Paula Bagger

Associate Mediator

Associate Mediator · Attorney

Most business and commercial cases are resolved before trial and a successful mediator of these disputes brings not only empathy and a creative approach to their resolution but also, importantly, a deep familiarity with the litigation process itself and its costs (legal fees, yes, but also the parties’ time and attention, which is almost always best focused elsewhere). After almost 40 years’ business and commercial litigation practice in federal and state court, I have honed these skills. I am versed in the applicable law, I understand the litigation dynamics that contribute to success on the merits, and I know how to listen carefully and with empathy and communicate clearly. After a federal appellate clerkship in Chicago, I started my legal career in Boston as an associate in the Trial Department at Goodwin Procter LLP before moving to a boutique litigation firm, Cooke Clancy & Gruenthal LLP. In 2017, I went solo, which gave me the flexibility to counsel small business on employment and transactional issues–and also to move into ADR. I am on the commercial and consumer arbitration panels of the American Arbitration Association and a public arbitrator for FINRA. In addition to mediating private disputes, I am a volunteer mediator with the Mediation Works, Inc., district court mediation panel and a conciliator for Cape Mediation, Inc. I am active in bar association work and recently completed a term as a member, and Chair, of the Board of Bar Overseers of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.