Jeff Miller has an extensive legal background, including numerous professional affiliations and teaching positions. He has a particular expertise in a wide variety of business matters, business disputes, business break-ups and dissolutions, and business transactions as a result of over thirty years experience in business and transactional law. Below is a history of Jeff’s work within the areas of business law and mediation, as well as his professional accomplishments.
Professional Experience
1986 - Present: Owner at Jeffrey C. Miller, Law Offices and Dispute Resolution Services (Palo Alto, California)
Jeff’s areas of practice include forming and advising business entities; advising relative to a broad range of business disputes and transactions; employment matters (including negotiating executive severance packages); mediation, arbitration and other alternative forms of dispute resolution. He has handled over a hundred matters acting as a private mediator and arbitrator primarily in business-related cases. He has also acted as a mediator and arbitrator on behalf of the American Arbitration Association, the Santa Clara County Bar Association, and the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
With respect to his business law practice, a representative sample of business matters handled include:
- formation of proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies;
- advising existing entities in connection with ongoing operations including financing and capitalization, leases, contracts, licenses, employment agreements, nondisclosure agreements, distribution agreements, and other transactions;
- assisting in various business expansions and changes including joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers, and acquisitions;
- advising in connection with employment-related disputes or problems including termination arrangements and severance packages;
- consulting in connection with termination of entities including sale, acquisition, and dissolution.
1983-1985: Partner at Lobdell, Miller & Sher (Palo Alto, California)
As a partner, Jeff was involved in a wide range of high-level transactions. His areas of practice included forming and advising business organizations, real estate transactions, business litigation, employment discrimination and wrongful discharge litigation, environmental litigation, business and real estate mediation, advising relative to other methods of dispute resolution, and complex negotiations.
1978-1982: Associate at Jackson, Tufts, Cole & Black, fka Petty, Andrews, Tufts & Jackson (San Jose, California)
As an associate attorney, Jeff honed his legal skills in the areas of forming and advising business organizations, advising clients in a wide range of commercial and real estate dealings, and business litigation.
Teaching Positions
1993-1994: Santa Clara University School of Law (Santa Clara, California), Adjunct Professor of Alternative Dispute Resolution
1990-1994: John F. Kennedy University School of Law (Walnut Creek, California), Adjunct Professor of Law
1988-1996: St. Mary’s College Paralegal Program (Oakland, California), Professor of Corporations, Contracts, Dispute Resolution and Legal Concepts
1982-1983: College of Notre Dame MBA Program (Belmont, California), Adjunct Professor of Business Law
Affiliations and Honors
2012-2015: Palo Alto Area Bar Association Business Law Section, Chairperson
1994-2015: Santa Clara County Superior Court, Mediator and Arbitrator
1985-1998: American Arbitration Association, Mediator and Arbitrator
1997-2001: Santa Clara County Superior Court Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, Member
1995-2001: Santa Clara County Alternative Dispute Resolution Steering Committee, Member
1994-2000: Santa Clara County Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Executive Committee, Member
1985-1986: Barristers Club, Santa Clara County Bar Association, President
1985-1986: Santa Clara County Bar Association, Trustee
Speaking Engagements
PAABA Business Law Section, “What Happens When a Business Interest Ends Up in Family Court?” (2013)
PAABA Business Law Section, “LLCs v. S-Corps” (2013)
PAABA Business Law Section, “Buy/Sell Agreements” (2012)
Los Altos-Mountain View Board of Realtors, “Alternative Dispute Resolution in Real Estate Disputes” (1997)
Kiwanis, “Effective Use of Arbitration and Mediation in Business” (1995)
Annual Meeting of the San Francisco Association of Legal Assistants, “What Are the Alternatives in Alternative Dispute Resolution?” (1994)
Santa Clara County Bar Trial Lawyers Association, “Effective Use of Arbitration” (1988)
Santa Clara County Bar Association, “Evaluation, Negotiation, Settlement, and Alternative Dispute Resolution” (1987)
Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce, “Utilizing Alternative Dispute Resolution in Business Matters” (1987)
State Bar of California, Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) Governing Committee, “Alternative Dispute Resolution in Civil Cases” (1985)
Santa Clara County Bar Association, Corporate Counsel Section, “The Use of Mini-Trials and Arbitrations in the Context of Corporate Disputes” (1985)
Santa Clara County Barristers Club, “Forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Their Impact on Their Impact on the Legal System” (1984)
Publications
Contra Costa Business Magazine, “What Every Business Should Know About Legal Disputes” (1990)
California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), “Using Mediation to Resolve Legal Disputes” (1985)
Education
Cornell University Law School, Juris Doctor (1977)
Dartmouth College, A.B. Government, Magna Cum Laude (1973)