Mark Zemelman

Mark Zemelman brings more than four decades of legal experience to his work as a mediator and arbitrator at Signature Resolution. He has built a reputation based on fairness, a pragmatic business perspective, and creativity in finding solutions. His legal expertise is wide–ranging, from healthcare and commercial litigation to class actions, employment, and mass torts. As General Counsel of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (dba Kaiser Permanente) for over 12 years, Mr. Zemelman experienced almost every facet of the law, including the oversight of the nation’s largest private arbitration system and litigation with stakes in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Beginning his career in San Francisco, Mr. Zemelman practiced environmental law at the prominent firms Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and McCutchen, Brown, Doyle & Enersen. In 1991, he joined Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (dba Kaiser Permanente), initially creating its environmental compliance program. In the mid-1990s, he moved from environmental law to a broader role in Kaiser Permanente’s national legal department, addressing a wide range of business, litigation, and healthcare matters. Mr. Zemelman was promoted to the head of the business law section of the legal department (including business litigation) in 1999, and appointed as Senior Vice-President and General Counsel in 2010.

As General Counsel, Mr. Zemelman led the national legal function of the largest nonprofit integrated healthcare system in the United States during a time of transformative challenges, including the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, landmark labor disputes, and precedent-setting litigation. He managed the legal department; advised corporate leadership and the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan board; and played a central role in mergers, acquisitions, litigation, regulatory compliance, and system-wide strategy. His leadership modernized Kaiser Permanente’s legal processes, improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness while building one of the most diverse corporate legal teams in the country.

After leaving Kaiser Permanente in 2023, Mr. Zemelman joined the American Arbitration Association’s healthcare panel, choosing to spend his spare time deepening his focus on dispute resolution–something he finds very rewarding. In addition to his neutral practice, Mr. Zemelman periodically teaches healthcare law at the University of California, Berkeley, law school and the University of San Francisco law school. He is a prolific author and speaker on healthcare law and policy, corporate legal operations, and diversity in the legal profession. He was a contributor to Extending Justice: Strategies to Increase Inclusion and Reduce Bias in 2022 and has been regularly recognized for his commitment to building diverse, high-performing teams.

With his unmatched combination of corporate leadership, boardroom insight, litigation strategy, and commitment to fairness, Mr. Zemelman showcases a fresh perspective to mediation and arbitration. By understanding the legal, business, and human dynamics of disputes, he is dedicated to helping parties move past impasse and reach lasting resolutions.