Oscar came to mediation after a long career as a commercial litigator and trial lawyer at an AmLaw 100 law firm.

He is the founder and principal of OAS Mediation in Miami. Oscar received his law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, earning membership in the Order of the Coif. He feels an obligation to give back to his alma mater, and he has served as Chair of the UF Law Center Association Board of Trustees, among other roles. Oscar bleeds orange and blue. His devotion to UF is because “UF made everything I am today possible.”

Oscar’s tenure as head of the ADR Section saw the implementation of the first bi-annual Arbitration Advocacy Institute, as well as a new Section committee devoted to reaching out to the law school community in Florida. His goal in his Section service—and in his mediation practice—is to encourage litigators to better understand the different sets of skills that mediation and arbitration demands of them.

“When people say they want a bulldog mediator, what they are really saying is that they want an advocate for them, not a true neutral. This misunderstands the mediation process.”

Oscar hopes the Section will continue helping lawyers strengthen their advocacy skills in mediations and arbitrations. Having watched the explosion of e-mediation during COVID-19, he believes this will also be an important practice area for the Section in the future.