Resume
Robert D. Coviello, Esq.
Principal
Professional Experience
Robert D. Coviello is a licensed California attorney with 30 years of litigation and dispute resolution experience. As a sole practitioner, he maintained an extensive civil trial practice representing both individuals and business management in all areas of employment-related matters.
The majority of his time is now devoted to Neutral work, acting as an arbitrator/mediator in contested general civil or employment-related disputes.
Mr. Coviello has accumulated extensive courtroom and jury trial experience, including verdicts on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, in a variety of business disputes and employment-related claims. Mr. Coviello has personally litigated over 50 trials, has conducted several hundred depositions in contested litigation cases, including all varieties of employment related matters. He is a frequent speaker at State Bar sponsored educational seminars on employment related legal issues, including sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour matters, class action litigation and arbitration and mediation. He has extensive experience in litigating, mediating, and arbitrating all types of business and employment disputes, including class action wage and hour claims.
Representative Mediation
As a mediator, Mr. Coviello has helped resolve a variety of matters including sexual harassment, breach of written employment contracts, wage and hour claims, class actions, medical disability and FMLA claims, exempt/non-exempt issues and a variety of other employment related and general business disputes. He has also successfully mediated many complex wage and hour class action matters.
Representative Arbitration
Acting as an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association, Mr. Coviello has issued binding decisions in a variety of cases including breach of written employment agreements involving major financial institutions; race discrimination matters involving foreign corporations; age and national origin wrongful termination matters involving Fortune 500 companies; breach of employment contract between licensed physicians and medical providers; meal and rest periods; tipping issues; and exempt/non-exempt misclassification matters; Labor Code §970 claims; sexual harassment; disability discrimination; and other §12940 issues.
ADR Training
AAA 2007 Annual Review of ADR Law; AAA Arbitrator Ethics & Disclosures, May 2006; AAA Arbitrator Annual Update, San Francisco 2002; AAA Employment Arbitrator II Training, San Francisco, September 2002; AAA Employment Arbitrator Training, San Francisco, October 2000.
Professional Associations
California State Bar (Labor Law Section); Orange County Bar Association (Labor Law Section, Chair 2002, Judiciary Review Committee); California Employment Lawyers; National Employment Lawyers; American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); Martindale-Hubbell "AV" rated.
Education
Western State University, JD, 1980; Wartburg College, BA, Political Science, 1974.
Publications & Presentations
"Employee or Independent Contractor: Pros and Cons", Continuing Education of the Bar, March 21, 2009; "ADR - Tips for Ethically Resolving Your Case", Orange County Bar Association, January 17, 2009; "Employment Litigation Practice Issues - Collective and Class Action Litigation", Continuing Education of the Bar, April 28 and May 5, 2007;"The Myths & Facts of Employment Arbitration", Orange County Bar Association, February 12, 2007; "How to Litigate an Employee Claim Before a Jury in California", Lorman Education Services, November 1, 2005; "Staying Sharp - Cutting Edge Issues for Employment Law Attorneys", Orange County Bar Association, September 22, 2005; "Advanced Course of Study: Critical Issues in Employment Litigation - Class & Representative Actions", Continuing Education of the Bar, May 21, 2005; "How to Litigate an Employee Claim Before a Jury in California", Lorman Education Services, August 19, 2004; "Advanced Course of Study: Critical Issues in Employment Litigation - Wage & Hour Class Actions", Continuing Education of the Bar, May 15, 2004.