this Qui Tam case based on the False Claims Act, a nurse alleged that a hospital billed the federal government for unnecessary services. The government investigated for a number of years before deciding not to pursue, pushing the case back into the hands of the private party to prosecute on behalf of the government. The private parties were able to reach a settlement subject to government approval.
A public school district director brought a civil rights and FEHA case alleging that the director was harassed based on race and age, and then retaliated against after she insisted on legal representation at her administrative Skelly hearings. The mediation involved some direct conversations with the director and school superintendent (and mediator, no attorneys) to address issues, and practice healthy communication skills. Negotiations involved two tracks, one on the assumption that the director would continue employment, and one on the assumption the director would retire. The mediation ended successfully pending Board approval.

Hostile Environment

A female employee alleged she was compelled by her boss to exchange sexually explicit "selfies"; the boss, whose employment was subsequently terminated, contended the relationship was consensual. The employer claimed lack of knowledge and immediate investigation and appropriate discipline.

Wage and Hour

Wage and hour case arising out of misclassification claims and alleged failure to pay overtime, among other issues. The defendant cross claimed for patent infringement.
Plaintiff alleged misclassification in the healthcare industry of certain nurse practitioners.
This class action case challenged the pizza industry's method for paying delivery drivers reimbursable expenses with a set fee for each delivery. It also raised individual and PAGA claims, all of which were successfully resolved.
A wage and hour and PAGA case in the trucking industry challenging the piece rate compensation system, application of Labor Code Section 226.2 to rest and meal breaks, and wage statement issues. Defense raised federal preemption issues. PAGA, class, and individual claims all successfully resolved.

Wage and Hour Class Action

Class action misclassification case involving the trucking industry, questioning the use of independent contractor drivers and helpers, asserting wage and hour violations, and raising PAGA claims.
Three consolidated class actions alleging various wage and hour violations, the application of meal and rest policies pursuant to collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that may or may not be compliant with Brinker and the applicable wage orders, alleged wage statement violations, and donning and doffing issues.
Complex wage and hour class action in the airline industry resolved after two mediation sessions. The first session was designed to identify the primary issues in dispute and then develop an efficient and directed exchange of information related to those key issues. The second session was used to settle the case.
Action for PAGA penalties based on claim that employer was required to reimburse for "home office" expenses associated with employees working from home.
Class action wage and hour dispute involving a manufacturer and a staffing company over meal and rest breaks, with possible cross claims against a payroll company for wage statement violations. There were two sets of plaintiff's attorneys represented overlapping plaintiffs, which lead to some additional mediation activities between counsel.
The mediation involved 16 individual truck drivers claiming they were misclassified as independent contractors and claimed they were forced into unlawful lease agreements on their trucks, and were subject to improper lease, fuel, and other deductions from their wages. About half of the drivers had obtained a successful award from the Labor Commissioner, which was on appeal in state court. Once the organizational challenges were resolved, all 16 disputes were settled.
Arbitration of a wage and hour class action in the restaurant industry.

Wrongful Termination

Employment Arbitration: Plaintiff employee claimed she was wrongfully terminated for refusing to undergo a drug test that the employer claimed was necessary.
Civil rights case involving allegations of racial profiling by a store cashier conducting a non consensual search of the plaintiff's personal bag. The dispute centered around the motivations of the cashier and the corporate training of the staff.

Entertainment

Entertainment Issues

Entertainment dispute between producers of a horror film, with allegations of fraud, collusion, conspiracy, and theft of funds. Underlying the conflict was a separate dispute between former members of one of the entities arising out of one party's efforts to eject another member from the company.

Environmental

Environmental Issues

Air/Public Policy: The dispute involved the ability of a municipality to impose employment regulations on truckers as part of a clean-air regulation.
Groundwater Contamination: A county water district was involved in a longstanding lawsuit against approximately 50 defendants whose historical operations were alleged to have contributed to massive soil and groundwater contamination.
A landlord of an industrial property near a Superfund site was in a dispute with its manufacturing tenant over responsibility for soil contamination allegedly due to 30 years of operations. For reasons peculiar to the underlying dispute, the legal focus centered on contractual rather than tort issues. Mediation was complicated not only by the existence of other potentially responsible parties and orphan shares, but by the defendant's limited financial resources. A resolution was found involving creative payment terms, indemnities, and limited releases.

Govt./Public Agency

Public Policy

Consumer Protection: Alleged violations of a consumer protection statute by a global technology company.

