Retired Sacramento judge Geoffrey Goodman finds rhythm in mediation

Retired judge Geoffrey A. Goodman has been playing guitar and harmonica for years with the rock, blues and country music band Cut 3, which performs at wineries around Sacramento.

"They're great gigs because they're in the afternoon - rather than playing in bars, starting at 9 and leaving at 2," Goodman said with a chuckle. "I'm done with that."

Goodman has been performing with fellow musicians for years in different bands, and he likens the experience to his work as a Judicate West private neutral.

"I see a lot of analogies between playing music and mediation," Goodman explained. "The different moods, the different rhythms, the different paces you have in music - you find that in mediation, too. When you're playing with other people, you have to listen and adapt and improvise and jam and work off of them."

Goodman retired from the Sacramento County Superior Court at the end of 2022, but he returned on assignment in 2023 as the supervising judge for the court's civil mandatory settlement conference Department 59.

"All civil cases - about a month before trial - are assigned to that department," Goodman said. "It's a half-day, either in the morning or the afternoon. ... And I would essentially do two a day for the full week."

Goodman headed up Department 59 for two years, supervising the pro tems handling the settlement conferences while conducting more than 500 himself.

"Frankly, that's where I learned to love mediation," Goodman recalled. "I just said, 'This is really great. ... And I'm not ready to hang it up.' So, I decided to go into the private sector and hooked up with Judicate West."

Goodman has been working as a private neutral since the spring of 2023, handling commercial, real estate, personal injury and employment disputes as a mediator and arbitrator.

"If people arbitrate before me, they're not going to have some person who feels he still has a robe and a big gavel and all the court staff," Goodman said. "I'm totally willing to create a more informal environment."

The retired judge added, however, that he values efficiency in arbitration proceedings.

"I will definitely impose certain limitations if I think one party or the other is just wasting everybody's time by flooding us with exhibits that nobody is really paying attention to," he said. "But I really try to focus on the key issues in the case and ... to be fair and respectful to all the parties."

As a mediator, Goodman believes personal connections with parties and attorneys are essential.

"I think there's real power in small talk and a little humor, trying to create a relaxed environment," he said.

Sacramento business litigator Eric C. Miller appeared before Goodman in Department 59 and later used him to mediate a contentious partnership dispute.

"He really works hard to understand the parties' positions," Miller said. "In these business cases, there's often a lot of emotion involved for the parties, and he does a good job of understanding the business aspects of the cases, but also the emotional aspects, which are another hurdle you really have to overcome with these."

Miller also said Goodman knows when to apply pressure.

"I think he strikes a good balance of pushing on the parties when he needs to," Miller said. "Sometimes you run into mediators that are just passing offers back and forth. But he'll push on the parties when he needs to - although not in a bullying-type way."

San Francisco litigator Jeremiah J. Harvey recently used Goodman to mediate a difficult commercial dispute and praised his demeanor.

"When you have something very complex that is emotionally driven, Judge Goodman is a steady hand," Harvey said. "He's not the judge who's going to go in and beat the other side down and get them into a submission - if that's the kind of mediator you're looking for. He's more of a judge where he's going to be really fair to both sides."

Goodman said mediations can become more difficult when attorneys absorb their clients' emotions.

"Sometimes that just creates a difficult impasse to settlement, where we're spending so much of the mediation just trying to peel back some of the emotional component," Goodman said. "I think it's far more helpful if the attorney recognizes the emotions of their client and is willing to communicate the emotions of the client but not adopt the emotions of the client."

Sacramento litigator Alec D. Tyra has used Goodman twice as a private neutral and has another mediation scheduled with him.

"One of the things I really appreciate about Judge Goodman is the amount of experience he brings to the mediation process, and that he's able to understand a wide variety of matters," Tyra said. "It's unlikely that you'll have a case that Judge Goodman hasn't seen before or a legal issue he hasn't seen."

Tyra also praised Goodman's balanced approach.

"He is, I think, a very fair and balanced mediator," Tyra said. "But he's not shied away from telling me when I have weaknesses in my case. And I know he does the same for the other side. ... But he's doing it in a way that isn't insulting or creating an emotionally charged environment for the client."

Goodman said his move into private neutral work has been rewarding and his appreciation for mediation continues to deepen.

"One thing you learn doing this is you have to sublimate your ego a little bit," he said. "Because if there is a settlement, it's not all you. The attorneys did it; the parties did it. All you're doing is helping them get to a good place."

Here are some attorneys who have used Goodman's services: Eric C. Miller, Boutin Jones Inc.; Jeremiah J. Harvey, Kaufman Dolowich LLP; Alec D. Tyra, Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard; Gregory J. Brod, Brod Law Firm PC; David P. Burkett, Knox Lemmon & Anapolsky LLP.