About

Joann F. Rezzo, Esq.

Joann Rezzo

About Joann

Joann Rezzo brings a diverse background, high energy, and creativity to every case she mediates. Joann is uniquely situated to understand both the defendant’s and the plaintiff’s position. During her 25+ year career as a trial attorney, she tried cases for Fortune 500 companies on the defense side as well as companies and individuals on the plaintiff’s side. Having represented both Plaintiffs and Defendants, Joann’s background gives her a depth of understanding matched by few mediators and provides her with insights lacking in mediators who worked exclusively on one side of cases. She understands not just the litigation process, but also the complexities of settling business disputes with multiple constituents to please, the difficulties insurance coverage issues can raise, and the emotional barriers a plaintiff may have to settlement. Joann’s calm and engaging style, coupled with her ability to relate to people from all walks of life, wins the trust of lawyers and clients alike. She’s earned acclaim for her can-do attitude and tenacious pursuit of an agreed-upon solution to disputes. As a trial attorney, within the employment law arena, Joann handled cases for companies, as well as high-level executives and commissioned sales people. She won multi-million dollar verdicts for blue collar workers and successfully defended individuals and companies like Southwest Airlines, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, John Hancock Insurance, and Barr Laboratories. As an attorney, she wasn’t just a “litigator,” but rather an experienced trial attorney who took many cases to verdict, both on the defense side and the plaintiff’s side.

Legal Background

After a 25-year career as a trial attorney, Joann began a long-planned transition to serve as a neutral mediator. Her record of success in the mediation process is admirable, winning her praise from both plaintiffs and defendants as she guides them toward a negotiated resolution of their disputes.

Prior to becoming a full-time mediator, Joann built an exceptional reputation by consistently representing clients in litigation and at trial in high-profile cases. As a trial attorney, she represented both plaintiffs and defendants, with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies like Southwest Airlines, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Barr Laboratories, and John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company to small business owners and individuals. She handled an array of civil litigation matters and developed an expertise in employment law.

After eight years at Gray, Cary, Ware & Freidenrich, Joann co-founded Edleson & Rezzo, where her practice involved both defending cases in which companies or individuals had been sued and initiating cases on behalf of plaintiffs. She developed an affinity for mediation, serving as the firm’s primary negotiator in all of the firm’s settlement conferences and mediations. There, her passion for mediation took root and she decided to become a full-time mediator where she utilizes her extensive legal and trial experience to help parties resolve their disputes. Because Joann worked on both sides of cases over the years, she is uniquely situated to understand both the plaintiff’s and the defendant’s perspective in disputes.

Over the course of her legal career, the bulk of her practice involved employment cases, but she also handled general civil litigation and business disputes as well as professional negligence and other types of cases.

Through her collegial style and professionalism, Joann earned the respect of opposing counsel to the point that over 50% of her referrals came from attorneys against whom she litigated cases, including opposing counsel in hard-fought trials.

“Joann successfully mediated a Quiet Title and Partition action for my client. There was a lot of emotion involved in the case, given the parties’ past relationship, and Joann’s demeanor and approach greatly eased the situation. Joann was extremely prepared and familiar with the facts and legal issues in the case. Joann’s management of the mediation required that both attorneys and their clients be prepared as well, which facilitated the mediation process.”
Kelly T.
Plaintiff’s Attorney in Quiet Title Action
“Joann did an outstanding job for us on a recent auto accident mediation. She was knowledgeable, fair and honest and kept after it following the expiration of our mediation time. The case settled a few days later based upon her reasoned Mediator’s Proposal. Thank you Joann for a job well done!”
San Diego Plaintiff’s counsel
on a Personal Injury case
“Joann’s mediation style was informed and detail-oriented, yet relaxed enough that my client felt comfortable talking directly to her. She did a great job of spotting and drilling down on key issues which was a big factor in why the case settled during the mediation.”
Defense counsel
on Wrongful Termination of Employment case

Education & Training

Joann obtained her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of San Diego in 1993, graduating summa cum laude. From 1993-1996, she attended USC School of Law, one of the highest-ranked law schools in the nation, graduating with a Juris Doctorate degree. During law school, Joann served as a summer Extern for The Honorable John S. Rhoades, United States District Judge for the Southern District of California.

Joann is a member of the California State Bar and the San Diego and Los Angeles County Bar Associations as well as a participant in the Louis M. Welsh Chapter, American Inns of Court. 

Joann’s mediator training includes: 

  • Pepperdine University, “Mediating the Litigated Case” (2012)
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association, “Advanced Mediator Training” (2016)
  • National Conflict Resolution Center’s mediator credential program (2020)

Joann serves as a court-appointed mediator with the San Diego Superior Court. Her experience includes wrongful termination, harassment, retaliation, failure to pay wages (including commissions / severance), ERISA, breach of contract, bad faith, insurance law (coverage and bad faith), personal injury, defamation, professional negligence, unfair business practices, fraud, and an array of other business and tort claims.

Joann also serves as an Adjunct Professor at USD Law School where she teaches litigation and trial skills. 

Joann has demonstrated her dedication to community service by serving for many years as a board member of Big Brothers & Sisters of San Diego, a board member of Southern California Resource Center, and a member of the San Diego Historical Society. Joann has also served as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee at her child’s school and has served on the Parent’s Association at Francis Parker School.

Awards & Honors

  • Repeatedly selected for Best Lawyers in America, San Diego Magazine’s Top Lawyers, and Super Lawyers, Joann was rated “AV Preeminent” (the highest peer rating available) by Martindale-Hubbell in 2005 based on feedback from lawyers and judges personally familiar with her work. She has consistently held that rating every year since then.
  • Joann was honored as a “Rising Star” litigator in California in 2014 (an honor bestowed on less than 2.5 percent of California lawyers) by Super Lawyers Magazine.
  • Joann has been consistently honored in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers since 2011 and has repeatedly been awarded the “Top Lawyers” designation by San Diego Magazine.
  • In the inaugural edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Law Firms” publication, and in subsequent years, Joann’s two-person firm was awarded the prestigious “First Tier” ranking, recognizing the firm as one of the “Best Law Firms” in San Diego.
  • Joann was awarded the Pro Bono Publico Distinguished Service Award in 2000 by the San Diego Volunteer Lawyers Program for her public service on behalf of indigent clients.
  • Joann’s trial results have been featured in the San Diego Union Tribune (“Carlsbad’s Xnergy Is Awarded $8 Million”), NBC-7 San Diego Evening News (“Employee Wins $8M in Lawsuit Against Carrier Corporation”), The San Diego Daily Transcript (“Small Firm Nets Big Award for Client”), The Daily Journal (“Verdicts & Settlements”), and Law Link (“David vs. Goliath - Jury Awards Over $9.5M to Punish Corporate Greed”); National Law Review (“Another Gargantuan California Verdict – This time for $18.6 Million”).
  • Unlike some attorneys who pay to be featured in magazines, Joann has never paid for any magazine or newspaper feature or to be given any “award.” She’s earned her honors the old-fashioned way, through hard work and professionalism.