A San Jose/Silicon Valley Employment, Business & Real Estate Law Firm

160 West Santa Clara Street, Suite 625, San Jose, CA 95113 (408) 293-1900

Linda Hendrix McPharlin

Conflict Resolution, Arbitration and Mediation Attorney

After decades as a business and employment law counselor and successful trial attorney, Linda McPharlin has learned that the most satisfied clients are not those who win in court after bruising if not brutal years in litigation, but those who resolve disputes before litigation takes over their lives, and their finances. She now focuses her trial acumen and considerable negotiating skills on conflict resolution at the earliest possible stage, ideally before a lawsuit is even filed.

We’re trying to run a business here!
For her employer clients, her conflict resolution practice takes many forms, with an eye to business realities as well as legal mandates. She advises employers in the handling of workplace issues as they arise; drafts employment and arbitration agreements providing for dispute resolution; conducts training in legally compliant practices; and helps assess the legal and practical minefields often encountered in terminations.

We’ve been sued!
When an employment claim arises, her approach is to communicate immediately with opposing counsel–not to begin the expensive litigation process–but to offer, without cumbersome discovery, the documents and information opponents need for realistic assessment of their case, and to promote the benefits of early resolution for all. When this results in an agreement to mediate, Linda—an experienced mediator herself—is well able to represent clients through the process to resolution.

Where no resolution is possible, only then does MST’s skillful trial team step in to aggressively represent the clients’ interests going forward. And where other litigation counsel, such as that engaged by an employer’s insurer, will ultimately handle the case, Linda McPharlin’s negotiating skills and settlement persistence can be utilized at the outset, to focus on resolution before the litigation machinery is turned on by the trial attorneys.

I’ve been terminated!
Linda McPharlin has counseled hundreds of Silicon Valley executives in termination situations: reviewing their contractual and statutory rights, evaluating litigation risks, and negotiating severance. And she assists them in avoidance of future conflicts by reviewing their employment agreements at time of hire.

We need a neutral!
With her extensive background in employment law and alternative dispute resolution, she is frequently called upon by other attorneys and their clients to serve as a neutral: to evaluate their cases, to mediate and settle disputes, to decide disputes in arbitration, and to act as an expert witness on employment practices.

She has been an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association for over 20 years and is currently on the AAA employment law panel, hearing cases and providing reasoned decisions in discrimination, wage & hour, contract, and harassment cases, as well as in trade secret and customer list cases involving departed employees.

Background

Linda McPharlin obtained her J.D. from Santa Clara University, magna cum laude, and her B.A. from UCLA, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She has served on the executive board of the California State Bar’s 5000-member Labor & Employment Law Section and is a member of the American Inns of Court XII for which she has served as president.

Contact

E-mail: lmcpharlin@mstpartners.com

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