Background:  Charles F. Hawkins - chawkins@mediationmasters.com

  • Presently in private practice with more than 30 years of experience in civil litigation and plaintiff personal injury matters
  • More than 25 years as a settlement conference judge pro tem and binding arbitrator
  • Past member of Board of Governors of California Trial Lawyers Association (COAC)
  • Recently honored as one of the best personal injury/mediators in the Silicon Valley
  • More than 800 mediations, arbitrations, settlement conferences, and special master assignments involving commercial disputes, construction defects, I.P., partnership dissolutions, real estate and personal injury matters of all types, including products liability, construction, medical and legal malpractice, vehicular, wrongful termination, and sexual harassment
  • Specializes in mediating complex civil and catastrophic personal injury matters

Biography

Mr. Hawkins was born in 1943 in Palo Alto, California.  He attended Stanford University and UCLA Law School, graduating in 1965 and 1968, respectively.  Since that time, he has been engaged in the practice of law in Santa Clara County.  Mr. Hawkins is a founding member of Mediation masters and senior partner in Hawkins · Blick, specializing in general, civil, and business contingency litigation of all types, and plaintiff's personal injury matters, including products liability, medical negligence, construction injuries, vehicular matters, employment and sexual harassment matters in State and Federal Court.

Mr. Hawkins is a past member of the Board of Governors of the California Trial Lawyers Association (now CAOC) and he has lectured for the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association, the California Trial Lawyers Association, and Continuing Education of the Bar programs.  Mr. Hawkins has completed various mediation courses and has lectured and taught on the subject of mediation and arbitration.  Mr. Hawkins was recently honored as one of the best personal injury lawyers/mediators in the Silicon Valley area.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Mr. Hawkins has been a Santa Clara County settlement conference judge pro tem, trial judge pro tem, and a member of the County Judicial Arbitration panel for over 25 years.   He has been active as a binding arbitrator on uninsured/underinsured motorist matters and on other contractual binding arbitration cases during that time.  For the last 10 years, Mr. Hawkins' alternative dispute resolution efforts have emphasized the mediation of all varieties of civil litigation, including commercial business disputes of all types, construction defect litigation, intellectual property, partnership dissolutions, real estate, and all varieties of personal injury matters, including products liability, construction site injuries, medical malpractice, legal malpractice, vehicular injuries, railroad cases, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and elder abuse matters.  Mr. Hawkins has conducted in excess of 800 mediations, arbitrations, and settlement conferences.

Mr. Hawkins acts as a special master on complex multi-party litigation, resolving discovery disputes, ruling on motions for summary judgment, and conducting settlement/mediation conferences to resolve such matters.  Mr. Hawkins specializes in mediating complex civil matters and catastrophic personal injury cases and he continues to conduct an active civil litigation practice, together with acting as a mediator three to five times per week.