Mediation
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Over 35 years of professional excellence
Mediation is an efficient and cost-effective way of using a neutral, experienced attorney like Debra Bogaards to help the parties settle their case.
Mediator Debra Bogaards
Instead of drawn-out litigation, mediation offers parties a means of settling their cases without involving the courts. Here, we will discuss why you should choose Debra Bogaards to mediate your client’s case.
Unparalleled Expertise
Debra Bogaards has the right mix of plaintiff and defense cases in her 37 years as a trial lawyer. As a result of her experience, she can easily understand both sides of each case and has a unique ability to analyze any situation from multiple angles. Both defendants and plaintiffs are often put at ease by her diverse legal knowledge and her respectful, straight-forward approach to mediating their case.
Ms. Bogaards has the ability to talk directly with the claims adjuster on the defense side, having handled tens of thousands of insurance defense cases in her practice. While managing her prior two insurance defense law firms, she met with team managers, claim managers and claims representatives often. She gained their trust and knows what documentation a claim needs to get the highest settlement authority. After 37 jury trials — with only 1 and ½ losses and one bench trial — Ms. Bogaards knows how to calculate the budget for trial expenses and how to evaluate the risks in each case.
As a plaintiff’s lawyer, Ms. Bogaards has handled high-profile media cases and a variety of subject areas. Ms. Bogaards relates well to plaintiffs and understands how their life has been upended by their injuries, wrongful termination, eviction, loss of their parent or business dispute. As a natural storyteller, Ms. Bogaards can communicate well with plaintiffs. Her strength is being down-to-earth, approachable and friendly. Plaintiffs listen when she points to the strengths and weaknesses in their case. Through her directness, honesty and high ethics, she is able to connect with plaintiffs and achieve the highest settlement possible.
Ms. Bogaards has put in three decades of taking depositions and preparing for trials. She knows most of the experts retained by both sides. This subject matter expertise is one reason she is so successful. Read what some of her former clients had to say about her service here.
Tenacious and Persistent
As a mediator, Debra Bogaards works diligently, making pre-mediation phone calls and other preparations for mediation. She will make charts using numbers provided in counsels’ mediation briefs and exhibits. For example, she will have a chart of the plaintiff’s self-employment income by year, before and after the accident. She will draft a medical chronology to assist with discussions in both rooms. She can also understand business evaluations and disputes. She is very good with numbers, having completed an undergraduate degree in accounting. Ms. Bogaards works hard to understand the details of your case and her rigorous preparation pays off.
Ms. Bogaards is also known for her dogged and persistent follow-up. She makes sure the defense counsel sends out the formal Settlement & Release Agreement within a week. She also follows up with the defense counsel as to the ETA of the settlement check.
Best Possible Outcome
Mediation is a process not limited to a half-day or full-day session. However, Ms. Bogaards has settled all of her mediations on the first day, using her mediator’s number in the most difficult of cases. When the parties are polarized on their numbers, Ms. Bogaards will offer — after first getting the consent of all counsel — her mediator’s number. Claims adjusters give Ms. Bogaards a large measure of credibility based on her experience on the defense side (ending in January of 2019) and plaintiff’s counsel and their clients are also happy with her numbers.
Creative and Unique
Ms. Bogaards helps the parties achieve the best possible outcome, sometimes using creativity to fashion a unique settlement.
In one recent case involving a landlord-tenant dispute, the defendant agreed to pay over 6 figures to the plaintiff, as well as small checks for the college fund of three children in the apartment building.
Sometimes, the plaintiff wants and deserves a formal but sincere apology.
It is her ability to be in the moment and sense if there is a creative solution that makes Ms. Bogaards stand out as a mediator.
Training and Experience
For decades, Ms. Bogaards has volunteered in the courts to assist with mandatory settlement conferences before the trial and has mediated numerous cases. She recently was accepted into, and completed, advanced mediation training at the prestigious Harvard Law’s Program on Negotiation in Cambridge, Massachussetts (June 2019).
Speaking Engagements
March 6th, 2020, Western Trial Lawyers Association Annual Seminar – Jackson Hole, WY: Mediator Bogaards To Give Tips On Mediation at the WTLA Ski Seminar
The Details:
Ms. Bogaards will hold the mediation in her conference room and office, located at 177 Post St., Suite 750 near Union Square in San Francisco. Parking is nearby at the White House garage. The Montgomery Street BART exit is 1½ blocks away. She serves bagels, lox and cream cheese in the morning, and refreshments in the afternoon.
