Malcolm Sher

After forty years litigating in California and the U.K., Malcolm Sher transitioned to full time mediation. He specializes in mediating high emotion and cross-cultural disputes, including real property,  commercial and residential landlord-tenant, (including "habitability") business, contract, employment, (including wage-and-hour,) partnership, trust/estate, elder abuse, professional liability, (brokers, lawyers and CPAs), insurance cases as well as personal injury cases. 

A law graduate of the University of London, he is admitted in both California and the United Kingdom. For eleven years, he authored the Annual Supplement to CEB “Real Property Remedies and Damages” book and now co-authors the ADR section of that treatise. He is a member of the State Bar Committee on ADR.

Malcolm has undergone hundreds of hours of mediation and arbitration training including “Mediating the Litigated Case” at the Straus Institute for Conflict Resolution at Pepperdine University, a symposium at the Harvard Negotiation Project and Steve Rosenberg’s Basic and Advanced Mediator Training courses. He has given numerous seminars on mediation and negotiation for CEB, Lorman Education Services, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Alameda, and Sonoma Bar Associations. He is a foundation member of the California and National Academies of Distinguished Neutrals and has an “A-V” rating in Martindale.

Malcolm believes that disputants who are treated fairly, with respect and dignity are empowered to fashion their own “win-win” solutions. He utilizes a flexible, improvisational approach and is willing to be “evaluative”, to explore “what-ifs” and ask probing questions to assist parties and their counsel to identify risks and benefits while gently encouraging them to face reality and shape creative solutions.

Says Sher, “I believe that culture, gender and personality impact disputants’ perception of rights and obligations and influence negotiation style and conflict resolution, and that disputants who are treated with dignity and respect become empowered to fashion their own ‘win-win’ solutions. I am flexible about process and improvisational in my approach. I am willing to be “evaluative”, explore “what-ifs”, ask probing questions and offer “reality checks”. I am never “directive” because I think that undermines clients’ rights to self-determination. In convening a mediation, I discuss efficient, cost-effective suggestions for pre-mediation discovery designed to meet the needs and budgets of parties. As my many testimonials show, I have a reputation of being qualified, competent and well-prepared.”