Attorneys Reid Griffith, left, and Philip J. Dabney stop by the Los Alamos Daily Post in downtown Los Alamos recently to discuss their joining forces to help clients. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
Attorney Philip J. Dabney practiced law in Las Vegas, Nev., for 30 years but after marrying a Los Alamos woman he moved to town and last month joined the local law firm of P. Reid Griffith, PA.
“Since marrying Liz, I’ve continued to wind down my practice in Nevada and am excited to be working with Reid who has practiced in Los Alamos for decades and is highly respected,” Dabney said.
Dabney’s expertise in arbitration, mediation, construction and commercial litigation complements Griffith’s focus on business law, family law, estate planning and probate as well as real estate and criminal law.
“I’ve been looking for someone to join the firm because at some point I’m going to scale down my practice and I need someone who can go to court … it’s been a worry for me for several years,” Griffith said. “Phil has experience in court and he knows the ropes. There are a number of attorneys in Santa Fe but I really don’t believe they understand us or respect us so I’m very pleased to find Phil.”
Dabney worked for a large law firm for about 10 years before leaving in January to focus more on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). He also does pro bono work representing children.
He is a member of the New Mexico Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission and explained that the Supreme Court seeks to get smaller cases resolved in arbitration because they often take as much time at trial as larger cases.
Dabney is trained in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). It’s less expensive, less time consuming and fairer to the parties, he said, adding that arbitration is akin to a private trial where the arbitrator decides the dispute for the parties.
Reid explained that New Mexico courts use mediation processes to resolve domestic and commercial disputes.
“The purpose of arbitration is to help the parties come to agreement,” he said. “I got involved in ADR representing clients in the construction industry in Las Vegas, which is where most disputes are resolved in arbitration. Rules of evidence are relaxed or thrown out the window. Usually much of the fight between lawyers is over which evidence will be presented. In some circumstances it is still a good process … a much more simplified case than going to trial.”
The cost of private arbitration can range from $10,000 to several million dollars, Dabney said. He was the arbitrator in cases involving pro football players in disputes with their agents, boxers and their agents and more complex cases representing construction and commercial clients in arbitration, mediation and court.
Dabney is a court appointed member of the American Association of Arbitrators and has handled about 1,000 cases over his career, he said, adding that judges in the First Judicial District of New Mexico have taken a strong role to push ADR on litigants and have hired an ADR director. The court has a program to have lawyers become certified as settlement facilitators, which are in fact arbitrators, Dabney said.
“My criminal law experience has primarily been serving as a part time judge in Justice Court, which is the Nevada equivalent to New Mexico magistrate court,” he said.
Dabney said he feels at home in Los Alamos having grown up in Geneseo, Ill., a town of 6,000 people. He has joined the Rotary Club of Los Alamos.
“I love it here and I’m looking forward to working with the folks in Los Alamos to help them resolve their disputes in the same way Reid has for 44 years,” he said.
Dabney’s recognitions include:
- Martindale-Hubbell AV-Rated Preeminent Attorney – 1990s to present;
- Best Lawyers in America-Construction Law – 2012-2015; and
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyer for Business, Construction Litigation – 2008.
Dabney received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism in 1983 from Northern Illinois University and graduated with a law degree in 1986 from Northern Illinois University College of Law.
P. Reid Griffith, PA is at 555 Oppenheimer Dr., Suite 105 and Dabney and Griffith can be reached at 505.662.3911.
