Administrative Hearing Officer and Judge Pro Tem

I am an experienced practicing Santa Cruz/Bay Area attorney and statewide neutral, for individuals, cities and other forms of municipal government. I very much enjoy infusing my arbitrations and mediations with Collaborative Practice tools and approaches to resolving disputes respectfully. I have devoted many years of practice conducting administrative hearings both as a litigant and as a neutral. Currently, I serve when called as a Judge Pro Tem for the Santa Cruz Superior Court.

Since the beginning of this decade I have also presided over mobile home park disputes locally and throughout the state, having been called upon to interpret the various local ordinances and apply them to the facts presented. I served as a law clerk to the San Francisco Superior Court while I was attending UC Hastings College of the Law. Upon graduation I was hired as a staff attorney to the San Francisco Superior Court.

Some highlights of my legal experience as a neutral include:

Appointed and served as a Judge Pro Tem for the Santa Cruz Superior Court Small Claims and Traffic, 2002 to date
Hearing Officer for the Mobile Home Rent/Sales Stabilization Ordinance for the City of Santa Cruz, 2001—2004;
Appointed and served for one year as a Mobile Home Hearing Officer, City of San Juan Capistrano 2004
Awarded Certificate of Appreciation by Judge Ellis, PJ of the San Mateo Superior Court, for Alternative Dispute Resolution services, 1999
Selected to serve on the first panel of San Mateo County’s Pilot ADR program, and served from 1997 until 2000
Created and managed the Landlord/Tenant Hotline for Northern California, 1995—1998;
Arbitrator for Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center, 1995—1996;
Mediation Training and Certificate from Foothill College, Mountain View, 1995
Mediation Training and Certificate from Attorneys Mediation Services, 1996
Published landlord/tenant analysis of new legislation for The Docket, a monthly professional publication, for San Mateo County, 1993;
Arbitrator for the San Mateo County Bar Association’s Attorney Fee Dispute Program from 1989 until 1999
Appointed and served as an arbitrator for San Mateo County Superior Court, 1991—1999
Appointed and served as a Judge Pro Tem for the San Francisco Municipal Court, 1989—1991
Law Clerk and Staff Attorney for the San Francisco Superior Court, Civil and Probate Departments, and Appellate Departments for three years during law school and after graduation.

As you can see, I have devoted many years serving as an arbitrator, as a mediator and as a neutral. Besides my legal experience, I offer maturity in the exercise of sound judgment. Moreover, I understand and appreciate social decorum and confidentiality in the context of working as a hearing officer, as a Judge Pro Tem for the county, or as a neutral for governmental agencies or private concerns.

Stephania is also available to preside at administrative hearings for municipalities throughout California.

If you or your governmental or private agency would like to review professional references or additional information, please feel free to contact me directly at 831 684-1077.

Email Stephania