Get to Know Your Mediator
Bob Barnard is an accomplished commercial lawyer with more than 30 years of experience. Bob has been on all sides of the mediation table: as an advocate, as a client, as an insurer representative, and as a neutral. His background affords him a broad perspective and a unique mix of experience that he can draw from to help guide you to a resolution of your dispute.
After graduating from The University of Pennsylvania Law School, Bob began his career as a law clerk. In 1994, he joined Gould & Wilkie LLP, a 100-year-old Wall Street law firm. Bob was elected as a partner in the firm’s litigation group in 2002. Gould & Wilkie later merged into Thompson Hine LLP, an AMLaw200 firm with several offices in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Bob was a partner in the business litigation and bankruptcy/creditors rights practice groups, litigating in courts across the country. He was the lead attorney on several multi-million dollar cases, handled jury and bench trials, arbitration hearings, administrative hearings, appellate arguments, and many mediations.
In 2010, as the banking industry was experiencing heavy fallout from the financial crisis, Bob accepted a position with the FDIC. There, he handled scores of residual litigations for the FDIC as receiver for dozens of failed banks, led investigations into bank failures, and managed professional liability and mortgage fraud lawsuits that arose out of those investigations. Bob resolved a number of those disputes through mediation.
Bob joined Zurich North America Insurance Company as Claims Counsel in 2018. At Zurich, he was responsible for: evaluating and addressing coverage issues; investigating and evaluating claims made under policies issued to banks, asset managers, private equity firms, and insurance companies; and negotiating resolutions to claims and coverage disputes. Many of those resolutions were reached through mediation.
Throughout his career, Bob has handled disputes in a number of industries and subject matter areas, including: banking, insurance, financial markets, professional liability, real property, eminent domain, employment law, fiduciary duty, commercial transactions, the UCC, commercial contracts, construction, public utility law, trusts and estates, and constitutional law. He has handled mediations involving a broad range of parties, from individuals and small family businesses to large banks, private equity firms, asset managers, insurance companies, public utility companies, law firms, and government agencies.
These days Bob works exclusively as a mediator. He does not provide legal representation or advice.