Jeff Kichaven

Jeff Kichaven writes on mediation for IRMI.com.

Mr. Kichaven is one of California's leading mediators of insurance coverage and bad faith cases. In fact, he was 1 of 47 recipients of the tenth annual California Attorneys of the Year as awarded by California Lawyer magazine in 2006. This award is given to California attorneys who, through their work, have made a significant impact on law or policy.

Mr. Kichaven practiced business litigation for over 15 years before he began his full-time mediation practice in 1996. Today, he mediates approximately 200 cases per year and has a distinguished record of service to the bar and the larger community. He is the first full-time mediator to serve as a trustee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and also serves as chair-elect of the ADR Committee in the ABA's Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS), and as a director of the Southern California Mediation Association. He has previously served on the Council of the ABA's Section of Dispute Resolution and as chair of the Los Angeles County Bar's ADR Section.

In addition, Mr. Kichaven is an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University School of Law and has conducted Advanced as well as Beginning Mediation Training for the ABA, the Los Angeles County Bar, the California Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court (CD Cal) and many other state and local bar and mediation associations. He is also a Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators. Mr. Kichaven also serves on the Board of Directors of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles and on the National Legal Committee of the American Jewish Committee.

Mr. Kichaven is an honors graduate of the Harvard Law School (JD, cum laude, 1980) and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of California—Berkeley (AB in Economics, 1977).