For Stuart Rice, resolving disputes means staying nimble

When a deposition threatens to collapse into a contentious discovery dispute, retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stuart M. Rice sometimes gets a call asking him to intervene.

"My case manager calls me and says, 'The parties are in a deposition. They're having a major dispute. The deposition is in danger of being recessed with a motion to follow,'" Rice recalled. "'You said you'd be available, and they're wondering: Can you talk to them right now?'"

Rice, who joined JAMS in September 2025, said he has received such requests more than once while serving as an arbitrator.

"If I'm free, I do it. I get on a Zoom call with angry lawyers, and ... in every instance thus far, we've been able to resolve it," he said. "They've been able to go back to their deposition and get it completed that day rather than having to go through unnecessary, acrimonious motion practice when a conversation with me can help resolve it."

That practical, problem-solving approach defines Rice's work as a neutral. Whether mediating an employment dispute, arbitrating a commercial case or evaluating trial strategy, he believes the key is recognizing what a particular dispute requires -- and adjusting accordingly.

"I think being nimble is very important - to be able to change on a dime," Rice said.

A 1978 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, Rice spent 25 years as a litigator before becoming a Los Angeles County Superior Court commissioner in 2003. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him to the Superior Court bench in 2005.

"I loved being a judge," said Rice, who retired in July 2025. "And it was very hard to leave."

At JAMS, he handles personal injury, employment, commercial, probate, environmental and sexual assault disputes, along with neutral evaluations, mock trials and special master assignments.

He particularly enjoys the variety.

"Some people try to limit themselves, ... [but] I'm really enjoying the breadth of experiences you get while being both a mediator, an arbitrator and a person who provides neutral evaluations," he said.

San Francisco defense attorney Simona A. Agnolucci of Cooley LLP recently retained Rice as a mock judge for a potential bench trial in a consumer class action.

"Judge Rice was the most engaged, helpful, enthusiastic, knowledgeable mock judge I've ever worked with," Agnolucci said. "He was really committed to getting the right answer and to working with us on our case - not just as a decision maker, but really as a partner to us as we mapped out the case strategy."

She said Rice offered detailed reactions to witnesses, arguments and documents, helping the defense team evaluate its approach.

In mediation, Rice said he avoids imposing a standard formula on every dispute. Some cases benefit from a facilitative approach that encourages communication, while others require a more evaluative assessment of the parties' legal positions.

"You have to have the ability to listen and recognize what would be successful in this particular case that might not work in another," he said. "Some cases I handle with a very facilitative approach, others with a very evaluative approach."

That flexibility includes recognizing when the obstacle to settlement has little to do with money.

An employee may feel mistreated by a supervisor, for example, while an employer may resent negative comments posted about the business on social media. Those grievances can harden positions even when the parties are relatively close financially.

"So people get dug in," Rice said. "It's my job to figure all that out, so I can help them get past the stumbling blocks to a place where everybody can leave that day and feel satisfied about the resolution they've come to."

El Segundo plaintiffs' attorney Christian T. Nickerson of Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP, who appeared before Rice during his judicial career and recently retained him for a personal injury mediation, said Rice combines candor with professionalism.

"He's going to tell you if you have a problem with your case. He's going to tell the other side if they have a problem with the case," Nickerson said. "But he's going do it with an aura of professionalism. He's not going to be a guy that will be yelling and screaming at you at mediation."

Nickerson said Rice also quickly put his client at ease, an important quality when parties are unfamiliar with mediation and apprehensive about the process.

"It's just very important for a mediator to earn trust - not only from the lawyers, but from the client," he said. "And he was able to do that right off the bat with our client."

Pasadena attorney Maryam Maleki of Hackler Flynn & Associates APC, who recently used Rice to mediate two employment disputes, similarly praised his ability to connect with clients.

"He's a very calming hand throughout," Maleki said. "He really understands, I think, what the parties need."

She said Rice took time to acknowledge clients' concerns and make them feel heard, while maintaining a balanced assessment of the legal issues.

"Some mediators are considered very plaintiff-friendly, and some are considered very defendant-friendly - particularly in the employment law space," Maleki said. "It doesn't matter which side of the aisle you sit on, Judge Rice is very fair-minded, and he does a great job of seeing the full picture."

For Rice, that balance is essential to resolving disputes. So is the willingness to intervene before disagreements become entrenched.

Sometimes that means spending hours helping parties work through the personal grievances underlying a lawsuit. Other times, it means joining a Zoom call in the middle of a deposition to settle a dispute before the lawyers abandon the proceeding and file motions.

Either way, Rice sees his role as helping the parties move forward rather than allowing conflict to become an end in itself.

Here are some attorneys who have used Rice's services: Christian T. Nickerson, Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP; Simona A. Agnolucci, Cooley LLP; Maryam Maleki, Hackler Flynn & Associates APC; Andrew B. Brettler, Berk Brettler LLP; Daniel L. Reback, Smith & Reback APC