Michael J. Weaver, Esq. has four decades of experience handling a wide range of legal issues, including 25 years of experience as an arbitrator and 20 years as a mediator. He specializes in the resolution of complex domestic and international matters across a broad spectrum of practice areas.

With particular expertise in partnership disputes and professional liability claims, Mr. Weaver is well suited to working with firms, companies, and individual partners and employees to resolve internal and external conflicts.

Prior to his career as a full-time neutral, Mr. Weaver tried more than 80 cases to verdict, judgment, or award. He handled matters in state and federal forums, including bankruptcy court, in multiple jurisdictions.

A longtime pilot who flies on a weekly basis, Mr. Weaver is a fellow in both the American College of Commercial Arbitrators and the American College of Trial Lawyers. In addition, he is a former director of the National Conflict Resolution Center.

Representative Matters

• Business Commercial
• Extensive experience mediating and arbitrating complex domestic and international business-related disputes
• Particular expertise resolving intra-firm disputes between partners involving breach of fiduciary duty, self- dealing, non-disclosure, fraud, routine negligence, intellectual property, and employment issues
• Employment Law
• Experience handling wide range of employment-related claims, including numerous class actions, involving wrongful termination, breaches of contract and confidentiality agreement, sexual harassment, wage and hour, misclassification, and meal and rest break period violation issues
• Intellectual Property
• Chair on three-arbitrator panel for multi-week arbitration between software developers over alleged copyright violations, breach of contract, and other claims arising from use of interface technology to match hardware and software application
• Served as arbitrator, mediator and formerly as a litigator on cases involving patent maintenance and prosecution, enforcement, infringement and invalidation, copyright, trade name, trade dress and likeness, misappropriation of trade secrets, breaches of contractual limitations on competition and licensing, and legal malpractice for failure to properly prosecute patents
• Matters involving complicated damages issues, including establishing hypothetical license rates and injunctive relief
• Native American Law
• Extensive experience regarding issues involving limitation of jurisdiction, waiver of sovereignty and inter- and intra-tribal relations 
• Handled as litigator at trial and appellate level inter-tribal disputes over joint operation of health center developed and operated for benefit of nine independent tribes. Also handled civil disputes involving personal injury and business operations conducted off tribal lands 
• Three-panel arbitration involving dispute between gaming tribe and its development partner and casino operator. All aspects of gaming licensing and casino development and operations were raised during seven-week hearing
• Professional Liability
• Significant expertise resolving disputes related to professional liability and malicious prosecution claims involving law and accounting firms, as well as individual lawyers and accountants
• Securities
• Arbitration involving securities fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims over manner in which trades were booked and profits and losses divided between investors and management
• Experience handling scores of shareholder class action securities and derivative matters

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Top Ten Lawyers in San Diego, Best Lawyers in America, 1992-2012
  • One of three lawyers recognized as handling “bet the company litigation,” 2007-2012
• Fellow, American College of Commercial Arbitrators
• Director, National Conflict Resolution Center
• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
• Member, American Board of Trial Advocates
• Member, Advisory Committee, Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
• Executive Committee and Master of the Bench of the Inn, American Inns of Court, Louis M. Welsh Chapter
• Adjunct professor, University of San Diego School of Law
• Founding member of Board of Directors and original director, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, San Diego Chapter
• Board of Directors, San Diego Volunteer Lawyers Association
• Director, San Diego Aerospace Museum, 1982-1996
• President and Director, San Diego Kidney Foundation, 1979-1983

ADR Profile

• "Finding Common Ground," ADR Profile, Daily Journal, May 6, 2016

Background and Education

• Partner, Latham & Watkins, 1999-2012
• Partner, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, 1986-1999
• Associate/Partner, Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, 1975-1986
• Law clerk, Hon. Gordon Thompson, Jr., U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, 1973-1975
• J.D., magna cum laude, University of San Diego School of Law
• A.B., California State University, Long Beach