Christine Allen
Mediator
“Authentic, disarming, and from the heart”
Experience
Christine Allen has been mediating cases since 2004. She has handled over 3000 cases, settling the vast majority of them. After being an independent mediator for six years, Christine joined the panel of Judicate West in 2011, and handles cases at all of their Southern California locations.
Christine practiced personal injury defense for 18 years, so she has a good understanding of how insurance companies operate, and understands the pressures defense attorneys and claims representatives face. Although she was a defense attorney, some of her biggest fans are plaintiff attorneys. This is due to the fact that she is a very compassionate, empathetic listener. Many times plaintiffs hug her on the way out of the mediation because she truly listened to them, and treated them with kindness and respect.
Christine mediates all types of personal injury cases, including automobile, trip/slip and fall, dog bite, and premises liability. She has also successfully mediated other types of disputes, including employment, breach of contact, civil rights violation, sexual battery, sexual molestation, insurance subrogation, and landlord/tenant.
Mediation Style
Christine’s style has been described as “authentic, disarming and from the heart. “ She is a compassionate listener, and makes sure that everyone feels heard. She knows how very important this is to the parties. She points out the downsides of each party’s case, and litigation in general, in a way that is palatable and non-threatening.
Christine comes to the mediation well prepared. She gets right to work. Christine is adept at the use of humor as a tool in mediation. She is well aware that litigation is stressful for everyone involved, and she tries to make the mediation a pleasant experience.
Rates
$660.00 per hour.
Cancellation policy: If the case is cancelled or continued within 14 days of the scheduled hearing date and Christine is able to fill the time with another mediation, a full refund will be given. If Christine is not able to fill the time with another mediation, no refund will be given.
Biography/Education
Christine was raised in Waterloo, Iowa. She attended Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana, earning a B.A. with a major in Political Science, and a minor in Spanish. She spent one year of college in Mexico City with a Notre Dame foreign studies program. She moved to California after graduating in 1981. Thereafter, she began law school at Southwestern University in Los Angeles. She later switched to Western State University after moving from Los Angeles to Orange County. She graduated near the top of her class. She attended Pepperdine University Strauss Institute for mediation training in 2004.
She is married, has a daughter and son, and is thrilled to be called “Grandma” by two adorable grandsons. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, walking at the beach, sunsets, dancing, yoga, and golf. She also enjoys watching football, basketball, golf and tennis.
Testimonials
“Thank you all for everyone’s hard work and dedication to resolving this one. Especially, thank you to Christine who stayed on top of all of us. You are truly a special mediator.”
“Just wanted to say thx again! You did a great job per usual and it was the best time I’ve had a mediation in a long time - I’ll get some more headed your way.”
“Mrs. Allen was a tremendous asset in getting this case wrapped up. My client didn’t want to be TOLD what her case was worth and why she should settle. She needed to be HEARD and to have her pain and loss validated and recognized. Mrs. Allen was able to connect with my client on a very genuine level - - despite being on zoom - - and it was only from that point that my client was willing to listen and evaluate her options and make a good decision.”
“It was a masterclass in transformative mediation on your part. I’ve been singing your praises to many other colleagues over the last week.”
“Christine, this is such a kind message, thank you! It was great meeting you as well. We appreciate all of your efforts and the back and forth you had to go through. This case has been a doozy since day one, but I’m glad it resolved. I’m hopeful for the chance to work with you again. Thank you again for your feedback and words of encouragement - really means a lot to me.”
“Thanks so much for your help yesterday. It was less than I wanted, but given the circumstances, a good result for the clients. That would have been a tough sell to the jury. They were extremely appreciative!”
“It was a pleasure working with you as well. You have such an even keel about you and a great ability to make the clients know that you were genuinely concerned about their predicament. I commend you and your intuition! I too look forward to working with you again:)”
“Thanks so much for your follow up efforts. We used you as a neutral at defense counsel’s suggestion. We are glad we did. You are sharp, dogged and dare I say, fun. We will use you again for sure.”
