Mitchell F. Thompson
Mitchell Thompson is an attorney with over twenty-five years of experience. He is licensed to practice in California, Guam, the CNMI, and in federal courts with purview over Guam, including the Supreme Court of the United States. He is managing partner of the law firm of Thompson, Gutierrez & Alcantara, LLC, a Guam-based law firm, which maintains a multi-faceted practice.
During the past twenty years, Mr. Thompson has participated in arbitration proceedings, as both an advocate and as arbitrator, in a number of contexts, including the arbitration of construction claims, landlord-tenant disputes and health-care provider malpractice claims.
Mr. Thompson has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Guam Law Library since 2005, and currently serves as its Treasurer. Mr. Thompson is also currently a member of the Guam Bar Ethics Committee.
Georgette Bello Concepcion
Georgette Concepcion received her Juris Doctor Degree and Environmental Law Certificate from the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii (Manoa) in May 2000. Prior to attending law school in August 1997, Ms. Concepcion worked for the Department of Agriculture as a biologist for five years and her job duties included serving on the Development Review Committee which served as the technical arm to the then Territorial Land Use Commission. While working full-time for the Department of Agriculture, Ms. Concepcion also earned a Master of Science Degree in Biology from the University of Guam's Marine Laboratory.
Ms. Concepcion is licensed to practice law in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and she has over ten years of legal experience. In March 2011, after working as an associate attorney for the Law Offices of John S. Unpingco & Associates for over five years, Ms. Concepcion started her own practice, The Law Office of Georgette Bello Concepcion, P.C., which is located in Hagatna, Guam.
Richard H. Benson
Richard Benson served as a Judge of the Superior Court of Guam for 11 years and for 20 years as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia with trial and appellate jurisdiction. During the later years with the FSM Court, he was introduced to Alternative Dispute Resolution and experienced its value.
Following his retirement in 2001, he began serving as a judge or justice pro tem in the courts of Guam and other courts in Micronesia. In 2003, he took the University of Guam 15-hour LW 494 Alternative Dispute Resolution presented by Pat Wolff and began mediating with his Inaka' Maolek. Since 2006, he has mediated some 50 cases for Inafa' Maolek. Those were mostly domestic disputes, along with several civil matters.
During the existence of the Guam International Arbitration Center, Judge Benson mediated and arbitrated civil cases for the Center, including premises-owner tort liability and employee discharge matters. Apart from Inafa' Maolek and GIAC, he arbitrated a medical malpractice case; a contest over the meaning of an insurance policy terms; and mediated a multi-party insurance liability case.
Rawlen M. T. Mantanona
Rawlen M. T. Mantanona, Esq. is the managing partner of the Cabot Mantanona, LLP. His practice emphasis is both major criminal defense and general civil litigation.
Attorney Mantanona's litigation practice dealing with general business, corporate, insurance defense, real property disputes, and family law.
Attorney Mantanona is a graduate of the University of California at San Diego, acquiring a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in United States History and Political Science. He is also a graduate of the University of San Diego Law School where he acquired the Juris Doctorate. He is admitted in the Supreme Court of Guam, United States District Court of Guam, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.
Attorney Mantanona served the President of the Guam Bar Association from 2006 to 2008. He has also served as the Representative for the Federal Criminal Justice Act Panel. He is one of the founders of the Pacific American Inns of Court.
William D. Pesch
William (Bill) Pesch has been practicing law in Guam since 1984. He has a broad legal background, having worked as an assistant Public Defender, legal counsel to Guam's largest public agency, the Department of Education, where he served for seven years, and in a solo private practice, the Agana Legal Clinic, for the past 15 years. His solo-practice has a strong emphasis on family law matters.
Over nearly three decades, Bill has handled hundreds of family law matters and is well-versed with both the legal and emotional issues facing family law practitioners and their clients. He approaches family law with a spirit of reasonableness and encourages his clients to always keep the best interests of their children in mind during negotiations. This approach and his broad legal background serve Bill well as a family law mediator. He has a keen ability to relate to the parties and to establish their trust.
Bill is also active in the community having authored numerous historical articles about Guam and Micronesia, and has been a Cub Scout leader for the past eight years.
James M. Maher
James Maher is an attorney with over 25 years of experience. He is licensed to practice in California, Guam, the CNMI and the District (federal) Court of Guam. Mr. Maher previously lived and worked in Japan for three years, and also has lived and worked in Germany.
Robert Klitzkie
Robert Klitzkie was admitted to the bars of California and Guam in 1974 and subsequently to the bars of CNMI, TTPI, the District Court of Guam, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Klitzkie has served the island in several capacities including Director of Corrections, Director of Education, Senator, judge pro tempore in the Superior Court and secretary of the Guam Bar Association. Mr. Klitzkie has completed the course provided the Center for Understanding in Conflict/ Center for Mediation of Law at Mill Valley, CA.
R. Todd Thompson
R. Todd Thompson maintains a litigation practice as founding partner of the law firm of Thompson, Gutierrez & Alcantara, LLC, a Guam-based law firm, which maintains a multi-faceted practice, emphasizing civil law-and-motion and appellate advocacy. Over the past twenty five years, Mr. Thompson's practice has emphasized litigation concerning general tort, contract, commercial, aviation, employment, medical malpractice, insurance, and Constitutional law (Organic Act) disputes. He has developed a recognized expertise in handling insurance matters and recreational/ hospitality tort claims involving hotels, resorts, airlines, and tour companies operating in the region. In 2011, Mr. Thompson conducted a successful mediation in Tokyo involving a scuba-diving fatality case, and has subsequently mediated several other cases on Guam.
Mr. Thompson has been a regular op-ed contributor to the Marianas Business Journal since 2004. He was formerly a member and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Guam Educational Radio Foundation (KPRG-FM 89.3-Public Radio Guam).