LAURIE QUIGLEY SALDAÑA, JD, PHR
California State Bar No. 155543 laurie@mediationcentral.net
(805) 556-0899
Philosophy
“The obligation of the legal profession is…to serve as healers of human conflicts…. We should provide mechanisms that can produce an acceptable result in the shortest possible time, with the least possible expense and with a minimum of stress on the participants. That is what justice is all about.”
-- Former United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger
Current
Full time mediator of litigated and pre-litigation civil disputes. Successful record of mediating cases in the following arenas: personal injury, employment, construction, breach of oral/written contract, fraud, civil rights violations, breach of loan agreement, commercial business disputes, real property, legal malpractice, product liability, premises liability, and medical malpractice.
- Training: Straus Institute, Pepperdine University, “Mediating the Litigated Case”; “The Psychology of Conflict”; “Managing Reactions When In Conflict”; “Conflict Coaching”
- Certified Professional in Human Resources
- Member of the Superior Court Mediation Panels in the following counties: Fresno, Merced, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare
Prior
Civil trial attorney for 18 years with Lang, Richert & Patch, Fresno, and Morrison & Foerster, Los Angeles. Represented individuals and businesses (plaintiff and defense) in various areas of the law, including: employment, business, construction, creditor’s rights, personal injury, products liability, medical malpractice, insurance coverage, and Native American law.
Notable Achievements
- Recognized as a “Super Lawyer” in the area of medical malpractice by
California Lawyer Magazine
- Member of state-wide 15 attorney Steering Committee for management of the California Coordinated Litigation of the Ford Motor Company/Firestone Tire tread separation and vehicle rollover products liability cases; co-lead counsel on the first case to commence trial in California in this litigation
- Public speaker before groups of 15 to 400 persons on a variety of topics including: medical malpractice litigation; multi-media trial presentation; civil trial practice and procedure; jury focus groups; dispute resolution and mediation
Education
University of California, Hastings College of the Law, JD, 1991. University of California, Berkeley, Political Economy of Industrial Societies, BA, 1988.
Memberships
- State Bar of California
- San Luis Obispo County Bar Association
- San Luis Obispo County Women Lawyers Association
- California Women Lawyers Association
- Fresno County Bar Association
- Southern California Mediation Association
- United States District Court, Eastern District
- United States District Court, Northern District
- United States District Court, Central District
Community Involvement
- Board of Directors, Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County, 2009 - present
- Board Member, San Luis Obispo Women Lawyers Association, 2011-present
- Leadership San Luis Obispo, Class XIX, 2009-2010
- Leadership Fresno, Class XII, 1995-1996
- Klaproad Task Team, San Luis Obispo Community Foundation, 2010
- Volunteer Mediator, Creative Mediation, San Luis Obispo, 2009 - present
- Scoring Judge, San Luis Obispo County Mock Trial Competition
- Judge pro tem, Fresno County Superior Court
- Commissioner, City of Pismo Beach, Parks, Beautification & Recreation
Commission, 2010-present
Personal
Laurie and her husband owned a home in San Luis Obispo County as part-time residents since the mid-1990s and permanently relocated to the Central Coast in 2009. They were both trial lawyers in Fresno for many years prior to founding Mediation Central. When not mediating or speaking on topics related to mediation, Laurie enjoys volunteering, cooking, hiking, reading, and spending time with family and friends. |