Lee Jay Berman was selected out of 35 applicants in a nationwide search to head the CADRe Program during its critical launch period because of the depth of his mediation experience and training. From it's unveiling in July of 1999, until mid-2000, Mr. Berman served as CADRe's Director, trusted by the judges to counsel attorneys on the application of ADR to their cases. Under Mr. Berman's direction, Santa Barbara's CADRe Program became the most progressive multi-door courthouse of its kind, acting as a model to other courts worldwide. Mr. Berman supervised the administration of over 300 CASES through the court's CADRe Program, and left the program with a resolution rate that was multiple times that of other court ADR programs.

Prior to accepting the position with the Santa Barbara Superior Court, Mr. Berman founded and served as President of The Mediation Alliance, a full-service mediation firm.

Mr. Berman has mediated over 500 disputes in fields ranging from real estate, construction and land use to employment issues to general business litigation, especially those including family businesses and partnership disputes. Mr. Berman, a certified mediator for the Los Angeles County Bar Association, is very successful mediating all types of disputes both prior to and during all stages of litigation.

Mr. Berman served five years on the Board of Directors of the California Dispute Resolution Council (CDRC), the statewide professional organization of mediators and arbitrators. For four years, he Chaired CDRC's Qualifications and Standards Committee, who published the Standards of Practice for California Mediators that have been adopted by the First District Court of Appeal and the Santa Barbara Superior Court. This document was built through a statewide consensus-building process facilitated by Mr. Berman over a two-year period. These Standards, which carry the recommendation of the California Judicial Council and are under consideration by the State Bar of California, are being adopted by courts and bar associations nationwide. Mr. Berman has also served for two years on the State Bar of California’s ADR Ethics Subcommittee and on the Judicial Council's ADR Ethics Subcommittee.

In the real property arena, Mr. Berman enjoyed a lengthy career in the real estate development industry, giving him vast, first-hand experience with complex issues including real estate transactions, land use, development, and construction matters, typically involving master planned communities. Mr. Berman enjoyed a successful career in land acquisition, management, and development – negotiating the acquisition and managing a portfolio of land totaling over 10,000 acres throughout southern California and Nevada. He later worked as a consultant facilitating negotiations with governmental entities for entitlements of condominium conversion and new construction projects. Mr. Berman has successfully mediated literally hundreds of cases involving real estate transactions, land use, entitlements, CEQA, homeowner associations (HOA), natural resource preservation disputes and construction matters.