CLAUDIA M. VIERA CURRICULUM VITAE
Mediation. Since 2001, Claudia Viera has mediated nearly a thousand tough legal disputes, including employment, contract and business disputes. She works actively with both attorneys and parties to help them achieve a better resolution than either side would achieve in court. Ms. Viera also represented plaintiffs in harassment cases and uses her understanding of the complex dynamics on both sides of the table to resolve cases. Her more than 15 years as a mediator enhance her risk analysis discussions which helps create early opportunities for settlement.
Employment Expertise. Ms. Viera honed her skills as an employment attorney with Littler Mendelson, a global labor and employment law firm. Ms. Viera continues to give trainings on cutting-edge employment law topics, harassment prevention and mediation and communication skills. Her experience as a workplace factfinder/investigator enhances her skills as a professional neutral, and ensures a fair and balanced approach to her work as a mediator.
Multi-Cultural Competence. Ms.Viera mediates in Spanish and English. She studied comparative international law for a semester in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She also lived for years in foreign countries - Spain, Germany, The Czech Republic, Britain and Guatemala. Those experiences abroad make her an excellent choice to mediate cross-national disputes and give her an ability to connect with diverse parties in mediation. Ms. Viera also has extensive experience with pre-litigation disputes in workplaces and among co-owners or business partners.
Flexible Approach. Ms. Viera is flexible and is known for her patience and excellence in resolving high-emotion conflicts.
EXPERTISE IN CASES INVOLVING:
MEDIATOR APPOINTMENTS (2001-present)
U.S. District Court, N. D. Cal. ADR Panel
California Court of Appeal, 1st and 3rd Appellate Distr. Mediation Panel
San Francisco Bar Association Mediation Services Panel
Alameda County Superior Court Mediation Panel
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Panel
SEEDS CRC Mediator
Yolo County Superior Court ADR Mediation Panel
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
2016-2017 President, The Mediation Society of San Francisco, Board of Directors
Five-term Co-Chair, Mediation Committee, Bar Association of San Francisco
Three-term President, Board of Directors at SEEDS Community Resolution Center
The Mediation Society of San Francisco, Board of Directors (2010-2018)
Lecturer, San Francisco State Univ. College of Extended Learning, Conflict Resolution for Human Resource Professionals, 2006-2016
Guest Lecturer on Mediation Skills: U.C. Hastings Law School, Berkeley Law School, U.C. Berkeley
Former Lecturer on Employment Law, St. Mary’s College
Member - California and American Bar Associations, Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California, Association for Conflict Resolution, The Mediation Society, Association of Workplace Investigators
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Mediator, Trainer, Investigator.
Mediation Law Offices of Claudia Viera, San Francisco Bay Area, CA, 2004-present
Mediate cases at various stages of the legal process with focus on employment and business disputes; teach mediation and conflict resolution/communication skills to workforces and private organizations; teach harassment prevention and employment law programs to workforces; plenary speakers at conferences highlighting acclaimed implicit bias program; investigate claims of harassment, discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. Private mediator in San Francisco, California since 2001.
President, 2017, The Mediation Society of San Francisco, Bd. of Directors 2010-2018
President, SEEDS Community Resolution Center/EBCM, Bd. of Directors 2003-2009
Co-Chair, Mediation Committee of the San Francisco Bar Association 2005-2010
Plenary Speaker, International Academy of Mediators Annual Conference, Implicit Bias in Mediation, co-presenter Professor Carol Izumi, 2015
Plenary Speaker, Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI) Annual Conference, The Psychology of Bias: Understanding and Eliminating Bias in Investigations, 2010
Sloan Fellow of the Center For Mediation In Law, Gary Friedman, 2002-2007
Employment Attorney and Trainer.
Littler Mendelson, P.C., San Francisco, California, 1998-2004
Represented employers of all types in a variety of employment litigation and counseling matters; wrote pre-trial motions, DFEH responses and client advice letters; reviewed and drafted multi-state employee handbooks; handled significant portion of workers’ compensation matter through trial; prepared for and assisted with ADA trial; interviewed managers and employees in extensive wage and hour audit; gave in-depth advice to HR representatives on immigration issues and management of employees’ performance issues.
Assistant Director of Training and Content Development. As a member of Littler’s premier training Legal Learning Group, developed and taught workplace harassment, EEO, and managing within the law courses to thousands of managers and employees nationwide; created and customized employment law training programs for national clients; facilitated two-day Conducting Lawful Investigations programs with actors; jointly developed diversity awareness programs with legal overlay; managed relationships with LLG’s Premier Partners; strategically organized firm’s legal knowledge.
