Neutral Robert G. Marasco likes to assign homework before his mediations.
"I want the parties to think about what it is they hope to get out of the process, and I want them actually thinking about resolution options," Marasco said. "I don't want them coming in and saying, 'I want this number, and that's all I'll take.'"
Marasco encourages this approach during meetings beforehand with the parties and their attorneys.
"I prompt them to think about things in advance, so then on the day of the mediation, I start with, 'OK, what are some things that you've come up with already?'" Marasco explained. "And that automatically broadens the scope of options for us to explore that day and gives me a better chance of finding overlap between the two sides."
Marasco said the amount of time he tries to spend with parties and their attorneys before the actual mediation day sets him apart from his peers.
"What I like to do is not only meet with the attorneys themselves separately but also spend time with the party in advance," he explained. "Because I want them to have an opportunity to have my undivided attention and not have to worry about me going to check on the other side. ... For a typical full day mediation I'm retained for I spend an average of six hours with the parties in advance of the mediation itself."
A 2003 Seton Hall University School of Law graduate, Marasco started his career tackling civil litigation and white-collar defense before spending five years at the U.S. Attorney's Office - first for the District of New Jersey and then the Southern District of California. As a federal prosecutor, Marasco started out on organized crime cases before moving into white collar fraud matters that often involved the health care industry.
He returned to private practice in 2016, litigating and trying cases involving health care and commercial disputes before deciding in 2022 to move in-house as chief compliance officer for the life sciences company Color Health Inc.
"It was just a really unique opportunity to come in and build a compliance program from scratch," Marasco said. "So, I built a team to do it and did that and then said, 'OK, now I'm going to do what I really want to do,' and I started doing the neutral work."
Marasco began focusing full-time as a private neutral in January 2023 and joined JAMS in June 2024. He's since been tackling health care, employment and commercial disputes as a mediator and arbitrator.
"What you'll get from me is someone who has tried cases - someone who appreciates the difficulties of putting on a case," Marasco said about his work as an arbitrator. "I guess you could say I'm someone who's going to let you try your case - from both sides, whether that's for the claimant or the respondent."
As a mediator, meanwhile, Marasco said he spends so much time with parties and their attorneys beforehand because he wants to understand the dispute and those involved. Listening is critical during those sessions, but it's also a time for him to ask questions.
"I'm obviously trying to find out about their perspective regarding the dispute," he said. "But I also want to know about them as individuals. What motivates them in their personal lives? What motivates them in their professional lives? What motivates them with respect to that particular dispute? So, I can learn about them, find out what makes them tick and see how I can best appeal to them with respect to the dispute they're dealing with."
Marasco said those preliminary sessions also provide the parties and their attorneys a chance to learn a great deal more about him.
"And once they're comfortable with me," he said, "then it allows me the freedom to maybe be more direct than you could be with someone you're only meeting for the very first time."
Marasco said he considers himself to be more facilitative than evaluative in his approach to mediation, but the foundational work he does beforehand with parties generally means he's more effective on those occasions when he feels he needs to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a case.
"There are certainly instances - regular instances - where you need to be evaluative in order for the party you're dealing with to get a fresh perspective," he said. "And I have no problem being evaluative if I feel that a party is maybe not appreciating the strengths of the other side's case or the risks they face if they were to go forward to trial."
San Diego litigator David W. Gouzoules used Marasco recently to resolve what he described as a nasty real estate partnership dispute, and he said the JAMS neutral was very amicable and client focused.
"Rob did more work on the front end of this mediation than I've really ever seen a mediator do before," Gouzoules said. "So, he was already attuned to the issues and was able to drill down much faster, and I was very pleased by that. ... He cut right to the chase and said, 'Look, I don't care if you think you're going to win your summary judgment motion. I want to talk about what we can do today before we walk out of this room to get this case resolved.'"
Rancho Santa Fe litigator Sean E. Ponist used Marasco recently to mediate a construction defect case, and he agreed that the neutral is excellent with clients.
"He has a really good demeanor, personality and presence that comes across in a way where he's empathetic but not overly so," Ponist said. "He clearly understands people and people feel understood - but not in any sort of patronizing way."
Ponist also appreciated the work Marasco did before the mediation.
"He really gets to know a little bit more about the personalities that are driving the issues and gets to know some of the things that could be potential holdups to settlement," Ponist said. "There've been so many mediations I've been in where you get there, and the mediator really doesn't know the facts, doesn't know the file, doesn't know the law, and you end up spending a good chunk of the day just trying to educate the mediator. With Rob, by contrast, you're really able to start with the negotiations right at the outset."
Longtime San Diego litigator Scott D. Buchholz used Marasco recently to resolve a contractual health care dispute, and he said the mediator was personable, extremely bright and not afraid to get his hands dirty.
"He just gets in there and avoids the legalese and avoids the jargon," Buchholz said. "He's very down to earth and realizes that the cost of litigation can often eat up the eventual benefit of going to trial or going to arbitration, and that was definitely appreciated by me and by our client."
Here are some attorneys who have used Marasco's services: Sean E. Ponist, Ponist Law Group PC; Scott D. Buchholz, Buchholz Harris Levine & Brennan PC; David W. Gouzoules, The McClellan Law Firm; Paul A. Breucop, Collins + Collins LLP; Paul A. Tyrell, Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP.