Honorable Robbie Barr (ret.) is the sole proprietor of BarrADR, a full time neutral, a former trial lawyer and judge, and a teacher of trial advocacy. Robbie Meripol Barr's experiences make her especially adept at mediation, a skill that has allowed her to resolve thousands of cases over the past 23 years. Barr practiced mediation and arbitration at Colorado's largest mediation firm, where she successfully settled cases involving employment law, complex commercial transactions, construction defects and delays, professional malpractice, real property, environmental law, personal injury/ wrongful death, insurance, civil rights and everything in between. Barr's ability to settle claims stems in part from a diverse legal background that gives her multiple perspectives on the court process. In private practice, she tried complex civil cases, developing special expertise in commercial torts, real estate litigation, construction disputes, professional malpractice and all types of contractual claims. Only six years out of law school, Barr achieved an AV Martindale-Hubbell rating. She knows how tough it is to manage a practice and to try cases, and she understands the issues that lawyers face in their daily practice. Barr also understands the court process from the other side of the bench. In January 1991, Barr commenced work as a Circuit Judge in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Miami-Dade County is the largest circuit in the state and the fourth largest trial court in the nation. To survive, Barr was required to learn trial management quickly. In addition to her civil docket, Barr handled 2,300 asbestos cases, which resulted in a 95% settlement rate. Additionally, she assumed duties as an appellate judge, hearing appeals in the Circuit Court's Appellate Division, as well as twice being invited to sit as a Visiting Judge in Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal. Barr always excelled academically, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Newcomb College of Tulane University, and serving as an editor on The University of Miami's Law Review before graduating with honors in 1980. Barr has been invited to teach and train in a wide array of forums and to assume positions of leadership in the bar associations to which she belongs. She has been a Faculty Member for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy; an Adjunct Professor at University of Miami School of Law Litigation Skills Program; Chair of the Education Section of the Conference of Circuit Judges; Appointed Member of Florida's Article V Advisory Committee; made multiple presentations to Colorado, Florida, and American Bar Association groups, including: ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, Colorado Women's Bar Association, Colorado Employment Law Conference, Colorado Bar Association Statewide ADR Conference, ABA Environmental, Products Liability & Mass Tort Litigation Committee's Joint CLE Seminar, and the Colorado Judicial Conference. She was a Director and President of the Boulder Bar Foundation and served as a Board member for the Colorado Women's Bar Association.

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