Kathi Sandweiss, a former award-winning television journalist, now enjoys a combined arbitration and appellate practice. She has been an appellate lawyer in Arizona for nearly 40 years and an active commercial arbitrator on the roster of the American Arbitration Association since 2016. Kathi is a member of The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, an invitation-only professional association whose membership consists of mediators & arbitrators distinguished by their hands-on experience in the field of civil & commercial dispute resolution.
Her AAA cases have included complex asbestos trust claims, health care disputes, franchise agreements, service agreements, landlord/tenant disputes, emergency injunctive relief in cannabis disputes, probate disputes, business divorces, and multiple types of consumer claims. She has served sole arbiter in complex commercial cases, and has both chaired and participated in three-arbitrator panels in complex multi-state arbitrations. In her capacity as an AAA neutral, she has addressed various procedural issues, including arbitrability, attorney disqualification, jurisdiction and discovery disputes.
She is on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Executive Council, State Bar of Arizona. She presented seminars on arbitrability and on self represented parties at Arizona State Bar Conventions and has written on the issue of delegation clauses in arbitration agreements – “Putting the Shine on Schein.”
Her arbitration practice is enhanced and enlightened by years of appellate experience – she has filed more than 150 appellate briefs and petitions for review in the Arizona Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, and has 23 published opinions.
Professional Experience
- American Arbitration Association
- National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals
- 35 years at an established Arizona law firm, including as lead attorney in its Appellate Law Department, before opening her own practice, limited to ADR and appeals.
- Filed more than 100 appellate briefs and petitions for review in the Arizona Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Unique experience and practice in Bankruptcy appeals
- Extensive experience in commercial litigation
- Contributor to State Bar of Arizona Arizona Attorney Magazine
- Prior to beginning her legal career, Kathi worked as an on-air radio and television news reporter, winning a 1982 Rocky Mountain Emmy for the series “The Phoenix Epidemic.”
