Gayle Lenore Eskridge

GAYLE L. ESKRIDGE, the principal of ESKRIDGE LAW & MEDIATION, was a litigation and trial attorney since 1988, representing individuals, corporations and partnerships, employees and employers, wealth management firms, financial advisors, investors, developers, and municipalities. With broad litigation and trial experience, Ms. Eskridge has managed hundreds of cases and now dedicates her practice to serving as a Mediator and Arbitrator in the areas of Employment, Business and Real Estate Law.

Both ESKRIDGE LAW and Gayle L. Eskridge have held AV ratings from Martindale-Hubbell every year since 2001. An AV rating identifies a lawyer or firm with very high to preeminent legal ability. The AV rating is a reflection of expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence.

Ms. Eskridge has also been designated a Martindale-Hubbell Top Rated Lawyer in Litigation every year since 2015, and a Martindale-Hubbell Labor and Employment Law Top Rated Lawyer every year since 2015. Ms. Eskridge has also been designated a Martindale Hubbell Women’s AV Preeminent Attorney every year since 2011.

Ms. Eskridge has been designated a California Super Lawyer for every year since 2012. (Only 5% of all attorneys in California ever receive such a distinction.)

Ms. Eskridge has also been designated as one of the Best Lawyers in America. Best Lawyers is regarded – by both the legal profession and the public – as one of the most credible measures of legal integrity and distinction in the United States. Inclusion in Best Lawyers symbolizes excellence in practice.

Ms. Eskridge has also been designated a Top Attorney in Southern California by Los Angeles Magazine. Ms. Eskridge has also been selected a California Top Ten Attorney in the Litigation, Lawsuits & Disputes Division by the American Institute of Legal Counsel.

Ms. Eskridge has been designated as one of America’s Most Honored Professionals – Top 1% in every year since 2011. She has also been designated one of the Top Women Attorneys in Southern California every year since 2012.

Ms. Eskridge is a mediator certified by the Los Angeles County Bar Association Dispute Resolution Services, Inc. Ms. Eskridge has served as a Settlement Conference Officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court, and as a Member of the Los Angeles Superior Court Mediator Panel. Ms. Eskridge is also a Pro Tem Settlement Conference Judge with the Sacramento Superior Court. Ms. Eskridge is currently a member of the American Arbitration Association Mediator and Arbitrator Panels, a Professional Member of the Southern California Mediation Association, a Senior Mediator with , a member of the California Dispute Resolution Council, a member of , and a member of the Association of Attorney-Mediators. Ms. Eskridge has conducted over 250 mediations. Ms. Eskridge has served as an Arbitrator in over 150 arbitrations.

Ms. Eskridge is admitted to practice in all the courts of the State of California, including all the United States District Courts in California. Ms. Eskridge holds a Juris Doctorate degree from National University School of Law. Her legal studies were distinguished by three American Jurisprudence Awards – in Constitutional Law, Real Property Law and Remedies, and by an F. Lee Bailey Moot Court Award.

Ms. Eskridge is active in the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA). She is a former Chair of the LACBA Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee, which is one of the most esteemed ethics organizations in the country. Ms. Eskridge was previously a long-time member of the LACBA Judicial Appointments Committee, which investigates and interviews judicial applicants and submits reports to the Governor.

Ms. Eskridge is active in the Sacramento County Bar Association, including currently serving as a member of the board of directors, and on the leadership committees of both the Alternative Dispute Resolution Law section and the Labor and Employment Law section. Ms. Eskridge is also the Chair of the Sacramento County Bar Association’s Membership Committee and a member of the Bylaws Committee.

Ms. Eskridge is or has been a member of:

• The American Bar Association, including the Dispute Resolution Section (1988 – present);

• The State Bar of California (1988 – present) – including the Litigation section (1988 – 2018), Labor and Employment Law Section (1994 – 2018), Real Property section (1988 – 2018), and Business Law section (2006 – 2018);

• The California Lawyers Association (2018 – present) – including the Litigation section (2018 – present), Labor and Employment Law section (2018 – present), Real Property section (2018 – present), and Business Law section (2018 – present);

• The Los Angeles County Bar Association – including the Business Law, Real Property, Labor and Employment, and Litigation sections (1994 – present);

• The Judicial Appointments Committee (2007 – 2011), and the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee (2014 – 2023);

• The Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles – including the Business-Corporations, Real Property, Employment and Labor, Litigation, and ADR-Mediation sections (2006 – 2018);

• The Sacramento County Bar Association (currently on board of directors), including the Alternative Dispute Resolution Law (currently on leadership committee), Labor and Employment Law (currently on leadership committee), Real Property Law, and Business Law sections (2021 – present), and the Membership Committee (currently the Chair) and Bylaws Committee;

• The South Bay Bar Association (1994 – 2020);

• The South Bay Women Lawyers Association (1997 – 2000);

• The California Employment Lawyers Association (2002 – 2020);

• The National Employment Lawyers Association (2002 – 2020);

• The American Arbitration Association (2006 – present);

• The San Diego County Bar Association – including the Business & Corporate Law, Real Property Law, Labor and Employment Law, General Civil Litigation (Chair during 1990-1992), and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections (1988 – 2015), and the Animal Law Section (1997 – 2015); editor of Dicta, The Lawyer’s Magazine (1990-1993); and

• Lawyers Club of San Diego (1988-1994).

Ms. Eskridge has been a guest speaker on various legal topics for the Sacramento County Bar Association, the Financial Executives Networking Group, the South Bay Association of Realtors, the Del Amo Rotary Club, the California Society of Medical Assistants, the Torrance Chamber of Commerce, the Corporate Advisory Committee of the Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations, and other organizations, and has provided seminars on legal issues to numerous businesses.

Ms. Eskridge has also served as an expert witness in employment law matters.

Ms. Eskridge has had numerous legal articles published in the San Diego Bar Association’s Dicta, The Lawyer’s Magazine, the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Update, and the Sacramento Bar Association’s Sacramento Lawyer, among other publications.

Ms. Eskridge has also done years of pro bono for the Los Angeles Superior Court and Sacramento Superior Court alternative dispute programs.

Ms. Eskridge is the founder and President of Hercules Animal Rescue, Inc., a non-profit corporation committed to the rescue and protection of abandoned, lost, and feral animals. Hercules Animal Rescue Inc. has rescued and found homes for close to 100 kittens since 2006, and has spayed, neutered, microchipped and vaccinated numerous other cats. Ms. Eskridge has also done pro bono legal work for other non-profit animal protection organizations, such as Friends of Cats, Inc. and Emergency Animal Rescue, Inc. In addition to her animal protection work, Ms. Eskridge has done pro bono legal work for the Cancer Legal Resource Center of Los Angeles, and for victims of HIV and AIDS.

Ms. Eskridge also holds a real estate broker license from the California Department of Real Estate.