Francis J. "Frank" Burke, Jr.

Frank Burke is the founder of Frank Burke Mediation and Arbitration PC, and a panel member of the National Rosters of Arbitrators and Mediators of the American Arbitration Association for Commercial, Large Complex Case and Energy Disputes. He is a Member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, California Chapter, recognized for both mediation and arbitration. He also serves as a Mediation Panel Member of the U.S. District Court ADR Program and on several state court mediation panels. He handles mediation and arbitration matters in person in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento and throughout California and on Zoom internationally.

A full time independent neutral, he applies his 42 years of experience as a business trial lawyer in national law firms having handled a diverse range of business disputes involving varied business sectors in federal and state courts and administrative agencies in 26 states, China and Canada. He has mediated and arbitrated disputes involving individuals and small, midsize and large businesses, including family businesses.

He uses a mix of facilitative and evaluative approaches in mediation, depending on the situation and the parties’ desires. He prepares intensively in advance of each mediation and believes in outside the box approaches and relentless follow-up.

He conducts arbitration hearings with a firm and fair hand, trying for innovative and streamlined ways to receive evidence with a minimum of duplication and undue expense to the parties. He believes in disclosure of witnesses, exhibits, experts and damages theories to be used at trial, with limited discovery of documents and depositions. He follows and applies the law and issues reasoned awards.

Mr. Burke has extensive experience in the following areas of the law:

Corporate Governance, M&A and Investor Matters:

Disputes among LLC members, partners, and shareholders involving control, fiduciary duties, valuation, and member buyouts, as well as post-closing disputes involving earnouts, purchase price adjustments, ownership interests, compensation, and distributions.

Technology and Online Platforms:

Disputes involving software development, SaaS and enterprise systems, implementation failures, and performance issues, as well as trade secrets, data use, e-commerce platforms, and payment systems.

Life Sciences and Healthcare:

Disputes involving medical devices and healthcare services, including reimbursement and billing issues involving hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, staffing providers, and managed care organizations, as well as provider-payor relationships, regulatory issues, and healthcare technology vendors.

Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets:

Disputes involving patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and licensing, including technology and data-related issues and published photographs.

Financial and Investment:

Disputes involving private placements, investment losses, securities matters, lender-borrower relationships, and accounting and valuation matters, including claims involving unregistered securities and inadequate disclosures.

Real Estate and Commercial Leasing:

High-volume commercial landlord-tenant disputes involving office, retail, restaurant, and mixed-use properties, including rent, CAM charges, defaults, and termination issues, as well as real estate purchase and sale agreement matters.

Solar Power:

Disputes involving solar energy projects, including development agreements, pricing and payment disputes, cost overruns, delay claims, and battery system implementation.

Employment (Executive-Level):

Disputes involving executive compensation, bonus and tax-related compensation issues, employment and separation agreements, wrongful termination, and whistleblower claims, including discrimination, harassment, and retaliation matters.

Franchise:

Disputes involving termination fees, transfer obligations, lease assumptions, non-compete provisions, and financial rights.

Cryptocurrency and Blockchain:

Disputes involving digital assets, blockchain infrastructure, and exchange-related issues.

Construction and Infrastructure:

Construction defect and project disputes, including delays, performance issues, and contractor disputes.

Professional Services:

He is a Certified Online Mediator with extensive training and experience in the use of Zoom. He received a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an A.B, from Cornell University, Magna Cum Laude.