Spotlight: Bryan Rendzio

Fri, Jun 28th, 2024 | by Miles Mediation and Arbitration | Get to Know our Neutrals | Social Share

By Kelly K. James

Bryan Rendzio has built a solid foundation for his career as a mediator and arbitrator who specializes in construction and commercial cases. Today, he is a full-time neutral based out of St. Augustine, Florida, who does binding arbitrations, non-binding arbitrations, and all types of civil mediations. He also serves as a voluntary trial judge and property insurance umpire.

An Ongoing Interest in ADR

Bryan’s long been interested in alternative dispute resolution (ADR). “I’ve been doing construction and commercial litigation, and I always had the desire to have the mediation side of it as well,” says Bryan. “I always like to solve problems, and I like to find the non-obvious solutions between the participants’ existing perceptions of the dispute.” He became certified as a mediator in 2012 and added ADR to his practice.

Bryan started his legal career doing aviation law at a small firm but switched his focus to construction and commercial cases and became board certified in construction law a few years later. “I started doing commercial litigation, and it happened that a lot of those cases had construction overlap, and that morphed into doing construction law as well,” he says. “I like the challenge of construction law. It’s complex, and every day is different. That’s one of the things that drew me to mediation — every day is different, and every day is a challenge.”

Today, Bryan is a Florida Bar Board Certified Construction lawyer; a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator; an American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) mediator/arbitrator; and a Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator. He also served as a circuit court judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida.

A Love for Both Forms of ADR

Bryan both mediates and arbitrates cases, and says they are very different ADR techniques. “In arbitration, you’re telling someone what the result is going to be. In mediation, it’s self-directed. I like arbitration — when I was a judge, I really enjoyed the aspect of absorbing the information and analyzing the information and trying to formulate the resolution,” he says. “It’s challenging — the putting the pieces together. I like analytical challenges, and it’s analytical.” He serves in both binding and non-binding arbitrations, which are becoming popular in Florida. “I like writing the award,” he adds. “I love to write, and I like processing and putting everything together.”

He enjoys mediation as well. “Mediation is a different process that lets you take challenges and think outside the box,” he says. “It’s a rewarding process to be able to put the pieces together.”

At Home and in the Community

When he’s not helping people resolve their cases, he and his wife, Stacy, “navigate perfect chaos” as the parents of teen and tween sons who are both into sports. Aiden will be 15 in July and plays tennis; Lucas will be 12 in August and plays lacrosse. The family enjoys going to the beach and spending time outdoors.

Bryan also volunteers his time to his local community. He’s a board member for the Betty Griffin Center (a domestic/sexual violence victim shelter and survivor advocacy program). He has also been active in an opioid task force and with the Mission to End Student Homelessness (MESH) and has served on an unaccompanied/homeless youth task force.

A Different Goal

Finally, Bryan says he has a goal for every mediation. “Sometimes people say, ‘a good mediation is when everyone leaves unhappy.’ My personal philosophy is that a better approach is that people leave content with the decisions they were part of,” says Bryan. “Even if I don’t have a stake in the matter, I have a stake in the process. I believe in the process.”

ABOUT MILES MEDIATION & ARBITRATION

Miles Mediation & Arbitration is shaping the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) industry with our comprehensive professional services model that combines the expertise of our highly skilled, diverse panel of neutrals with an unparalleled level of client support to guide and empower parties to fair, timely, and cost-effective resolution regardless of case size, specialization, or complexity. For more information, please call 888-305-3553 or email support@milesadr.com.