AMS announced Tuesday that Richard Chernick, a premier arbitrator in alternative dispute resolution, is joining its Los Angeles office as the organization's vice president and managing director of its arbitration practice.
"In building our arbitration practice, we decided we needed someone to head it up. When we said 'who's the person we want who we'd like to get the most?' that was Richard Chernick," said Steve Price, president and CEO of JAMS. "We're thrilled, really, and honored that he's decided to come with us."
Chernick, 56, has worked as an arbitrator, mediator and dispute resolution consultant with the American Arbitration Association since 1994.
Before going to AAA, Chernick served as a partner at Los Angeles' Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher from 1977 to 1994. At Gibson, Dunn, he focused on business litigation, international and domestic arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.
In addition, Chernick has taught ADR at the University of Southern California, the Pepperdine Law Institute for Dispute Resolution, and the International Lawyers Development Institute in Rome.
He is a founding member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's dispute resolution section and the author of the California Practice Guide on ADR, and the California Practice Guide on Employment Law.
Chernick also is vice chairman of the dispute resolution section of the American Bar Association and founding president of the College of Commercial Arbitrators.
The addition of Chernick marks the fourth high-profile appointment to JAMS in recent weeks. Ambassador Richard Sklar in San Francisco joined JAMS in April as head of its newly formed international practice. Federal judges Charles Legge and Edward Infante have also recently joined JAMS.
