Testimonials
Mediation Testimonials
“Claudia Viera is a very thorough and patient mediator. I mediated a partnership dispute between my client and her business partners where the adverse parties were unrepresented. Claudia was very hands-on when assisting in educating the unrepresented party about the law and she was whiteboarding the numbers as we went along. The mediation was successful and cost-effective. I just sent her another client of mine in a similar situation and I expect similar excellent results.”
- Katy Young, Managing Partner, Ad Astra Law Group
“Claudia Viera successfully mediated a class action dispute to full settlement. Her command of the issues and facts was outstanding, as was her ability to educate the parties and their counsel on the merits of settlement, including in an objective, compelling, and systematic cost benefit manner. My client and I were particularly impressed with her litigation risk assessment methodologies and her temperament. Ms. Viera is an excellent mediator that I would not hesitate to recommend.”
- Partner in a San Francisco business law firm
“Claudia Viera has served as mediator on a number of my plaintiff-side cases during the past decade. Several of these cases involved claims of sex, age and race harassment and discrimination. Others involved various wage and hour violations. In each of these cases, Claudia’s skills contributed tremendously to the ultimate resolution of the cases. Claudia is smart and tenacious, and she has the mediation skills needed to help attorneys and their clients evaluate the risks and benefits of further litigation. As a former Littler employment attorney and an experienced employment mediator, Claudia has a broad and deep knowledge of the employment issues my clients face in the workplace. The fact that Claudia is fluent in Spanish has been crucial in two of my cases. I look forward to working with Claudia in the future and I often recommend her to my friends and colleagues on both sides of employment disputes.”
- P.K., Bay Area Employment Attorney
“Thank you for your arduous efforts yesterday to resolve the case. I appreciate your patience and diligence in getting the case resolved. Thank you again for your assistance in helping us to reach agreement on a difficult case with several competing interests.”
- L.F., Employment Defense Attorney, San Rafael
“Ms. Viera has a very easy way about her which I believe helped keep this matter on a course towards resolution. There was no argument that my client had made improper statements. Ms Viera was very good at listening to my client’s explanation and empathizing with my client. However, she was also able to gently but firmly state her perceptions regarding my client’s statements and how bad they would be perceived against her by a judge or jury. Ms. Viera’s gentle but firm way was instrumental in persuading my client of the future danger of continuing litigation and the benefit of resolving the matter “now.” I have already recommended Ms. Viera in other matters.”
- T.P., Landlord/Tenant Attorney
“The mediator actually recognized that the parties’ positions were such that even the costs of mediation could be an impediment to settlement. She then took a very pro-active approach at the time of the pre-mediation calls, and settled the case. I was quite impressed. I do ADA defense as one of my areas of practice, and this was the most efficient resolution yet.”
-W. P. K., Sr., Defense Attorney, 2019
"An outstanding mediator."
- Defendant’s Employment Attorney
"Ms. Viera is the best EEOC mediator I have used. Her experience as both plaintiff and defense counsel seem to give her insights into each side’s thinking and valuations that made this case settle. Her personal commitment to resolving not only the financial but also the personal issues achieved justice for everybody.”
- Plaintiff’s Employment Attorney
"I retained Ms. Viera as a mediator in three separate employment lawsuits within the past two years. With her extensive background in employment-related litigation, Ms. Viera clearly understood the complex matters at issue in my cases. She was able to help my clients and me gain a better perspective toward the risks and benefits of settlement. Two of these matters settled during mediation and the third one settled later for terms recommended at mediation by Ms. Viera. Ms. Viera’s Spanish skills were critical in two of these cases. She was able to converse with my monolingual Spanish-speaking clients and to explain the mediation process to them in terms they understood. They found Ms. Viera to be knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and very patient. I strongly recommend Claudia Viera as a mediator, and look forward to working with her in the future."
