Janice Sperow

As an Arbitrator, Janice Sperow exemplifies a balance of important traits: authoritative and teachable; intuitive and reliable; attentive and open-minded. Ms. Sperow brings a wealth of experience, having served as the Arbitrator in 450+ cases, and more than 1,000+ alternative dispute resolution cases. Additionally, Janice’s experience as counsel laid the framework for her career as an Arbitrator.

Ms. Sperow received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, graduating magna cum laude with high honors, and received her Juris Doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco, Hastings College of the Law, graduating summa cum laude and second out of over 400 students.

After her Second Circuit clerkship, Ms. Sperow joined Morrison & Foerster, a 1000+ attorney international law firm headquartered in San Francisco where she specialized in complex commercial litigation in a variety of areas, on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, including: commercial matters, employment, discrimination, intellectual property, energy, trade secret, contract, fraud, banking, aviation, healthcare, and alternative dispute resolution.

Ms. Sperow also employed Alternative Dispute Resolution techniques on behalf of her clients, handling dozens of arbitrations, mediations, and neutral case resolutions. She served as an arbitrator and a chief arbitrator for the Bar Association of San Francisco from 1989 to 1995 and as arbitrator and arbitration panel chair for FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority from 1999 to the present (formerly NASD). After leaving the firm, Ms. Sperow was appointed by Mayor Willie Brown in 1997 to serve as Hearing Officer for municipal railway public transportation disputes. Her appointment was accepted by both labor and management. Thereafter, Ms. Sperow served as Managing Partner and Head of Litigation and ADR for Ruiz & Sperow, a boutique women-owned, minority-owned law firm, assisting public and private employers in all matters.

Simultaneously, Ms. Sperow taught at University of San Diego Law School. She retired from USD in August 2017 and decided to turn her part-time service as a neutral since 1989 into a full-time passion. Ms. Sperow is currently an arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA)’s following panels, as well as several other prominent ADR providers:
Commercial
Large complex case
Employment
Technology & Emerging Technology
Healthcare
Intellectual property & Trade Secrets
Consumer
Class action
Mass Claims
Emergency Arbitrator
Expedited Arbitrator
Workplace Investigations