Lecturer Bios
Jeffrey Allen, Esq.
Jeffrey Allen, Esq., is a principal in the law firm of Graves & Allen in Oakland. He runs a general practice that, since 1973, has emphasized negotiation, structuring and documentation of real estate acquisitions, loans and other business transactions, receiverships and related litigation. Mr. Allen’s litigation experience focuses on real estate and business matters, but also includes a variety of torts and personal injury matters. He regularly represents both plaintiffs and defendants. Mr. Allen’s clients have included banks, savings and loan associations, title insurance companies, real estate licensees, borrowers, lenders, buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants. He also works as a provider of alternative dispute resolution services as an arbitrator and a mediator. Mr. Allen actively participates in the Alameda County Bar Association, the State Bar of California and the American Bar Association. He serves as special issue editor and writes the “Road Warrior” column for the Technology & Practice Guide issues of GP Solo Magazine, serves as the editor of the Technology eReport and writes its “MacNotes” column, writes a technology column for Experience magazine, and frequently contributes product reviews and articles to other legal publications. Mr. Allen also served as the ABA advisor to the NCCUSL drafting committee for Uniform eDiscovery Rules. He serves on the faculty at the University of Phoenix and at California State University, East Bay. In addition to his California license, Mr. Allen is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, and a member of the Rolls of the Law Society of England and Wales.
Hon. Cecily Bond (Ret.)
Hon. Cecily Bond (Ret.) has more than 20 years of dispute resolution experience as a sitting judge and joined JAMS immediately following her retirement from the Sacramento Superior Court. Since joining JAMS in 2000, Judge Bond has mediated, arbitrated and acted as discovery referee or special master in a wide variety of cases. Her mediations and arbitrations have involved complex civil litigation often involving multiparty cases. As a trial judge, she has presided over numerous complex civil court trials and writ adjudications that required written determination of complex legal and factual issues involving virtually all areas of civil litigation. Judge Bond was recognized as a Top 30 California Neutral in the Daily Journal in 2006. She has written numerous articles and publications on a wide variety of topics. Judge Bond is a frequently requested lecturer and panelist for a variety of organizations. She earned a B.A. degree from the University of Southern California, an M.A. degree in public and constitutional law from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Will Rountree, J.D., Ph.D.
Will Rountree, J.D., Ph.D., is a trial consultant with Bonora D’Andrea, LLC, in San Francisco. Dr. Rountree has consulted with trial attorneys in hundreds of civil and criminal cases, including civil rights, employment discrimination, personal injury, insurance bad faith, product liability, breach of contract, white-collar crime and death penalty defense. As the associate editor of JuryWork: Systematic Techniques, he conducted extensive legal and social science research for the most comprehensive and up-to-date manual for the practice of jury consulting. Dr. Rountree has written extensively on jury composition challenges, post-trial interview techniques, the discriminatory use of peremptory challenges and voir dire questioning techniques in restricted time conditions. Combining consulting experience and research, he has developed specific voir dire questioning methods to assist attorneys in revealing jurors’ biases in high-stakes litigation. Dr. Rountree is a faculty member of the American Trial Lawyers Association and has lectured at the University of California, Berkeley; San Francisco State University; Golden Gate University; and the International Institute for the Sociology of Law in Oñati, Spain. He received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Ph.D. degree in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Matthew N. White, Esq.
Matthew N. White, Esq., has handled civil litigation and personal injury cases since 1979. Mr. White is of counsel with Keegin, Harrison, Schoppert, Smith & Karner LLP and an ADR panelist with Resolution Remedies in San Rafael, conducting mediations and arbitrations throughout the Bay Area. He serves regularly as a judge pro tem in San Francisco and Marin County, and as a mediator for the 1st District Court of Appeals program. Mr. White speaks and writes frequently on legal issues, including trial practice, ADR and ethics. He has achieved the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory and was selected by Law & Politics as a Northern California Super Lawyer in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Mr. White earned a B.A. degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a J.D. degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