- San Francisco Employment Rights Attorney
Training Testimonials
“You were excellent today! You are a natural at this. You are able to convey useful information in a way that’s easy to understand. You don’t do it by showing off your skills, you do it by making us show off ours. Your exercises are so appropriate and really drive home the learning. I received great feedback from the participants. One person said it was eye-opening for him. He really didn’t realize how poorly he listened and how damaging that could be to relationships. You are simply outstanding at communicating this course. I can really see the benefit to everyone to have these skills, not just managers. Thank you so much for your outstanding work!”
- Brytain Ashford, Vice President, Human Resources, The California Endowment (Full-day Conflict Resolution Training)
You are a fantastic instructor. I have observed college teachers for over a decade (and taught for almost twice that long)—your balance of lecture and activity, control and letting go, as well as your awareness of scope and individuals—all contribute to creating an effective, engaging classroom. You are one of the top teachers I have observed here. You are a natural and skilled instructor who organizes information logically so that it can be accessed by a variety of learners. You show enthusiasm and you communicate expressively to build relationships with students. You use examples from your professional mediation experience, hypotheticals, and simplified analogies - all to help concretize and illustrate lecture concepts. Our students benefit immensely from your excellent teaching skills.
-Andrew Brosnan, Program Director, San Francisco State University, College of Extended Learning
We retained Ms. Viera for the first time in 2011. She was the perfect choice to run our series of Harassment Prevention training workshops. We needed the same concept presented to multiple levels of staff within the company, from shop floor staff to the owners. Ms. Viera was able to present a clear comprehensive course appropriate for each of these different levels as to their particular roles and responsibilities. In addition, more than three quarters of our workforce is Spanish speaking, so her ability to deliver the same material in two different languages and have it be seamless and consistent was very important. Ms. Viera has a very engaging demeanor which put our employees at ease, and she delivered the message in such a way that it was easy to understand. The training was facilitated in a succinct manner and held the audience’s attention throughout the workshop. We have continued to use Ms. Viera’s services annually since 2011 for ongoing workshop updates and mediation when needed.
- Nick O., Owner, South San Francisco Business
“Claudia, with all that is going on in the media today, I am thankful for the time I spent with you in training. Because of you, I'm more prepared and definitely have the knowledge/insight as to what proper behavior truly is. My division is leading the company in sales $$ growth this year FYI...I hope all is well with you and, thank you for making a difference for me.”
-D.M., VP Sales, Large Healthcare Company, (1-on-1 Harassment/Discrimination/Sensitivity Training)
“I am so fortunate to have been trained by Claudia Viera. Her mediation skills are excellent: listening, asking good questions, seemingly effortlessly facilitating conversation. She values the parties, gives them space to make their own decisions at their own pace, and allows them to own their conflict, which also empowers them. I also appreciate her strong code of ethics and her unwavering adherence to mediation as a facilitative, not a coercive, process.”
- Nancy H., Attorney/Mediator
“I recently had the pleasure of attending Claudia’s presentation to a group of mediators on Striving for Mediator Impartiality: Understanding the Impact of Unconscious Bias. Claudia is a remarkably engaging and articulate speaker with a firm grasp of her subject matter and a keen sense of humor. Her presentation was interactive, and her audience was fully engaged in the process. She has remarkable communication and teaching skills, and I recommend her highly to anyone who may be interested in conflict resolution or mediation training.”
- Phil D., Mediator/Arbitrator/Special Master
“My company hired Claudia Viera to train our employees and Supervisors on Preventing Sexual and Workplace Harassment and Eliminating Harassment in the Workplace for our San Francisco branch. The results of the Training were so impressive, we did the same Training in April 2015 for our Milpitas Branch. The success of the course is based simply on the results, on a scale of one (low) to five (high):
Employees understanding about harassment before training was 2.25, and after training was 4.85
The quality of the courses and information was 4.95
The Overall Course Rating was a 5.
The results and employee/supervisor comments about the programs reflected immediate progress in this area. The success of having a third party represent this information is a win for the employees and the corporation.”