Should you prefer, Ms. Bogaards is also willing to travel to your office.
Her rates are $450.00/hr, $2250 for a half-day and $3850 for a full day, including preparation time.
To read more about her success as a mediator, read some reviews from former clients here.
Personal attention & guidance throughout
the entire legal process.
Nowhere is our passion for justice stronger than when we’re asked to help a client seek recovery for a catastrophic personal injury, or a family recover losses for a loved one’s death caused by someone else’s recklessness or negligence. Our Bay Area personal injury lawyers understand what is needed for a fair settlement.
With over 35 years of experience in the courtroom, and having built a good reputation amongst judges and trial attorneys, Ms. Bogaards has both the tenacity and trial skills to get you a winning verdict at trial or the highest settlement either pre-litigation or after filing suit.
Ms. Bogaards has won almost all of her 38 jury trials and has had great success at mediation. Because Ms. Bogaards has both plaintiff and defense cases, she is uniquely qualified to understand what the insurance company needs to provide you with a fair settlement.
Meet Our Team
Debra F. Bogaards
Trial Attorney
Debra loves her trial work. With over 35 years of successful trial experience, she has devoted tens of thousands of hours to the craft of taking expert depositions, selecting juries, winning trials, and telling her clients’ stories in compelling detail.
Chelsea Lewis
Post-Bar Law Clerk
Chelsea is the newest member of the Bogaards Law team. She is a post-bar law clerk awaiting California bar results. Her responsibilities include drafting motions and trial documents, performing legal research and writing, and summarizing depositions in anticipation of trial and arbitration. She has experience in employment and personal injury litigation.
Testimonials
What our clients are saying about us
My mediation appointment with Ms. Bogaards was more than interesting as it was conducted exclusively by phone due to the health crisis. Despite this, it went smoothly and productively. The case settled within the allotted time frame due largely in part to Ms. Bogaards persistence but also her vast experience in personal injury work. It was obvious her defense and plaintiff’s background gave her credibility with both parties. All in all, it was all a very positive experience for a first-time use. She was prepared and knew the flash points needed to get this settled. It took time but it was due to the parties obstinance, which she dealt with professionally and civilly. I’ve known Ms. Bogaards over the years from having litigated with her in her role as a defense attorney. I thought this case was perfect for a Mediator with a defense background that also does plaintiff’s work, as she does. I was very impressed with her grasp of value as regards a plaintiff’s case. She was spot on regarding the values and issues. I would not hesitate to use her again and recommend her as a Mediator to all plaintiff’s attorneys who view her strictly as a former defense attorney. She is way more than that; very efficient, there was no wasted time.
Don Krentsa
Debra Bogaards is one of the most thorough, skilled and aggressive litigators in the Bay Area. She protects her clients and their interests like a mama bear to her cubs. I speak both as a client for whom Ms. Bogaards achieved an incredible result, and as a colleague who has worked beside Ms. Bogaards and has seen her diligence and thought process. Here skillset and tremendous presence and command, regardless of the forum, makes for a most fierce litigator. Ms. Bogaards is always my first recommendation to clients and friends seeking to protect their legal rights relating to personal injuries.
Joshua Ridless
Look no further. Debra is an amazing lawyer and very thorough at her job. About a year ago, we came into contact with Debra because we were being harassed and kicked out by our landlord. Out of 5 lawyers we called Debra was the only one to answer and help us out immediately. The first time we called, her amazing assistant Rachel answered and began asking me questions in order to understand our case. She immediately began the process and before we knew it, we had a meeting with Debra. Debra is beyond amazing at her job. She is professional and knowledgeable in her profession. Apart from being a great lawyer, she is a caring person. We were going through a stressful time but Debra and her assistants, Rachel and Chelsea all made us feel welcomed and helped us forget for a moment the horrible landlord we had. Debra, Chelsea, and Rachel are outstanding and work together as an amazing team. We were beyond satisfied with the results we received and glad we chose Debra to represent us. We would recommend Debra in a heartbeat. She is unbelievably amazing in her profession and as a person.
The Jimenez Family
Let's Talk!
Please contact Bogaards Law to discuss your case. We welcome your phone call or email.
Attorney Advertising. This information is designed for general information only. The information presented should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. Past results and testimonials are not a guarantee, warranty, or prediction of the outcome of your case, and should not be construed as such. Past results cannot guarantee future performance. Any result in a single case is not meant to create an expectation of similar results in future matters because each case involves many different factors, therefore, results will differ on a case-by-case basis.
