Hon. Robert A. Baines (Ret.) has been a full time neutral with JAMS since 2005 and brings to his ADR practice over 40 years of litigation experience, including 22 years on the trial bench in Santa Clara County. He is bright, energetic, and well respected by both plaintiff and defense counsel, particularly for his ability to settle seemingly “trial-bound” cases. He was named Trial Judge of the Year in 2000 by the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association and received that Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. As a Superior Court "civil case manager" judge, he handled many complex “cutting edge” Silicon Valley matters.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
On the bench, Judge Baines was known for having successfully handled thousands of settlement conferences in all areas of civil law, including: commercial litigation, construction defects, contested custody, employment discrimination, intellectual property/trade secrets, personal injury, products liability/toxic torts, professional liability (legal and medical), real property, and will contests.
Judge Baines has successfully settled a wide variety of matters at JAMS, including: business partnership dissolutions, software licensing disputes, real property disputes, personal injury matters (from automobile accidents to premises liability), contested conservatorship, fee disputes, and professional liability matters, among others.
Judge Baines has also served as a neutral arbitrator for a number of cases at JAMS, including software development disputes, medical malpractice, business dissolution (with trade secrets issues), real property disputes, including rescission and damages for fraudulent and/or negligent non-disclosures in the sale of real property, and fee disputes, among others.
Representative Matters
Business/Commercial:
Mediated dispute involving sale of specialty machine shop catering to high-tech businesses
Mediated disputes regarding performance of software development contracts
Mediated matter involving software licensing agreements and royalty payments
Mediated and arbitrated numerous fee disputes including claims of breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and fraud
Arbitrated dissolution of long-standing joint venture between national insurance company and its third-party administrator for professional disability insurance
Arbitrated case involving patent expert, retained by law firm in infringement case, claiming law firm failed to pay agreed-upon fees and law firm’s claims of over-billing and incomplete work by the expert
Arbitrated, by panel, alleged wrongful denial by national beer manufacturer/importer of the transfer of distribution rights held by long-term distributor
