Look at the photo.
Three men. Same face. Same smile. Same guy.
One is wearing a white coat. One is wearing a suit. One is standing in the middle, because that’s where he belongs.
That’s me. And when you hire me to mediate your case, you get all three.
The Doctor
I graduated medical school in 1991. I have spent decades reading charts, interpreting imaging, evaluating causation, and understanding what happens to a human body when something goes wrong. I know what a standard of care argument actually means, not because I studied it for a deposition, but because I lived it in clinical practice. I still practice medicine today.
The Lawyer
I have been a licensed California attorney for over twenty years. I have litigated personal injury and medical malpractice cases on behalf of plaintiffs. I know how cases are built, where the value comes from, and where cases actually settle versus where they should settle. Those are not always the same thing.
The Mediator
I completed my formal dispute resolution training at the Straus Institute at Pepperdine’s Caruso School of Law, one of the top ADR programs in the country. I hold panel seats with ARC and several Southern California superior courts. I have mediated hundreds of cases. I know how to move a room.
What This Means for Your Case
Most mediators come to a complex injury or medical malpractice case with one background. They either understand medicine or they understand law. Rarely both. And almost never from the inside.
When your case involves disputed causation, contested standard of care, or complicated medical issues that drive settlement value, you do not want a mediator who needs a tutorial. You want someone who already speaks both languages fluently, and has spent a career doing exactly that.
That is what I bring into the room.
One neutral. Three perspectives. Every case.
Paul J. Molinaro, M.D., J.D. is the founder of MD JD Dispute Resolution, based in Corona, California. He mediates complex personal injury, medical malpractice, and products liability cases throughout Southern California.