Stephen Liacouras
Experienced Mediator
25 years mediating complex civil disputes, including business, employment, civil rights, and insurance matters.
Mediation Experience
Full-time mediator since 2001; successfully resolved more than 1,000 complex civil disputes.
Chief Circuit Mediator, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2018–2026; Led the nation's largest court-staffed appellate mediation program.
Circuit Mediator, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2001–2018.
Mediation practice areas include business and commercial, civil rights, insurance, ERISA, employment, environmental and natural resources, intellectual property, personal injury and wrongful death, real property, housing, and financial services.
Extensive teaching of mediation and negotiation skills to judges, attorneys, and law students.
About
During 25 years as a full-time mediator in San Francisco, Stephen Liacouras has mediated several thousand cases involving individuals, corporations, government agencies, and tribal nations, ranging from two-party disputes to complex multi-party litigation.
Attorneys describe Stephen as warm and engaging, someone who establishes rapport easily and earns trust quickly. They point to his skill in knowing when and how to intervene, keeping even the most difficult negotiations on track to settlement.
Before he began mediating full time, Stephen practiced civil litigation in San Francisco, worked as general counsel to a technology company in Austin, Texas, and supervised staff attorneys at an appellate court in California. This background enables him to identify litigation risk and understand the business and institutional concerns that affect settlement decisions.
“After all these years mediating, I still love getting to know the people involved in a dispute and learning what matters to them. I keep each side’s perspective in mind as I help them realistically assess their options and reach a resolution that addresses what matters most to each side.”
Representative Matters
Stephen was the mediator in all matters listed below.
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Dozens of employment discrimination matters involving claims based on race, gender, age, disability, and sexual harassment.
Wage-and-hour class and representative actions, including PAGA claims against national companies.
Disability accommodation matters involving alleged failures to accommodate and engage in the interactive process.
Retaliation and wrongful termination claims involving private employers and public entities.
Employment contract disputes involving compensation, commissions, and other benefits.
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Wrongful conviction actions brought by individuals who had been incarcerated for more than two decades.
Class action challenging federal restrictions on the ability to apply for asylum at the border.
Section 1983 actions involving alleged excessive force, police shootings, tasers, police-dog bites, and wrongful arrest, as well as hundreds of Section 1988 attorney-fee disputes.
First Amendment challenges to restrictions on protests and demonstrations, including limits on amplified speech and activity near courthouses and other public facilities.
Challenges to state’s Covid-19 policies, including mandatory vaccination and restrictions on gatherings.
Disability-rights matters involving education, public accommodations, architectural access, hearing and vision impairment, service animals, voting, and website accessibility.
Constitutional claims challenging prison conditions, alleged failure to provide appropriate medical care, and the treatment of transgender and disabled inmates.
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First-party property coverage disputes involving fire, flood, and other property losses, including bad-faith claims and claims for Brandt fees.
Liability coverage disputes involving the duty to defend and indemnify in underlying personal injury, defamation, employment, and other litigation.
Life and accidental-death insurance disputes involving coverage and whether death resulted from excluded causes, including suicide.
ERISA and other disability and long-term care insurance disputes involving denial or termination of benefits, including claims arising from long COVID.
Pension and employee-benefit disputes involving plan benefits and trust fund contributions.
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Commercial lease disputes between major retailers and commercial property owners.
Contract and fraud disputes involving the sale, acquisition, and operation of businesses.
Contract disputes involving consulting agreements, professional services, and other commercial relationships.
Disputes between gas station operators and oil companies under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act.
Disputes concerning reimbursement rates for prescription drugs and Medicare-related services.
Pre-litigation contract disputes between private service providers and public entities.
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Copyright disputes involving motion pictures, books, and music.
Dozens of trademark, trade-dress, and false-advertising disputes between competing businesses, including matters involving consumer products, clothing, and tourism services.
Trade-secret claims against former employees.
Defamation and media-related disputes involving anti-SLAPP motions.
Dispute involving technical and operational issues concerning closed-captioning technologies for major movie theater chains.
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Wrongful-death and serious-injury claims involving private parties, businesses, public entities, and health-care providers.
Product-liability claims against national retailers.
Catastrophic-injury claims arising from transportation and workplace accidents.
Hundreds of claims involving alleged childhood sexual abuse and institutional responsibility following revival of previously time-barred claims.
Claims arising from suicides allegedly connected to bullying at schools and on social media.
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Omnibus mediation of more than 75 cases brought by a major lender involving alleged improper HOA foreclosures.
Residential property disputes involving homeowners’ associations, use restrictions, and other ownership issues.
Real property and development disputes involving land use decisions and inverse condemnation.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act matters.
Claim involving alleged financial exploitation and fraudulent transfers of an older adult’s investment assets.
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Dozens of environmental and natural-resources matters involving federal and state agencies, tribal governments, private parties, and environmental organizations.
NEPA and Clean Water Act litigation involving major infrastructure, development, and other projects.
Endangered Species Act matters involving fisheries, logging, and development.
Public-lands disputes involving the Wilderness Act, road construction and access, easements, grazing, and other uses of federal lands.
Complex water and natural-resource disputes involving states, tribal governments, federal agencies, and other stakeholders.
What Attorneys Say
The following comments are excerpts from attorneys’ emails and letters following mediations with Stephen.
Among the Very Best
“I have participated in hundreds of mediations and settlement conferences over more than two decades, and Stephen is among the very best mediators I have seen. He made my client feel heard, understood, and treated with genuine consideration. This case simply would not have settled without Stephen’s expert guidance.”
Connects and Earns Trust
“Stephen won the confidence of our clients.”
“He established immediate rapport with our client. He had great credibility and helped us focus on the issues that mattered.”
“Everyone was impressed by his genuineness and familiarity with the issues.”
“His patience, empathy, and unfailing good humor made all the difference.”
Brings Clarity to Complex Cases
“Stephen was extraordinarily skillful in evaluating and resolving a lengthy, legally challenging, hard-fought case.”
“I was impressed by his grasp of the facts and analysis of the legal issues.”
“Creative in his approach to an unusually difficult set of circumstances.”
“Professional, impartial, knowledgeable, and always in control of the process, guiding both parties with remarkable subtlety and effectiveness.”
Expertly Guides the Negotiation
“Without Stephen, the case simply would not have settled.”
“He kept the parties working toward settlement when the whole thing seemed hopeless.”
“His persistence in keeping the negotiations going was the key to ensuring settlement.”
“Many times the negotiations were on the verge of collapsing, but Stephen’s patience and insight kept the process moving toward resolution.”
Professional Background
Chief Circuit Mediator, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2018–2026)
Circuit Mediator, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2001–2018)
General Counsel, Centaur Technology (1999–2001)
Supervising Staff Attorney / Motions Attorney, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1995–1999)
Associate Attorney, Rosen, Bien, Galvan & Grunfeld LLP (1991–1995)
Law Clerk to Chief Judge Dolores K. Sloviter, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1990–1991)
Education
Yale Law School, J.D., 1990
University of California, Berkeley, B.A., History, 1986 — Highest Distinction in General Scholarship; Phi Beta Kappa
Fees
Mediations are scheduled on a full-day basis. The mediation fee includes preparation, pre-mediation conferences with counsel as appropriate, the mediation session, and reasonable post-mediation follow-up.
Fees are ordinarily divided equally among the parties. Please contact me for current rates and availability.