- Terry Huserik, HR Manager, Northern California, Acme Construction Supply Company
“Claudia listened well to our staff’s desire for practical tips on how to personally deal with offensive, uncomfortable situations and designed a thoughtful and engaging training session that was enthusiastically received. What made the training so effective was not just Claudia’s obvious mastery of the subject matter and superb facilitation skills, but the care she took to tailor the scenarios and presentation to reflect our work environment and culture.”
- Bob Bailey, Director of HR, Haas Jr. Fund
Respect in the Workplace Training: How to Respond to Offensive Conduct
“In addition to mediating with Claudia, I have had the opportunity to learn from Claudia in the continuing legal education context. While I served as chairperson of the Alameda County Bar Association Labor and Employment Section, I invited Claudia to speak to the group on issues pertaining to the mediation and resolution of employment disputes. Her presentation was very well received by my colleagues. I look forward to working with Claudia in the future and I often recommend her to my friends and colleagues on both sides of employment disputes.”
- P.K., Bay Area Employment Attorney
“Very engaging training, loved it. Your speaking style and content made for a superb experience. Most of what I do here is based upon conducting Mandatory Settlement Conferences and attorneys are very adept in picking up biases, especially when working with Self- Represented Clients/pro pers. Thank you!”
- J. M., California Superior Court Administrator
“Thank you so much for this training! It was an absolute pleasure getting to meet you and learn so much from you. We will have a better workplace environment as a result of this training.”
- D.F., Human Resources Manager, San Francisco Bay Area Company
"It was an excellent program which pushed me to where I needed to go next in my practice. I really appreciated Claudia’s contributions."
- Mediation program participant
"The presentation format enabled lively, honest discussion in the group. I thought it was interesting and informative."
-Harassment Prevention program participant
"This class was excellent. I would recommend it to everyone who is doing the certificate program. I think it should be required instead of an elective. The instructor was excellent."
- SFSU Student
Mediation Training Participant Comments:
"Beautifully executed, organized, presented, designed. Well balanced in teaching and role playing. Plenty of space for people to express feelings."
"Exciting, provocative, thorough, tightly run."
"Very well organized, well structured, good balance between theory and practice, emulating participation, high standard of participants."
"Awesome, heartfelt, deep and very useful."
"Very demanding emotionally and intellectually, but well worth the effort. I enjoy being challenged by new ideas."
"She makes the space safe for us to be together talking and helps us get past blocks."
Workplace Mediation/Facilitation Testimonials
“I want to thank you for being a vital part of my team’s conflict resolution process and helping to create the space to allow the positive process to evolve. I believe it was your facilitation that was so essential in this journey and got us to our desired outcome. You were grounded, engaged and held us accountable in a respectful and realistic way, which I truly appreciate. I enjoyed getting to know you and also your contribution; it would not have been the same without you. I appreciate your kind words to our team and the time and energy you gave to us, thank you.”
- J. H., Program Manager, City & County of San Francisco
“Claudia quickly gained credibility with our staff for this sensitive conversation with her subject matter expertise, warmth and self-deprecating humor. She designed and beautifully facilitated a well-paced session that mixed small and full-group discussions which were inclusive and encouraged maximum participation. This session was intended to be an open-ended conversation to explore what the #MeToo movement meant for us, and Claudia made it happen.”
- Bob Bailey, Director of HR, Haas Jr. Fund
The Impact of the #MeToo Movement in the Workplace
“At our organization, we had two ambitious rising stars who, after an unfortunate disagreement during a meeting, dug in their heels and refused to communicate - continuing to blame each other. After a few attempts to resolve the situation informally, I decided to send them to professional mediation with Claudia Viera. Today, both employees are "best friends" and have developed a better working relationship than they had before. In addition, the entire agency is, and will be, benefitting from the advanced communication skills they both learned, as we are developing a communication training for the management team. Initially, I didn't want to spend the money - but all involved have benefitted from their work in mediation and it was worth the cost (of a short, but powerful, three-week course.) Thank you, Claudia!"
- D.K., Executive Director, San Francisco Non-Profit