Regulatory

Civil Rights/County: Claims by foster children against County for alleged abuse by foster parents. Mediation involved life plans and negotiations with County Board of Supervisors.
Freeways/Public Policy: Resolve dispute over the construction and widening of a freeway.

Intellectual Property

General IP

Utilizing co-mediation, successfully resolved a complex copyright infringement matter involving famous characters
Trademark infringement case involving the conflict between federal trademark registration rights and earlier state statutory and common law trademark rights.

IP Copyright

Publishing Industry: Major textbook publishers brought claims against alleged infringers who were allegedly unlawfully selling counterfeit product in Asia.
Music Industry: A dispute involving a major record label that claimed the defendant individual was unlawfully reselling certain musical recordings.
Copyright/Business Dispute: Business partners in a business psychology consulting business separated and both began utilizing the business method and written copyrighted materials. The ensuing dispute involved copyright issues over the rights to use the written materials, along with business dissolution and employment issues.
Photography: Copyright case brought by photographers over the alleged wrongful use of their images.
Sculptures: Disputes over the rights to publicly display large copyrighted sculptures and other artwork outside of commercial buildings.
In the entertainment industry, movie producers and directors were in a dispute over the rights to a documentary film on a famous athlete's life story. The legal issues involved competing copyright registrations, contract issues, and a panoply of common law claims, but the underlying conflict was over control of the film. The key to resolution was in finding a way to best monetize the completed film and in crafting a settlement structure that aligned all of the parties' interest in seeing the film become a financial success.
The parties to a global e-commerce development contract found themselves in a dispute after questions about functionality, delay, and cause of delay arose, leading the customer to cancel the contract prior to completion of the project. Contract and business tort claims and cross-claims were asserted in what promised to be a complex, lengthy, and expensive arbitration process. In a pre-discovrey mediation attended by business leaders, in-house attorneys, and outside counsel, business solutions were explored, and eventually a satisfactory resolution was created and agreed upon.

IP Patent

Computer Technology: A dispute over a systems patent involving computer technology had been in litigation for some time before coming to mediation
Medical Devices: A dispute arose between a doctor/inventor of specialized surgical tools and the company that had purchased the right to patent and commercialize the inventions.
Design Patent: Owners of a design patent covering wheels brought a claim against an alleged infringer.
Method Patents: Patent disputes concerning an on-line marketing tool brought against worldwide consumer companies
Other Utility Patents: Utility patent for exercise equipment
Other Utility Patents: Utility patent for swimming pool equipment
Other Utility Patents: Utility patent for underwater equipment
Other Utility Patents: Utility patent for security
Other Utility Patents: Utility patent for recreational devices
A pre-filing patent and licensing dispute involving sporting equipment, with associated claims for violations of trade secrets, all made more challenging by the recent acquisition of one party by a European equity firm and a key witness/former principal who had been convicted of embezzlement.

IP Right Of Publicity

Misappropriation of Likeness: A model accused a web designer of surreptitiously maintaining a website of the model's photographs, including nude photographs, and charging the public a subscription fee for access.

IP Trade Secrets

Trade Secret/Harassment/Misclassification/Clean Water Act: Dispute between competitors in the fabrication business, one party alleged a key employee stole trade secrets and took them to the chief competitor; the employee for his part denied the theft, and claimed he was harassed, misclassified, and constructively terminated. Clean Water Act violation cross-claims were also asserted to add to both the defendant's leverage and the complexity of the dispute.
Former Employee Competing/wrongful termination: A former employee in the precision instruments business was alleged to have formed a competing business while still working for the employer, utilizing the employer's trade secrets, including customer lists, business plans, and financial data; the employer allegedly learned of the trade secret theft when it was investigating the plaintiff's claims for wrongful termination based on race and gender.
Secret Formulas: Employer claimed former employee absconded with trade secret formulations for certain products; employee claimed to have reverse engineered his own products and the formulations were not identical.
Trade Secrets: Equipment used in the entertainment industry dispute over their trade secret, copyright, and contracts.
Trade Secrets: Arbitrated a trade secret/breach of fiduciary duty dispute between competitors (former business partners)
Trade secrets and breach of loyalty dispute in the cosmetics industry brought by an uncle against his nephew.
A commercial trade secret, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of loyalty case with possible qui tam aspects was filed by a contracting company against a former employee who admittedly secretly formed a competing business, and then remained with the employer for over a year diverting critical and lucrative business opportunities to the secret competing business. After being fired by the employer, the employee formed a third secret corporation and then surreptitiously diverted business opportunities from the second company to the third. The original employer sued the second company and settled for a large sum and an assignment of the rights of the second company against the employee. The original employer thereafter prosecuted two lawsuits against the former employee, one on behalf of itself, and one as assignee of the second company. A mediated settlement was achieved that involved complex business terms.

