Top Rated Alternative Dispute Resolution Attorney in Encino, CA

A seasoned and highly regarded civil litigation attorney for many years, James E. Fitzgerald now focuses his practice primarily on mediation, arbitration and trial consulting. The founder of Fitzgerald Legal Consult, P.C., he assists clients throughout the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area from the firm’s office in Encino.

As an undergraduate, Mr. Fitzgerald attended the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, and in 1976, he received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He then went on to enroll at Fordham University School of Law, graduating with his Juris Doctor in 1979. Following a stint with a New York City-based insurance and reinsurance law firm, Mr. Fitzgerald relocated to Los Angeles and served as a partner at several national and global law firms, where he expanded his practice from insurance law to include other complex civil trial cases. He founded his current firm in October 2020, and he is admitted to practice in both New York and California. Mr. Fitzgerald is additionally admitted to practice before several federal trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Central and Southern Districts of California and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 2nd and 9th Circuits.

Mr. Fitzgerald remains heavily involved in the insurance law area, handling such matters as bad faith and other types of coverage disputes. He has worked on cases involving a variety of policies, including wildfire, earthquake, life, professional liability and storm damage. In addition, Mr. Fitzgerald has represented attorneys, engineers, brokers and other professionals who are facing negligence claims, and he has handled breach of contract claims, business torts, securities law and fiduciary duty breaches. Among his many honors is an AV Preeminent* peer review rating through Martindale-Hubbell.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.