Testimonials

"Judge Landau did an absolutely excellent job. She got right to the heart of the issues and gave fair criticism of our case ( I must assume fair criticism of the other side's case). Based upon the foregoing and her cordial demeanor, she helped the parties reach a settlement in a case that I thought had a 0% chance of settling the day prior. I cannot overstate how happy I was with her services."

"Judge Landau was extremely effective in assisting the parties understand their respective positions and find common ground. Her services were invaluable in helping the parties reach a global agreement ultimately saving both parties significant attorney's fees and costs."

"Judge Landau is great. She is smart, innovative, “get’s it” and does everything possible to help the parties settle. I would not hesitate to mediate with her again."

"I had initially suggested Judge Landau to opposing counsel because I believe she had a very thoughtful, methodical and fair approach as a judge. She’s very diligent but also able to quickly digest facts and circumstances and provide very candid feedback with a keen judicial insight and opinion. She’s also very thoughtful and mindful of litigants and treats everyone with respect. She continues to be as great with ADR as she was as a judge."

"The judge succeeded where twenty years of prior effort failed to get the job done, and her assistance was indispensable to the breakthrough."

"Judge Landau was amazing. My client was raving about how great she was, which is telling!"

"Judge Landau has a really good ability to very directly get to the pivotal issues that are going to resolve a case – the ones that everything else hinges on. She’s very direct and capable of identifying those issues, untangling those issues in a way that makes sense to the client and to the lawyers and using that focus to get cases done. You’re going to get immediate, clear and insightful focus on the issues with Judge Landau that are going to help people to see this case can be settled."

"Judge Landau has a really good sense of which party may have had more emotional stumbling blocks that interfere in being able to resolve it like a business deal. And she devoted some time to making sure that party was acknowledged for those things in what felt like a very sincere way. She let that happen without letting people go off the rails. She had a good balance of appreciating there is an emotional component that has to be addressed in order to move things along without embarrassing anyone or making things worse or giving them too much time to really indulge in it and spiral."

"When people ask why I would propose her as a neutral, it’s a four-word answer: She gets it done."

"Judge Landau’s got an incredible and innate ability to connect with litigants. That’s really important because you’re asking people to cooperate, to find their way to closure. She’s the facilitator of that level of cooperation, and she does it exceptionally well. She’s fair, she’s balanced, she’s efficient and she’s successful in getting matters resolved most of the time. That’s really what you’re looking for."

"Judge Landau is amazing. It was wonderful working with her. My client and I give high praise and Judge Landau was instrumental to settlement."

"It is my pleasure to share my recent experience with Judge Landau.  It was no surprise that she connects well with the parties which is fundamental to having them buy into resolution.  She facilitated reasonable compromise for both sides and helped counsel validate the idea of closure to the clients.  “I’ll be back…..”"

"Judge Landau was FABULOUS. My client really liked her as well. On the way back from the mediation, she said, "I really liked the Judge, I would 'hang' with her." My client was very impressed with the way Judge Landau explained things to her, making the process very simple and easier for her to make her final decision. I was extremely impressed with Judge Landau and her manner of approaching the collaborative mediation process with the opposing party, who is self-represented, and his consulting attorney. She was so professional and made everyone feel very comfortable during the process. We will definitely be using her again in the future."

"Judge Landau did a wonderful job. She is personable, and when she met with the parties and counsel at the beginning of the mediation, she was informative about her process in mediation, encouraging of the ability of the parties to reach agreement, and gave the parties good advice to keep in mind as they were starting the process. She was supportive of my client (and I presume she was with his wife also), candid with her assessment of each party's ideas for settlement and where some movement might be necessary, and ultimately assisted the parties in reaching agreement. Judge Landau is definitely on my short list if I have a need for a mediator or settlement judge in the future."

"Judge Landau was an excellent neutral. She helped settle a very contentious matter and did so in an effective and fair manner."

“Judge Landau is smart, diligent, and so conscientious in everything she does and says, on the record or off the record. She always knows exactly what everyone in the room needs to hear at the right moment. She manages her time very well, and commands attention. She is gentle and kind when that is what is needed, and strong and direct when that is needed too. In all my hearings in front of her, regardless of whether I won or lost, my clients always reported back that they thought she was fair and thoughtful and felt heard. I do not get this feedback from other judges, but with her it was consistent. She has a gift for attuning herself to each case, and I always learn something from her every time I have an opportunity.”

“Judge Landau approached the case with gentle kid gloves at the beginning when my client really needed it, and also re-educated my client about the need to look at the case as a “math problem” so that we could actually move forward in settling the issues and moving the case forward. It was the perfect balance of delicate touch and straight-shooting that helped us settle a case we haven’t been able to settle in years.”

“I really appreciate Judge Landau’s time management and the way she structured the mediation. She exceptionally managed our time, didn’t allow the parties to focus on the wrong issues, and re-directed my client in exactly the ways she needed to hear – with gentleness and mindfulness. I look forward to having many more mediations and/or private judging relationships with her in the future, and would recommend her in a heartbeat. I have already recommended her to all 5 attorneys at my firm for future mediation cases.”

“Judge Landau did an excellent job. The parties were able to settle the case with respect to all issues. I fully expected this to happen because Judge Landau was an excellent Judge when she was with the Contra Costa Superior Court.”