Independent Investigator.
Internal Dispute Resolutions, San Francisco, California, 1998
Investigated sexual harassment claims: designed interview plan, interviewed witnesses, reviewed employee personnel files, gathered and analyzed evidence, and wrote report of findings.
MEDIATION CAREER DEVELOPMENT
As of 2020, Ms. Viera has participated in over 600 hours of mediation training, including:
U.S. District Court, N. D. California ADR Program
Advanced Mediator Training, California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District
Advanced Mediator Training, Center for Understanding in Conflict
Harry Sloan Fellow for the Center for Mediation in Law
Advanced Mediation Training, Center For Mediation in Law
James Gilliland Symposium: A Dialogue on Rethinking Dispute Resolution
The Mediation SocietyEqual Employment Opportunity Commission
Conflict Resolution Training, Will Schutz Associates
Fundamentals of Family Law Training for Mediators, Northern California Mediation Center
Appropriate Custody & Parenting Arrangements, Northern California Mediation Center
Mediation Skills Training, Berkeley Dispute Resolution Service
Intensive Mediation Training, Gary Friedman, Center For Mediation In Law, 2001
Mediation and Negotiation Classes, University of California, Berkeley Law School, 1998
PLENARY SPEAKER
Implicit Bias in Mediation, International Academy of Mediators Annual Conference, co-presenter Professor Carol Izumi, May 7, 2015
Implicit Bias: Awareness and Tools for Change, San Francisco Community Boards Plenary Session, June 6, 2014
Ethical Dilemmas in Mediation: Challenging Situations Faced By Mediators, Alternative Dispute Resolution Northern California (ADRNC) Annual Conference, March 11, 2012
The Psychology of Bias: Understanding and Eliminating Bias in Investigations, Association of Workplace Investigators Annual Conference, with Amy Oppenheimer, November 5, 2010
Conflict Styles in Mediation and Developing the Issues, Intensive Mediation Training for Attorneys, Assistant Trainer with Gary Friedman, Center for Mediation in Law, 2006
Working with Conflict Types in Mediation, Europa-Universitait Mediation Conference, Berlin, Germany, 2004
Using Positions and Interests in Mediation, Osgoode Law School’s World View Conference, Toronto, Canada, 2004
PRESENTATIONS/TEACHING
Instructor, U.C. Berkeley Extension, Business/Employment Mediation and Conflict Resolution Skills 40-hour Intensive Training, 2020-present
Lecturer, San Francisco State Univ., Conflict Resolution for Human Resource Professionals, 2006-2016
Guest Lecturer, Business Mediation Course, U.C. Berkeley Extension, 2006-present
Adjunct Professor, Saint Mary’s College, Basic Employment Law, 2005
Assistant Trainer/Coach, Gary Friedman’s Intensive Mediation Training, Center For Mediation in Law 2004-2006
Plenary Speaker/Presenter, Mediation and Investigation Skills for various groups, 2004-present
Lead Trainer, Mediation and Negotiation Skills, Osgoode Law School’s World View Conference, Toronto, Canada, 2004
Lead Trainer, City of Berkeley’s Full-Day Conflict Resolution Training, 2002-2008
Mediation Coach, Mediation Class, U.C. Hastings Law School, varied years 2003-present
Lead Trainer, Various Harassment Prevention/EEO/Investigation Courses, 2000-present
English Teacher Abroad 1991-1995: Taught English specializing in advanced classes for American/British exams. Berlin, Germany 1994-1995; Barcelona, Spain 1992-1994; Prague, The Czech Republic 1991-1992
ARTICLES
2019 Sexual Harassment Prevention/Abusive Conduct Prevention Training – New Requirements for Small California Employers (SB 1343)
Employment Mediation At The EEOC And DFEH: The Models and the Opportunities
Mediation Statistics at the EEOC and DFEH
Internal Disciplinary Investigations: Weingarten Rights In Union - And Non-Union – Workplaces, all published at www.hr.com and www.hrhome.com.
Managing Ever-Changing Training Laws, May 2000, published at www.shrm.org
EDUCATION
J.D., University of California, Berkeley Law School (Boalt Hall), 1998
Assoc. Editor, Berkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law
Assoc. Editor, Berkeley Women’s Law Journal
Advocate in Spanish, Central American Refugee Clinic
Director, East Bay Workers’ Rights Clinic
B.A., Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, High Distinction
Phi Beta Kappa, 1990
Personal
Languages: Proficient in Spanish; Conversant in German; Elementary knowledge of Czech
Hobbies: Travel, gardening, yoga, volleyball, photography, San Francisco Zen Center