Murray Sinclair brings decades of environmental litigation experience to mediation

After more than three decades litigating environmental and insurance coverage disputes, Murray Sinclair has discovered that his greatest satisfaction comes not from winning cases, but from helping people resolve them.

"I threw my hat into the ring to transition my practice to mediation a few years ago," Sinclair said of joining the Los Angeles County Superior Court's Mediation Volunteer Panel. "I find the mediation process fascinating in terms of the knowledge and blend of law and human nature/psychology which is needed in order to communicate with litigants and bring them together in a solution that they can live with."

A Los Angeles attorney for 35 years, Sinclair has built a niche practice in environmental litigation, toxic torts and insurance coverage. After beginning his career with an insurance defense firm, he later represented plaintiffs before founding Murray M. Sinclair & Associates in 2003. That experience, he said, gives him a valuable perspective as a neutral.

"Consequently, I know all of the arguments in my narrow field of soil and groundwater contamination cases because I've made most conceivable arguments myself over the course of my career," Sinclair said. "This helps me immeasurably as a mediator because I understand where counsel and their clients are coming from."

Sinclair earned his law degree from Southwestern University School of Law after receiving a master's degree in professional writing from USC and a bachelor's degree in English literature with honors from UC Santa Barbara. He has authored numerous articles on environmental law and insurance coverage and published the treatise "How to Avoid Environmental Litigation."

Today, Sinclair's mediation philosophy begins well before the session itself. He schedules advance conversations with counsel, reviews mediation briefs and encourages candid discussions about the parties' objectives before everyone gathers.

When negotiations stall, he is willing to think creatively. Rather than waiting until parties are close to agreement, Sinclair sometimes issues a mediator's settlement proposal early in particularly difficult cases.

"One thing for sure: it really makes the parties and their attorneys work and think," he said. "It also makes the mediator strain his or her brain in coming up with a detailed proposal supported by a factual and legal foundation."

His volunteer work has reinforced another lesson: legal disputes often hinge as much on communication as on legal issues. Sinclair recalled mediating a property dispute between a father and son who had stopped speaking to one another for years. Simply getting them to face each other broke the impasse and allowed them to resolve the case.

Ultimately, Sinclair said he believes effective mediation requires curiosity, patience and creativity.

"I love thinking outside the box and coming at things from unexpected angles to help people reach a solution for their problems," he said. "I think this is a strength I have as a mediator, and it's a joy for me to use that ability of mine, especially when it works."