Mediation costs a small fraction of what litigation can cost, and it gives parties something trial does not: control over the outcome. It has become a core part of how disputes are resolved, and it can happen at any stage of a case. Early on, sometimes before a lawsuit is even filed, it can resolve a dispute before discovery and motion practice drive up costs and harden positions. Later, often near trial, it lets the parties weigh a certain resolution against the risk of an adverse judgment. Mediation is confidential and can preserve business and family relationships that litigation strains. It also allows for resolutions courts cannot order.

As an advocate, I've taken part in hundreds of mediation sessions, and I understand both what drives conflict and what motivates parties to end it. I completed "Mediating the Litigated Case," a 40-hour program of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, and I bring a litigator's grasp of what is at stake to the mediator's role: the legal merits; the cost, uncertainty, and risk of going forward; and the pressures, often unspoken, that shape the parties' positions.

I've litigated complex commercial disputes in California's state and federal courts since 1997, concentrating in real property, lender liability, title insurance, mortgage and consumer finance, financial elder abuse, and business torts. I've tried cases to judge and jury, won them on dispositive motions, and resolved them through arbitration and mediation.

My career began at McDonough, Holland & Allen in Sacramento and continued at Miller Starr Regalia and Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell in the Bay Area. I founded my own practice in 2018, co-founded Doyle & Harris, PC in 2021, and returned to independent practice as Doyle Counsel in 2026. Building and running a firm taught me what litigation alone doesn't: the legal and business realities of ownership, partnership, and growth, and the everyday decisions that determine whether an enterprise thrives.

Today I work with financial institutions, startups, and mid-market businesses that need senior legal judgment on demand, whether that means avoiding a dispute or resolving one faster and at lower cost. I also advise collectors, dealers, estates, and institutions on art law: title, authentication, provenance, and the risks of acquiring works with uncertain histories. The goal isn't always simply to win. It's to achieve what the client needs under the circumstances, with candor about both the opportunities and the risks.

My training in literature and the humanities shapes that work. Language, context, narrative, and audience are central to advocacy and to resolution. When technology can retrieve and summarize information in seconds, the value of experienced counsel lies in knowing which questions to ask, recognizing what matters, and noticing what's missing.

If you're exploring mediation, evaluating fractional general counsel, or want advice on a dispute before it escalates, I'd welcome the conversation.