Bracketing in Civil Mediation: Breaking Impasse and Closing Cases

Michael B. Murphy, Mediator & Arbitrator | JAMS

Michael B. Murphy is a mediator, arbitrator, court-appointed neutral (referee/special master) and neutral evaluator with JAMS, with home offices in San Francisco and Northern California. An internationally recognized attorney, he brings more than 40 years of experience in matters ranging from straightforward to complex and high-value, across the United States and abroad, spanning insurance, construction, professional liability, personal injury, mass tort, energy, entertainment, sports, class action, and international and cross-border disputes. His participation in alternative dispute resolution over four decades reaches back to the very genesis of modern ADR practice.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Murphy earned his J.D. from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in 1983 and his B.A. from the University of Santa Clara in 1980. He was admitted to the State Bar of California and the State Bar of Indiana in 1984 and holds the AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

• Recognition & Leadership

Before joining JAMS, Mr. Murphy served as chair of Severson & Werson’s Insurance Practice Group and as the firm’s General Counsel and Risk Managing Shareholder. Clients routinely engaged him as monitoring counsel for neutral, honest case evaluations independent of defense counsel, and he was particularly sought out to resolve high-profile, media-sensitive and politically sensitive matters requiring discretion.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Murphy has presented internationally on insurance and catastrophic-loss topics, including “California Wildfires and Inverse Condemnation” at the 8th Annual Bermuda Insurance Market Conference of the Bermuda Insurance Institute (2018) and a session on the producing broker’s role in catastrophic and mass tort events at TechAssure’s International Members’ Conference in Baden-Baden, Germany (2018).

• Experience

Mr. Murphy practiced at Severson & Werson from 1987 to 2025, following positions at Tabbert & Capehart and as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of Indiana. His work has included coordinated mass tort proceedings arising from the San Bruno underground gas pipeline explosion, utility-related wildfires in California, Oregon, Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma, some of the largest natural-resource damages claims in the history of California and Alaska, a billion-dollar construction-related professional liability claim in Australia, and insurance and reinsurance disputes across the U.S., European, London, Bermuda/offshore and Asia-Pacific markets, including numerous Lloyd’s of London syndicates. He has served as mediator, arbitrator, and Superior Court– and federal court–appointed special master, resolving dozens of bodily injury claims as a neutral.

Diana Maier, AWI-CH, Founding Partner and Co-Owner | Maier Law Group

Diana Maier is a mediator with Signature Resolution, based in San Francisco and available for both virtual and in-person hearings. With nearly 30 years of legal experience spanning the policy arena, the courtroom, the workplace, and the mediation table, she specializes in employment disputes and commercial conflicts, with practice areas including business and commercial contracts, class action, PAGA, intellectual property, real estate, landlord/tenant, and probate/trust and estates matters. Throughout her career, her focus has been on translating conflict into meaningful progress — creating a mediation environment where parties feel heard, enabling movement past adversarial positions toward durable solutions.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Maier earned her J.D. from Stanford University School of Law and her B.S., Magna Cum Laude, from Georgetown University. A licensed attorney since 1998, she holds the Association of Workplace Investigators Certificate (AWI-CH), the field’s premier credential, and is fluent in Spanish. She serves as an empaneled mediator for the Northern District Court of California (2019), the Central District Court of California, the Alameda, Contra Costa, and Riverside County Superior Courts, and the San Mateo County Bar Association.

• Recognition & Leadership

Ms. Maier was named California Lawyer’s Attorney of the Month in 2021 and has been selected to SuperLawyers each year since 2022. She has chaired both the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section (2022–2024) and the Labor & Employment Section (2013–2016) of the Marin County Bar Association, and in 2024 was elected to the Board of Directors of Marin Water. Earlier in her career as a public defender, she achieved above-average trial outcomes and helped establish Santa Clara County’s first juvenile mental health court.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Maier is the founder and creator of Joy in the Law (2018–Present), a movement dedicated to helping lawyers reconnect with their purpose, values, and well-being. She has been a member of the Association of Workplace Investigators since 2012 and of ProVisors San Francisco 14 since 2018, and previously served on the boards of OneJustice (2009–2018) and Queen’s Bench (2000–2015). She is also active in community service, including Moms Demand Action and international service projects.

• Experience

Ms. Maier was the founding partner of Maier Law Group, where she practiced until 2025, following positions as in-house employment and privacy counsel at Quantum Corporation (2013–2018), employment litigator at Bushnell, Caplan, Fielding and Maier (2003–2008), and deputy public defender for Santa Clara County (1999–2003). Her career has spanned work as a plaintiff- and defense-side employment attorney, in-house counsel, workplace investigator, and elected official.

SESSION 1 – Mediation: From Beginning to Bracketing | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

This session offers a comprehensive walkthrough of the mediation process, from initial consideration through the negotiation strategies that drive resolution. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of what mediation is—and, just as importantly, what it is not—along with practical guidance on identifying the scenarios in which mediation should be considered as a path to resolving a dispute. The presentation will explore the benefits of mediation as an alternative to litigation, including cost savings, efficiency, confidentiality, and party control over outcomes. Attention will be paid to effective preparation for both counsel and clients, covering best practices for mediation briefing and the strategic presentation of exhibits. Finally, the program will demystify the mechanics of the mediation event itself, walking attendees through how a typical mediation day unfolds—from opening sessions and private caucuses to bracketing and other negotiation techniques used to bridge the gap and reach settlement.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 2 – Mastering Brackets: A Strategic Guide to Bracketed Negotiation in Mediation | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

This session is designed to teach attorneys and mediators how to effectively use brackets in settlement mediations. It begins by defining what brackets are and then explains how brackets can help narrow settlement gaps, when brackets are best used, and the pitfalls of brackets. The presentation breaks down the less accessible parts of brackets, such as tracking midpoints vs. endpoints, figuring out who proposes a bracket, who moves next, etc. so that attorneys who wish to use brackets no longer need to be intimidated by them. Finally, the presentation will also cover the mechanics of blind/confidential brackets and give attorneys many practical takeaways that will increase their fluency with this very valuable mediation tool.