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Mr. Riviera has been a transactional attorney for more than 35 years representing small to mid-sized companies and individuals in the entertainment and other industries. A substantial portion if not the majority of Mr. Riviera's work has involved employment agreements and employment-related issues and conflicts. He has represented both employers and employees (or independent contractors) in the negotiation of services agreements at all levels of an enterprise, from executive to day laborer.

As "outside general counsel" to companies, Mr. Riviera has drafted employee handbooks, dealt extensively with unions, and addressed nearly the full range of employment-related issues, including alleged incidents of discrimination and harassment.

As a mediator, Mr. Riviera mediates all conflicts arising from the employment relationship, including, but not limited to, claims of discrimination, whether based on gender, age, race or ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation; harassment, sexual or otherwise; wrongful termination; and wage and hour violations, both individual and class or collective.

Mr. Riviera also mediates early stage, or moderate-level, conflicts within companies or enterprises that may never reach the level of litigation, or are of that character, but have a profound effect on the functionality, performance, and success of the enterprise. Such conflicts often involve parties in a close, ongoing employment or work relationship – for example, conflicts between valued employees of a company, or between executives or partners – where the objective of the mediation is to clear the air and resolve differences, improving and, most importantly, preserving the relationship. Mr. Riviera, through his process of mediation, provides a neutral, cost-effective, and expeditious forum for and means of addressing and resolving these problems.

Employment and workplace-related conflicts are often intense, highly charged, and complex disputes, with a potent mix of emotion, psychology, politics, business, and law. Mr. Riviera's calm, steady, and respectful demeanor, analytical and organizational acuity, ability to quickly establish and maintain rapport and trust with all parties, and his capacity, through his communication talent and skills, to draw out, articulate, and explore the parties' positions and interests, and, while remaining neutral, guide them to resolution, make him ideally suited to mediating in this area.

In employment and workplace-related conflicts, the concept of fairness is central and ultimately underlies all of the parties' considerations and later respect for any agreement reached. Mr. Riviera's inherent instincts toward, and recognition of, fairness enable him to gauge and secure outcomes which the parties view as fair both at the time of signing a settlement agreement, or memorializing the resolution of their differences, and afterwards.

In tandem with his entertainment practice, Mr. Riviera has over 35 years of experience as a transactional lawyer in the area of intellectual property and related rights, including trademark, copyright, privacy and publicity rights, new media and the Internet, and all manner of licensing.

As a mediator, Mr. Riviera mediates disputes involving the full range of intellectual property and related rights, including, but not limited to, trademark and trade dress infringement, copyright infringement, infringement of privacy or publicity rights, patent infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and disputes involving the scope of rights granted by contract, and all other terms of such contracts, advertising, new media and the Internet, and software and technology licensing.

These areas of the law are technical, and long familiarity with them is a tremendous advantage in a mediator tasked with resolving conflicts, and assisting parties in finding resolutions consistent with the law and industry practice, involving intellectual property and related rights.

Mr. Riviera has over 35 years of experience as a transactional attorney in the entertainment industry. He has represented virtually every category of participant in the industry from individual artist to major studio. He has worked closely throughout his career with artists, agents, personal managers, producers, executives, and financiers, among many others. He is intimately familiar with their perspectives and the challenges of their respective roles. Having negotiated thousands of agreements, and monitored their execution, he knows the issues that may arise between the parties and how they may be resolved.

The entertainment industry is relatively small and relationships are ongoing. People have to find a way to work together long-term. As such, the industry is well-suited to mediation as a means of resolving conflict.