Cynthia Sandoval

Cynthia Sandoval is a neutral who has dedicated her entire career to employment law and offers a unique perspective. Ms. Sandoval has resolved numerous disputes, from single plaintiff matters to large class action and PAGA claims. In addition to her private mediation practice, Ms. Sandoval also serves on the Mediation Panel of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, where she leads its Mediation Practice Group, and as a volunteer mediator for the California Civil Rights Department. Ms. Sandoval honed her knowledge of employment law during her tenure with Jackson Lewis, P.C., where she ultimately became an Equity Shareholder. Ms. Sandoval represented employers from small family-owned businesses to large fortune 500 and 100 companies. In addition to her litigation skills, Ms. Sandoval had a significant advice and counsel practice which provided her with a deep understanding of more detail driven employment law issues, such as those associated with wage and hour and disability and pregnancy leaves and accommodations. Ms. Sandoval also has experience as in-house counsel, serving as the Senior Vice President–Associate General Counsel of a nationwide employer with over 10,000 employees. In this capacity, Ms. Sandoval supervised outside counsel on both litigation and administrative matters, advised internal business partners on a wide variety of employment matters and participated in mediation and other proceedings as the business representative. Additionally, Ms. Sandoval regularly advised C-Suite executives on issues of significant impact to the organization. More recently, Ms. Sandoval has served as a partner at a boutique plaintiffs employment law firm, where she represented employees in an array of matters from wage and hour to discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Ms. Sandoval's in depth understanding of leave laws made her an effective advocate for her clients with claims stemming from pregnancy, disability or leaves of absence. Ms. Sandoval is a recognized authority on employment law and is often invited to speak on employment law and mediation topics, including at conferences offered by the Association of Corporate Counsel Conferences, SHRM, PIHRA and the Disability Management Employee Coalition. The combination of these experiences and perspectives distinguishes Ms. Sandoval as a mediator, allowing her to better appreciate and relate to the positions each participant brings to the mediation process to help drive resolution. Ms. Sandoval is also fluent in Spanish.