About

Ms. McSweyn is an attorney/neutral with offices in San Francisco and Sonoma County providing mediation and fact-finding services specializing in employment and Title IX matters. She also serves as an ombuds person for colleges and universities and has been certified as a long-term care ombudsman for the Department of Aging.  From 1997 to 2000, she was associated with the San Francisco employment law firm of Berman, Berkley & Lasky as ‘Of Counsel’. Prior to 1997, Ms. McSweyn practiced law in-house as a general counsel and chief human resources officer for a non-profit college system and as head of the legal department for a Fortune 500 food manufacturing corporation and agricultural cooperative.

 

Ms. McSweyn has served as a neutral on the panels of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1999-2014, was a hearing officer for the Office of Citizen Complaints in San Francisco (2000-2002) and on the California Court of Appeal, First District.   She currently serves on the panel for the Sonoma County Superior Court, State of California Department of Insurance and the United States District Court of Northern California. Ms. McSweyn was also a member of the California State Bar’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Consulting Group formed to consider the creation of a legal specialization in conflict resolution. She has published various articles concerning the law and alternative dispute resolution processes and has been instrumental in developing more comprehensive professional liability insurance for those engaged in the ADR profession. She is past president of the board of the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California and was a Leadership Council member of the national Association for Conflict Resolution. Ms. McSweyn has received extensive ADR training at Pepperdine University School of Law, Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution, The Center for Mediation in Law, the Court of Appeal’s appellate and the U. S. District Court’s training programs and numerous Bar sponsored ADR programs. She has been a guest lecturer for mediation and ADR courses at colleges and universities. As a professional neutral, she has conducted nearly 200 workplace investigations for private, public, large and small organizations and has provided training to employers on how to conduct a workplace investigation.  These investigations include all facets of the workplace such as discrimination, union issues, breaches of policy, retaliation, fraud, workers’ compensation matters and many other alleged misconduct issues that can arise.  She has investigated Title IX allegations of discrimination or harassment in colleges and universities.  She is a member of the Association of Workplace Investigators.  Ms. McSweyn is licensed to practice law in both California and Washington. She is a former clerk to the Washington State Court of Appeals and graduated from Seattle University School of Law with honors.  Her undergraduate degree is in social work and psychology graduating cum laude.

 

Ms. McSweyn’ s background in business, human resources management and her legal expertise provides her with valuable and practical experience in the areas of conflict resolution, workplace investigations, business and employee issues.

Conflict Resolution Service

Workplace Investigations and Mediations