Mediation & Arbitration – Nationwide
Resolving disability disputes with efficiency and compassion.
Christopher H. Knauf has 30 years of civil litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants – a true neutral with substantial trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts alike. Class actions, complex and emotional cases, he has done it all. Mr. Knauf teaches at USC Law and mediates and arbitrates full time, resolving cases efficiently and effectively. Compare his demeanor, availability, and rates: he stands out getting cases resolved!
Experienced, court-appointed neutral in the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Eastern Districts of California and various California Superior Courts.
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Section 504, IDEA and special education
- Employment, FEHA and workplace access
- Housing, landlord/tenant and reasonable accommodations
- Website accessibility
Knowledge & experience on both sides.He’ll get your case resolved.
The Act
The ADA is nearly 40 years old and still evolving. Most disputes are still about the same thing: someone asked for access or accommodation and it didn’t go well. There’s now a lawsuit, sometimes without any notice, and potentially tens of thousands of dollars are at stake, not to mention expensive physical access, company policy and website changes.
Let a 30-year Pro mediate this dispute and all sides will be respected. Reach a resolution and avoid costly litigation, often for much less than the typical mediation.
Start here
Is this you?
These disputes are rarely about the law being unclear. They are about a person not getting something they feel they are entitled to, a disagreement over what’s required, and a failure to effectively communicate.
Your company got sued, or received a demand letter.
You need someone experienced in these cases to help ASAP.
Employee and employer are at odds, or in litigation.
You tried to work it out and got nowhere. You need someone with a track record of success resolving these cases.
Landlord and tenant can’t agree on anything and it’s getting ugly.
Access to the building, a service animal, a transfer, a modification they won’t approve.
You got a demand letter about your website.
An accessibility claim you don’t understand, with a number attached and a deadline.
A student is being pushed out of a program.
Higher education, testing accommodations, discipline that follows a disability.
You run the organization on the other side of one of these.
A district, a business or a landlord trying to get it right without a lawsuit teaching you how.
Who you’d be sitting across from
Thirty years arguing both sides.
Now he sits between them.
30years
Civil litigation
Trials and appeals in state, federal, and appellate courts, representing plaintiffs and defendants both.
2federal panels
Court-appointed neutral
Appointed in the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Eastern Districts of California, and in various California Superior Courts.
USC
Teaching professor
He teaches law students and undergraduates. It is the daily practice of saying complicated things in plain words.
Super Lawyers
Top Rated Attorney
See Chris’s profile, opens in a new tab
What he mediates
Where the disability work sits.
Thirty years of it, from both sides. For people asking for access, and for the schools, businesses and landlords trying to get it right.
Americans with Disabilities Act
Titles I, II and III: employment, public entities and public accommodations.
Section 504 and IDEA
Special education, 504 plans, IEPs, related services and placement disputes.
General and special education
K–12 and higher education, testing accommodations, discipline and access to programs.
Website accessibility
Digital access claims, from either side of the demand letter.
Employment, housing and landlord/tenant
Reasonable accommodations, modifications, service animals and access.
Civil rights and Section 1983
Claims against public entities and officials.
Class actions and consent decrees
Systemic matters, monitoring and compliance disputes.
Sports and entertainment
Access and accommodation in venues, events and programs.
The alternative
Due process takes years. This takes a day.
A hearing is a fight you have to win. A mediation is a conversation you can leave. Nobody is required to agree to anything, and either side can stop at any point.
Sessions run over Zoom, which for a disability matter is usually the point: no building to get into, no travel, and each side in its own room.
What people say
Testimonials
Mediations are confidential, so published accounts of them are rare. The first of these is from a Director of Special Education who worked with Chris in mediations for more than ten years. The three below it are from people he represented as an attorney. A different job, but the same person in the room.
It is without reservation that I offer the highest recommendation for Mr. Knauf for any education related mediation, hearing, or arbitration.
For more than ten years when I served as Director of Special Education for school districts, without exception, Mr. Knauf was successful in working genuinely with all parties to reach fair resolutions in mediations… Mr. Knauf consistently and respectfully listened to the issues and through his skill, patience, and creativity was able to put options on the table which always benefitted students and also made sense for the school district. In even the most contentious of situations, Mr. Knauf brought the parties to a resolution and in doing so, eliminated the need for prolonged litigation.
Mr. Knauf represented us in an ADA claim related to our website… Would highly recommend!
AnonymousADA claim defense A lawyer that truly made me feel equal… I would recommend 100%
CristinaClient, law practice The highest degree of professionalism, and extraordinary respect and concern for folks with disabilities… Mr. Knauf will be the first person we call.
MarkClient, law practice
Common questions
The things people ask before they call.
Asked plainly, answered plainly. These are the ones that come up most. The full list answers fourteen. If yours isn’t there either, it is a good first question for the free call.
Neither. That is the job. A mediator does not represent anyone and does not decide anything. What he brings is a read on how a court would likely see the case, and that read is usually uncomfortable for both sides in about equal measure.
Yes. Mediation in California is confidential by law: what is said in the session is meant to stay in the session and generally cannot be used against you in court. Anything you send before the session can be marked confidential, and it will not be passed to the other side.
Parties sometimes realize they are just too far apart, or it is too early in the case and discovery is needed. That is a real outcome and that is okay. Mr. Knauf will follow up and work hard for the parties when a resolution is within reach.
The first call is free, and there is no charge for finding out whether mediation fits. Fees for the mediation itself depend on the matter and the time it takes, and current rates are listed in the availability calendar. Lower rates and pro bono sessions are available for parties in need.
Much less time than litigation. Many matters resolve in a single session of two to four hours; more complicated ones take several. Most of the schedule is set by when both sides can meet, not by a court’s calendar, and sessions are on Zoom so nobody is waiting on travel.
No. You can mediate without one, and you can bring one if you would rather. Nobody will talk over your head. If a term comes up that you don’t know, say so and it gets explained in plain words. That is a normal part of the session, not an interruption.
Only what you sign. Typically a term sheet is agreed upon via email and the parties agree to prepare a long-form agreement as needed and within a specific time. A signed settlement agreement is enforceable much like any other contract. Nothing becomes binding by accident, and nothing becomes binding because you discussed it. Mediation in California is confidential by law: what is said in mediation stays there.
Book
Book a session, or start with a free call.
Two ways in, depending on how far along you are. Neither one commits you to anything until you say so.
What happens on that call
- You talk
- You describe the dispute in your own words. There is no form to fill out first and no vocabulary test.
- He answers straight
- Whether mediation fits, what it would cost, and where the hard parts are. If it isn’t a fit, he will say so.
- You decide later
- Nothing is booked, signed, or owed at the end of the call. You go away and think about it.
Or just write
Rather ask a question first?
Send a note and Chris will reply himself. You don’t have to explain everything. A couple of sentences about what has happened is enough to start.
Nothing you write here is confidential in the way a mediation is, so keep it general until you have spoken to him.