Mediation Background

In 1999, Ms. Tolt founded ACT Mediation through which she has served as a mediator in over 4000 mediations. Since1996, Ms. Tolt has completed extensive mediation training, from hands on workshops to specialized courses dealing with diverse mediation issues. Ms. Tolt has integrated her mediation training and litigation background to act as a privately retained mediator, as well as one appointed by the Courts, including the State, Federal and Court of Appeal panels, in a broad range of civil disputes.

A long standing member of the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA), the single largest professional organization in California representing the interests of the mediation community, Ms. Tolt acted as its President in 2008. For over five years, she has also been the chair of SCMA’s annual Employment Mediation Seminar. She has also acted as SCMA’s chair of its Courts Committee for a number of years and in that capacity, is the designated member of the Los Angeles Superior Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, which has a major role in shaping the rules and standards applicable to mediation.

Ms. Tolt has written articles on mediation and is a frequent speaker on the subject in various forums. She also mentors new mediators and teaches mediation techniques for the Los Angeles Superior Court, for SCMA, at Pepperdine University of Law and in various other forums. In 2008, Ms. Tolt was nominated by the Daily Journal as one of the top forty mediators in California, having been nominated by her peers and her clients.

Legal Background

Ms. Tolt graduated from U.C.L.A. in 1978 with a B.A. in Anthropology and Political Geography. In 1983, she earned her J.D. from Loyola Law School and was admitted to the California Bar.

Just a few months after being sworn in, Ms. Tolt tried her first civil case. Since then, she has had extensive experience as a trial lawyer handling personal injury matters, employment related claims, insurance coverage disputes, contract disputes, professional liability claims and construction defect cases. Ms. Tolt has had her own practice since 1986 and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants.

Ms. Tolt was a founding member and officer of the Lawyer’s Professional Liability Bar Association, a former Board member and member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles and a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, California Employment Lawyers Association, American Trial Lawyers Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Consumer Attorneys of California and LEFT JAW.

References

Speaker on behalf of various organizations regarding trial advocacy and employment law issues, including the annual CAALA Las Vegas Convention and the annual CELA Convention. Ms. Tolt also conducts private seminars on employment and mediation issues.

Consultant to employers regarding various employment related issues including conducting workplace investigations, providing training on a variety of employment related issues and developing employee policies and manuals.