Robert Baum

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Bob Baum began his legal career in 1981 in litigation and government contracts. His first case involved a construction dispute on wetlands, and he has remained involved in construction litigation ever since. However, as he watched one client slide into bankruptcy because of the inefficiency and expense of the litigation process, he realized that “there must be a better way.” Mr. Baum became an early proponent of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), particularly mediation, and to a lesser extent, arbitration. As noted in the brief biography, his dispute resolution skills were recognized when President Clinton appointed him to develop and run the dispute resolution program for the highly contentious U.S. Department of the Interior.

Mr. Baum has litigated, mediated and arbitrated a variety of construction defect cases. Every case is different, but Mr. Baum, like most who have served as judges, is able to quickly understand the issues in whatever type of case is presented. Mr. Baum’s construction law forte is with commercial building construction, with a particular expertise in EIFS issues and proximate cause issues, but he also has significant experience in residential construction and contractor/sub-contractor disputes.

Dispute Resolution Experience
Education and Training

• Washington University (St. Louis), Juris Doctor (JD) degree, 1981

• Dartmouth College, B.A. degree with high honors, 1977

• Instructor, Basic Arbitration Training, Rockville, Maryland November, 2006

• Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Basic Mediation Training

• Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Facilitating Multi-Party Disputes

• Northern Virginia Mediation Service, Basic and Advanced Commercial Mediation Training

• Center for Dispute Settlement (CDS) Advanced Mediation Techniques

• Northern Virginia Mediation Services, Negotiation Skills

• Northern Virginia Mediation Service, Facilitation and Group Consensus Building

• Udall Center for Environmental Dispute Resolution, et.al, Basic and Advanced Environmental Mediation

• Maryland Court of Appeals/MACRO, Public Policy Facilitation

• Pallister Conflict Resolution, Inc., Basic Collaborative Law

• Maryland Collaborative Law Association, Advanced Collaborative Law

Bar Admissions
Maryland, District of Columbia, California

Organizations

• American Bar Association

• Association for Conflict Resolution

• Maryland State Bar Association

• Montgomery County Bar Association (Chair, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section)

• District of Columbia Bar Association

• California State Bar Association

• Maryland Collaborative Professional Council, Vice-President

• Collaborative Dispute Resolution Professionals, Treasurer