Career Highlights: Deb has litigated failure to disclose cases for over 17 years and now mediates and arbitrates them. Prior to practicing law, she was a residential and commercial real estate broker.
Graceffa Dispute Resolution Center
Real estate, commercial, construction defect, personal injury
Neutral Debra A. Graceffa knows something about getting her hands dirty in a real estate deal.
"I used to demo houses sometimes while I was flipping," Graceffa said, "because I wanted to see what was going on behind the walls."
That hands-on approach has followed Graceffa from real estate development to litigation and, since 2020, full-time work as a mediator and arbitrator.
A licensed California real estate broker, Graceffa was 30 when she enrolled at the University of San Francisco School of Law, earning her law degree in 2004. Before that, she launched several businesses, including real estate development ventures that often-involved troubled properties.
"Because I bought a lot of problem properties, I had to be really creative with how to solve things and be very direct -- direct but personable," she said. "I've had boots on the ground for so long."
Graceffa also spent years competing in sports. A former triathlete, she played college basketball and softball and joined a Bay Area women's ice hockey league at 40.
"I wouldn't say I'm the world's greatest skater," she said with a chuckle. "So, I had to think really hard about what I was going to do two or three steps ahead of time."
She said sports taught her teamwork and strategic thinking, skills she later put to use during more than 15 years as a civil real estate litigator.
But Graceffa eventually found litigation constraining and became increasingly drawn to mediation.
"I was wowed by the fact that a mediator could come in after people have been fighting viciously for two years and change the entire tone ... within eight hours and resolve something," she recalled. "And I thought, 'That's much more me.'"
Graceffa now handles a range of real estate and business disputes as a mediator and arbitrator. Her experience as a broker, developer and landlord informs her approach.
"I'm not a judge," she said. "I've spent my career with my hands dirty in a lot of the [areas] that I arbitrate, and I know the real-world practicalities of some of these problems."
As an arbitrator, Graceffa described herself as "a very balanced jurist" who tries to ensure parties understand the reasoning behind her decisions, even when they dislike the outcome.
As a mediator, she focuses early on building relationships through pre-mediation calls and conversations with litigants.
"Understanding people and why they're even in the process to begin with is really important," she said. "Because a lot of times the law matters, but what matters more is the personalities in the room."
Graceffa said she avoids hammering parties with her evaluation of a case, instead emphasizing their shared need to manage risk. Humor is another tool.
"I actually spend a lot of time infusing humor into the process because what it does is it keeps people's brains calm," she said. "People are fighting at the beginning, but I work really hard to show them the ways in which they have common aversion to risk."
San Diego real estate litigator Brian Slome, who has used Graceffa in more than a dozen cases, said her ability to connect with clients distinguishes her.
"They don't walk away feeling defeated -- even after they agree to pay money," Slome said. "She's able to build that relationship as part of the mediation to make your clients feel good about themselves -- even in a really, really hard situation."
San Francisco real estate litigator A. Jeanne Grove, who has used Graceffa in about half a dozen cases, said her real estate background is particularly valuable in buyer-seller disputes.
"She has considerable on-the-ground experience in that area," Grove said. "I think it helps her think of creative solutions that sometimes the most experienced real estate attorneys -- like myself -- don't necessarily think of in a litigated setting."
San Francisco real estate litigator Michael J. McLaughlin first encountered Graceffa as opposing counsel about a decade ago and has since used her to resolve roughly a dozen disputes.
"She's one of the most effective neutrals out there," he said.
McLaughlin said that is particularly true in emotionally charged landlord-tenant disputes.
"One of Deb's superpowers is she just brings the temperature down," he said. "My clients always feel heard. Her demeanor is very warm and welcoming. ... Every single case I've taken to her, she's brought the temperature down, and we've resolved every one of them."
For McLaughlin, Graceffa's effectiveness ultimately comes back to the practical experience she accumulated long before becoming a neutral.
"You can never underestimate the value of common sense," he said. "These cases usually settle on the facts. They rarely settle on just the law. And if you have a commonsense perspective about what a fact might mean in the big picture, it makes you way more effective as a mediator."
Here are some attorneys who have used Graceffa's services: Michael J. McLaughlin, McLaughlin Sanchez LLP; A. Jeanne Grove, Nixon Peabody; Brian Slome, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP; Matthew J. Gluck, Gluck Daniel Atkinson LLP; Daniel M. Bornstein, Bornstein Law APC