“Christine Allen is an excellent mediator. She is low key, but effective. She is tenacious and patient. She is an experienced litigator with good ‘people skills’ so she relates well to litigants and counsel. She is direct, but not pushy. She treats the parties with dignity and respect. I highly recommend her as a mediator.”
“Hi Christine. Thank you for everything you did yesterday. My client very much appreciated the hug. For me, you restored my waning faith in the legal profession. It is really nice to know there is at least one other attorney out there with a heart.”
“Christine, I want you to know that you did a great job yesterday. Success is obviously not always measured by the amount of money but the inclusiveness and acknowledgement that clients feel in going through the process. You were outstanding on both.”
“From the bottom of my heart, I am impressed on how you performed. I was not expecting that you would perform that well considering your candor that you did not have experience in mediating labor and employment case. I now have an addition to my mediator’s list and that is you. I will also refer you to my colleagues.”
“Hi Christine. Thank you very much for your professionalism as well as your “personal touch!” I appreciated how you outlined the pros and cons of litigating the matter and you essentially echoed what I had explained to my client..”
“Hi Christine. The case finally settled. Thank you for your follow-up and interest. The best thing about this case was meeting you. I hope we can use you in the future.”
“Thanks again for your hard work. My client and I both felt very comfortable with you as a mediator, and I hope we can work together again in the future.”
“Thank you Christine. We were very impressed and appreciated how hard you worked to resolve the case.”
“You are the best. We have a $95 million class action where the mediator gets $10k per day. You are working harder and I appreciate it.”
“Thanks Christine. I spoke with my claims representative and she reiterated how impressed she was (as am I) at all the work you have put into this case. Again, I will readily recommend using you as a mediator on any future cases.”
“Thank you very much for your help in getting this unusual claim to resolution. As is frequently the case, although the claim did not settle at the mediation, your efforts and insights guided the parties into more thoughtful consideration of their position, as well as opposing views and both parties came to an agreement.”
“Thanks Christine. I was happy with your services. I think you can relate well to clients. Many mediators are gruff old men that clients have a tough time getting up to speed with in the short time a mediation takes place. I like your style and you’re certainly at the top of my list!”
“Hello Christine. I truly appreciate your help to resolve the above case. My clients appreciate the fact that you showed them respect, acknowledged their injuries, and made them feel at ease. They trusted you and were willing to listen. Again, thank you for all your hard work, knowledge, and flexibility.”
“I have found Christine Allen to be a very effective mediator. Her style is authentic, disarming, and from the heart. She has been successful in resolving each of the cases I have mediated before her.”
“Christine Allen is an effective and compassionate mediator. I am confident that my client will not only understand the process, but will also feel confident that Christine is doing her best to resolve the case. Every time Christine has mediated a case with me, we have settled and both my clients and I were confident that we had reached the best outcome we could have. She takes the time to listen and understand all positions and will follow up after the mediation, if necessary, to get the matter resolved.”
“Thank you once again for your tireless efforts in helping us get this case settled. In particular, my client and I greatly appreciate your compassion and understanding.”
“Christine—wanted to thank you again for your wonderful abilities on resolving this case. I look forward to using you again and again. It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“After we did my client’s deposition, we settled the case for your mediator’s proposal. Great job. It just took a couple months to get both sides to your numbers. Thanks for your help.”
“Christine…It was a pleasure meeting you. I’ve already mentioned your name to another client, so I’m hopeful we can use you on some more cases. Thanks for your effort in resolving our case too!”
“Thanks for all your hard work Christine! I’m so glad we got this one done. It was worth all the effort and my client is very happy and asks that I send you her thanks and appreciation. I will spread the word and attempt to send (nice) people your way. Needless to say, I will be in touch in the near future.”
“I wanted to thank you again for your wonderful abilities on resolving this case. I look forward to using you again and again. It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thanks Christine. You are truly awesome!”
“Thank you Christine. You’ve proven your salt as a mediator. Thanks again for your hard work.”
“Thanks Christine. I appreciate your help in achieving settlement of a difficult dispute.”
“Christine has a way of making a meaningless mediation, meaningful.”