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About

Christopher H. Knauf, Esq.

A thirty-year civil litigation attorney, now devoted to mediation, training and teaching. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants throughout his career, so neither side gets to call him theirs.

Christopher H. Knauf, Esq. A bald man in glasses and a navy suit, smiling at the camera.
Christopher H. Knauf, Esq.Mediator · Teaching professor, USCLinkedIn profile

The record

Christopher Knauf has spent thirty years inside civil litigation, with an impressive record of trials and appeals in state, federal and appellate courts. He has acted for people bringing claims and for the institutions defending them, in disability, education, housing and employment matters.

That matters in a mediation for one specific reason. When he tells you what a court would likely do with your case, he is not guessing. He has taken matters like it all the way through, from both chairs.

The federal appointments

The Eastern and Central Districts of California each maintain an approved panel of mediators for cases referred out of the federal courts. Chris was appointed to both. For counsel with a court-referred matter, that appointment is the short answer to whether a neutral is acceptable.

Teaching

He is a teaching professor at USC, working with law students and undergraduates. Explaining the law to people who have never studied it is the same skill a mediation session asks for, particularly when one side has arrived without a lawyer.

How he works

Sessions run over Zoom, with each side in its own room. Nobody is required to agree to anything and either side can stop at any point. The only thing that ever becomes binding is something both sides have read and signed.

You will not be handled. You will be told what is strong about your position, what is weak, and what it would cost you to keep fighting about it. If mediation is not the right route for a matter, he will say so on the first call.

More on what happens in a session is in the common questions.

Credentials

Where the work has been

  • Americans with Disabilities Act
  • Employment and the workplace
  • Housing and landlord/tenant
  • Website and digital accessibility
  • Civil rights
  • Education and special education
  • Class actions
  • Business and contract disputes

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.

Mediation availabilitySee open dates and book a sessionOpen sessions, lengths and current rates. Pick a date and book it directly.Open the calendar
No-fee callTalk to Chris firstNo charge and no obligation. Best if you aren’t sure yet whether mediation is the right route for your situation.Pick a time

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.