IP Trademark

The owner (father) of a famous trademark was in a dispute with a licensee (son) over the terms of the license, the licensee's satisfaction of its obligations to grow and promote the mark, related trademarks allegedly registered without authority by the licensee, and the future direction of the products. A multi-national corporation was purchasing the company owning the mark and exerting influence
Counterfeit: Counterfeit clothing
Counterfeit: Counterfeit consumer goods industry
Counterfeit: Counterfeit on-line products
Counterfeit: Counterfeit timepieces and other jewelry products
Counterfeit: Counterfeit home remodeling and decoration industry
Trademark/Employment: Former employee of an importing company registered under his own name the employer's trademarks in a European country, with the apparent aim of competing with the former employer utilizing identically named products. The dispute involved additional allegations of wrongful termination, breach of fiduciary duty, and usurpation of corporate opportunities.
This was a complex trademark dispute between two growing technology companies with very similar names whose businesses started on opposite coasts and then expanded until they began to exist in the same space. The dispute involved questionable tactics by one party in front of the PTO in order to register the similar trademark. The case was resolved after a safe and productive joint session allowed the business leaders to get to know one another and discover that their ultimate goals were not necessarily in conflict. The business leaders were able to craft a settlement that satisfied each parties' ultimate objectives, while avoiding what was certain to be a seven-figure litigation path for each party.
This counterfeiting case involving a famous consumer brand was complicated by the existence of an issued civil contempt judgment arising from the violation of an earlier settlement agreement with the same alleged infringer. Multiple defendants were all pointing to one another as the source of the allegedly counterfeit product. Resolution was reached involving some unique payment terms and other non-monetary protections for the brand owner.

Probate

Estates/Trusts

Probate dispute between siblings, step-siblings, and widow/mother/step-mother over a $125 million estate being waged in over a dozen separate lawsuits, with over a dozen lawyers representing the parties. Substantial gifts, wills, trusts, tax, and probate issues.

Probate

Will contest with allegations of a forged holographic will, with associated claims of elder abuse.

Professional Malpractice

Professional Malpractice Legal

Attorney Fee Arbitration: Lead arbitrator in a fee dispute involving work by a environmental law firm to address an FBI raid of the client's mining facilities, followed by claims by the client that the legal work was below standard and overpriced.

Real Estate

Breach Of Contract

Real Estate: Buyer of a multi-tenant building in a real estate transaction brought claims against the seller after an evicted tenant sued claiming wrongful eviction under the rent control regulations (Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance). The tenant also attended a "Mello" hearing which prevented the buyer from obtaining permits to demolish the existing structure. The buyer and seller each settled with the tenant; the buyer then sought indemnity from the seller. In a pre-filing mediation, the buyer and seller met one another for the first time, and after some direct personal dialogue, reached an agreement they were both happy with.

Real Property

In this residential real estate dispute, the buyer discovered that the square footage of the home was less than what was represented by the buyer. The seller was a broker and agent who had also represented the buyer in a dual agency role. Claims involved breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, negligence, and more. The case resolved pre-suit after exploring settlement options involving the retention of a neutral appraiser, and high/low caps.

Tort

Common Carrier

Airline Wrongful Death: Wrongful death claim against an airline by the daughter of a woman who witnessed her mother die on a flight

Personal Injury

Civil Rights/Police Dog Injury: A police dog mistook the plaintiff for a suspect being pursued, resulting in physical and emotional injuries.

Toxic Torts

Toxic Tort: Mediated 2200 individual cases brought by residents against local industry alleging decades of exposure to toxic chemicals. The dispute was complicated by the number of insurers and disparate insurance policies, some with and some without pollution exclusions.
Soil Contamination: Neighboring landowners regarding remediation costs and access to insurance, including overseeing a neutral expert cost evaluation.

Wrongful Death

Pharmaceutical/Wrongful Death: Wrongful death from the ingestion of a prescribed drug.

Neutral Profile