Hon. Zaven V. Sinanian (Ret.)

Hon. Zaven V. Sinanian (Ret.) is distinguished by the sheer depth and consistency of his mediation experience. For more than a decade, including serving full-time in the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Mandatory Settlement Conference Program, he has mediated daily and resolved hundreds of civil disputes across virtually every area of the law. His approach is shaped not by theory but by sustained, high-volume settlement work that has required him to help parties move through impasse, assess risk realistically, and reach resolution under real-world constraints.

Judge Sinanian’s mediation style centers on active listening, direct engagement, and meaningful dialogue. He creates a structured yet human setting in which parties feel heard and understood while being guided to confront the practical realities of their positions. He is known for balancing patience with forward momentum, helping parties lower tension, clarify priorities, and focus on solutions rather than posturing. His ability to connect with participants and manage difficult dynamics has made him a trusted neutral in emotionally charged and high-stakes matters.

From 2012 through 2023, Judge Sinanian was assigned to the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Mandatory Settlement Conference Program. During that eleven-year period, he routinely mediated 2 cases per day and approximately 10 per week, resulting in several thousand mediations. From 2018 to 2023, he served as the Managing Judge of the Mandatory Settlement Conference Program, overseeing its operations while continuing to mediate cases himself. This role placed him at the center of the court’s settlement function and required him to guide both litigants and counsel through complex disputes efficiently and effectively.

In his leadership role, Judge Sinanian oversaw the modernization of court-connected mediation, including the successful transition to remote settlement conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was a founding member of the LA Resolve remote attorney mediation program and served as Chair of the Los Angeles Superior Court’s ADR Committee, working closely with the bench and bar to refine mediation practices and improve litigants’ access.

Over the course of his mediation practice, Judge Sinanian has resolved disputes involving class actions, PAGA and wage and hour claims, employment and discrimination matters, insurance coverage and bad faith, mass torts, catastrophic injury, products liability, construction defects, business and commercial disputes, professional malpractice, real estate, intellectual property, defamation, civil rights, government liability, and complex multi-party litigation. His experience spans both private and public sector cases, enabling him to understand the competing pressures faced by individuals, businesses, and institutions.

Before his long assignment to settlement work, Judge Sinanian presided over jury and bench trials in independent calendar civil courtrooms and handled criminal, civil, and family law matters. In 2020, Judge Sinanian also sat by assignment as a Pro Tem Justice on the California Court of Appeal. Prior to joining the bench, he served as a Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice, handling civil, administrative, and appellate matters.

Judge Sinanian brings to mediation a combination of experience, steadiness, and practical judgment that comes only from years of helping parties resolve a wide range of legal disputes. His ability to manage complexity, human dynamics, and negotiation pressure makes him particularly well-suited to cases that require both tenacity and calm persistence.