Mediator - Arbitrator - Neutral Evaluator

Curriculum Vitae

Robert K. Wrede, J.D., LL.M.   

Russ August & Kabat,
12424 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1200
Los Angeles, California 90025
DID: (310) 979-8266  Fax: (310) 979-8267

CIVIL TRIAL AND APPELLATE EXPERIENCE:  

June 1969 to April 30, 1984: Employed by, or partner in, McCutchen, Black, Verleger & Shea, a prominent Los Angeles law firm specializing in complex litigation and business transactions. Major engagements included antitrust (Purex v. Procter & Gamble and Clorox), products liability (McDaniel v. Porsche; Barkan v. Upjohn), entertainment law (Brando v. Salkind ("Superman"); Brando v. Zoetrope Studios ("Apocalypse Now"), insurance coverage (Garey v. Connecticut Mutual); defended NFL in 1973 Superbowl "blackout" litigation; also, admiralty, and environmental litigation (Santa Barbara Oil Spill; McColl dump site; asbestos; and NPDES Guidelines litigation against the EPA on behalf of the petroleum industry. (Clients: American Petroleum Institute, Ford, U.S. Gypsum, RSR Corp.); and administrative proceedings (Los Angeles Air Pollution Control District, California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, California Water Resources Board, Alaska Department of Environmental Affairs, US Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Energy Resources Commission, Federal Trade Commission) on behalf of trade associations (American Petroleum Institute, Western Oil & Gas Association, American Hot Dip Galvanizers, Association of Urethane Manufacturers) and individual clients (Ford, Union Oil, Alyeska Pipeline, Mobil, Exxon, Arcata Graphics, Continental Can).  

May l, 1984, to December 31, 1987: Senior partner, Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Unterberg, Manley, Meyerson & Casey: General commercial litigation including entertainment (Redgrave v. Universal), Steenbergen v.MGM (“The Natural”); Zaentz v. Polygram Records ("Amadeus"); Bob Evans - ("Cotton Club", "Two Jakes"); securities (Universal Savings Bank v. Unity); banking (In re Conservatorship of Universal Savings Bank; Baadi v. Imperial Savings Bank); construction defects; regulatory and administrative proceedings (California Energy Commission v. Bonneville Power Administration); and hostile acquisition litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery (Garrett and Stater Bros v. Brown). Member - Finley, Kumble litigation committee.  

Spring of 1987 through December 1996: Of counsel to, or partner in, Lewis, D'Amato, Brisbois & Bisgaard, a 220 lawyer firm with offices throughout California specializing in a broad range of litigation. Employments included the successful defense and prosecution of several professional malpractice cases (HOH v. Lyon & Lyon, Self-Cleaning Environments v. Christie, Parker & Hale, Flores v. Marvin Mitchelson); a precedent-setting environmental case (Home Federal Savings Bank v. Rossmoor Corp., et al.); a major antitrust and unfair competition case (Pennsylvania Life Insurance Co. v. Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co.); and the successful prosecution of a number of plaintiffs' cases involving claims of breach of a finder’s contract (Kurinij v. Bear, Stearns), antitrust and patent/trademark infringement (Phrobis v. Buck Knives), and trade secret misappropriation (Spectra Star v. ERO, Inc.). Commercial litigation engagements also included arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration involving allegedly defective ammunition provided to the United Arab Emirates by Swiss munitions broker Heckler & Koch, S.A., and federal litigation involving foreign sales of U.S. defense equipment by General Dynamics.  

January 1997 through September 1999: Of counsel to, or shareholder in, Parker, Milliken, Clark, O'Hara & Samuelian, specializing in complex commercial litigation and arbitration. (Pace Healthcare Management v. ASA; Richie's Electronic Supply v. ITC Electronics; Extradition of Blaxland; Kulperger v. Pacific Innovations; Kaptein v. Los Angeles County, University of Southern California and Dr. Shaul Massry.)  

October 1999 to present: Of counsel to Russ August & Kabat LLP, which specializes in complex commercial litigation, business transactions, and the protection and exploitation of intellectual property. Employments have included the successful defense of suit by Hawaii Attorney General to remove and surcharge trustees of the Estate of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (the Bishop Estate/Kamehameha Schools litigation) and defense of extended arbitration proceedings arising from the death of Larry Hillblom (the founder of DHL). Current engagements include the defense of multi-party, multi-jurisdiction class action litigation challenging recruiting and employment practices in the garment industry in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands (Saipan).  

