James Blaker Baldinger

Jim Baldinger is a litigation veteran who knows how to settle difficult disputes.

Whether conducting a mediation online via Zoom or in-person, Jim always shows up thoroughly prepared, having carefully reviewed all submitted materials regarding the factual, legal, and procedural issues in the case, but also with a focus on the business, personal, and emotional implications of the dispute.

Jim is an active and creative participant in mediation sessions, not simply a message carrier between the sides.

Jim’s extensive experience from the courtroom to the boardroom provides invaluable perspective that informs his approach to guiding parties and their counsel to a successful outcome at mediation. His evaluative process ensures that all parties come away from mediation with a sensible settlement that they believe is in their best interest or, at a minimum, with a deeper understanding of the risks and opportunities in the dispute that will allow them to proceed forward in a more informed and strategic way.

For over 30 years, Jim represented clients as a business litigator and trial lawyer in more than 1,000 lawsuits, arbitrations, and mediations across the country, resulting in more than 200 published court decisions. He has earned the respect of clients, opponents, and judges alike. He understands the perspective of clients because he was one for many years, as a senior executive managing a 250 person team for a Fortune 100 company, and as in-house corporate litigation counsel.

Over the course of his career, Jim has been involved in disputes covering nearly every substantive legal area, and he has participated from the vantage points of lead trial counsel, appellate counsel, in-house corporate counsel, the court (as a judicial law clerk), and as a party. He has navigated the complexities of litigation from both the plaintiff and defense perspectives.

Above all, Jim understands that cases resolve when the parties believe that settlement is in their own best interest. He brings patience, persistence, expertise, empathy, and a fresh perspective to mediation that gets cases settled.