Case Manager: Haward Cho
Kirk D. Yake, Esq. is a San Diego-based mediator and arbitrator with over twenty years of litigation and trial practice, and over ten years of training and experience mediating disputes. He has substantial experience in the areas of construction defect litigation involving both homeowners’ associations and individuals; environmental nuisance and contamination; real estate disputes; mobile-home park conversions; personal injury; employment; construction contracts; and community association law. In addition to facilitating the parties’ discussion in mediation, Kirk relies on his subject matter expertise to help the parties assess, evaluate, and explore legal positions and contentions in order to generate practical settlement options. Above all, Mr. Yake’s objectives are pragmatic, to resolve disputes quickly, efficiently, and affordably.
In 2005, while practicing as a successful trial lawyer of construction defect and environmental litigation, Mr. Yake saw the value of alternative dispute resolution to resolve difficult claims. He began pursuing mediation training and became a founding member of the Community Associations Institute’s mediation programs, where he mediated various types of HOA claims in Southern California. He earned a mediation credential from the National Conflict Resolution Center in 2008 and has since engaged in over 50 hours of ongoing additional training, including the American Bar Association’s “Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute” and the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution’s “Mediating the Litigated Case” program.
In addition to his private mediation practice, Mr. Yake has resolved numerous disputes as a panelist for the San Diego Superior Court civil mediation program; convened and mediated over a dozen employment discrimination cases as a mediator for the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC); and arbitrated several attorney-client fee disputes for the San Diego County Bar Association. He also serves as an arbitrator of consumer construction disputes for the State Contractor’s Licensing Board.
Since 2011, Mr. Yake has held elected positions for the ADR Section of the San Diego County Bar Association, which he chaired from 2012-2016. He takes an active role in developing educational programming on topics regarding mediation and arbitration, as well as on legislative and legal decisions affecting the practice of mediation.
“I would recommend that [those using] him in a mediation context be thorough with their brief, so he has the opportunity to ingest the information and have a resource to use to talk to the parties. I saw him frequently reference back to the written materials we had provided, and I really thought it was good that he was looking at them carefully and scrutinized them before the mediation.”
“They were relatively unsophisticated … and hadn’t been through a lot of mediations before. He took the time to make sure they understood the process and was appropriately sympathetic to their position.”
“He called before we mediated, asked questions, wanted to know as much as he could about the background of the case before we even got into a mediation session. He’s dedicated to making sure he understands the facts, the nature of the dispute, the legal issues … and worked very hard to try and find common ground that would resolve the case.”
“I represented a young couple who’d never been involved in litigation before, and he was excellent about spending time initially getting to know them, introducing himself, making sure they understood what the process was, how it was going to work. …And they were very happy with his work and his efforts.”
“Obviously, as attorneys, we’re hired to advocate strongly for our clients. So, we don’t necessarily take into account the weaknesses in our claims and the strengths in the other person’s claims. So, it was productive when he pointed out: ‘Well, this might not go the way you think.'”
“They definitely felt heard. One of the main things [in mediation] is that clients feel the person they’re working with is really listening. Sometimes we need to share personal experience to get parties to the middle, right? He wasn’t providing any legal advice to parties, but he did draw on his experience in the courtroom with similar things to help the parties better understand what the court might do.”
“Mr. Yake was great. It was a difficult case with parties set in positions. He broke it down and did a very effective job including a face to face that made it work. I was very impressed with his skill. He also spent substantial time in advance prepping and talking with attys which was helpful.”
“I don’t get the all five stars review reflexively or automatically. Kirk is the BEST Construction-dispute Mediator I have worked with . . . and after 20 years in the Construction industry (on both coasts!) and 20 years more as a litigator focused primarily on Construction disputes, I have seen them ALL. Thanks!”