Criminal Appellate Criminal appellate matters have included success in the Ninth Circuit (Escamilla) and a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a former President of the Senate of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Rasa).  

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION:  

Representation of clients in numerous court-ordered and voluntary settlement arbitrations and mediations, as well as in formal arbitration proceedings under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration (Heckler & Koch v. Olin Corporation [breach of international arms contract]), the American Arbitration Association (Kurinij v. Bear Stearns [finder’s fee]; Pace Healthcare Consultants v. Actuarial Sciences and AT&T [unfair business practices]) and the Screen Actors’ Guild (James Brolin v. LocoMotion Productions [breach of talent contract]) and ad hoc arbitrations pursuant to the Federal, Hawai’i and California Arbitration Acts (Hawai'i: Attorney General of Hawai’i v.Trustees of the Bishop Estate: removal and surcharge claims against sitting trustees]; Garey v. Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. [California: life insurance coverage-suicide exclusion]; Activision v. Philips Interactive Media [California: copyright infringement]; Rotbart v. Feliciano and Hollman v. Feliciano [Hawai'i: Estate of Larry Hillblom]; In the Matter of Washington Medical Center [California: construction defects and delay claims]).  

Panel of Neutral Arbitrators, FM&CS, Kaiser Permanente; Panel of Neutrals, Dispute Prevention & Resolution, Inc., Honolulu. www.dpr4adr.com. , ADR Services. Inc. www.adrservises.org, Hawaii International Dispute Resolution Group, www.idrHawaii.com

 TEACHING/LECTURING:  

Panel Member, seminars conducted by the Practicing Law Institute and CEEB continuing education audio-visual programs re developments in environmental law. Panelist for the California Society of CPAs Education Foundation on the selection, preparation, and effective examination of expert witnesses in complex litigation. Visiting Lecturer UCLA Graduate School of Management MBA, Executive MBA, and Executive Seminar programs. Adjunct Professor of Law, Pepperdine Law School. Visiting lecturer, Cornell Law School Berger International Law Lectures. 

ADMISSIONS TO PRACTICE:  

State of California (1970); the United States Supreme Court (1983); the Fifth (1983), Eighth (1995), and Ninth (1972) Circuit United States Courts of Appeals; the United States District Courts for the Central (1970), Southern (1989) and Northern (1973) Districts of California, the Eastern District of Missouri (1994), the Eastern District of New York (1987) and the District of the Northern Marianna Islands (1999); the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware; the Delaware Court of Chancery (1986); the Hawaii Family and Probate Courts (1996, 1999); and the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama (2001).  

EDUCATION:  

(Undergraduate and Law School) Cornell University, College of Arts and Sciences, B.A. (1961) Cornell Law School, J.D. (1969) LL.M. in Dispute Resolution, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine School of Law (2006). Fellow, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (2001-2002) Postgraduate Studies: Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution Negotiation & Settlement Advocacy: Dynamics of negotiation in business and dispute resolution contexts. Commercial & International Dispute Resolution: Litigating, arbitrating and mediating international commercial disputes. International enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards. Mediation Theory & Practice: Dynamics, benefits, constraints and skills needed for effective neutral third-party participation in the negotiated resolution of disputes. International Commercial Arbitration: Legislative regimes for arbitrating international commercial and investment disputes and enforcing arbitral awards. International Investment Disputes: Bi-Lateral and Multi-Lateral Investment Treaties, UNCITRAL Rules, and ICSID Arbitration as vehicles for resolving disputes between foreign investors and host states. Current Issues in International Dispute Resolution: Two-week intensive course in London and Geneva involving collaborative consulting scenarios, lectures, workshops, and site visits to the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the Holocaust Slave Labor Commission.

 MILITARY SERVICE:  

Captain, United States Army Artillery: 82nd Airborne Division (1964-66) 98th Training Division (Reserve) 12th Special Forces (Reserve).  

AFFILIATIONS:  

California Bar Association; American Bar Association; Beverly Hills Bar Association. International Student Center at UCLA: Board Member, 1973-1995 President, 1979-1986. Los Angeles Heart & Lung Foundation: Trustee, 1989-Present, Grants Committee, 2000-Present.Jonathan Club Member, 1969-Present, Director 1985-1988. Valley Forge Military Academy Board of Visitors 1998-2000, Trustee 2005-2007.