Mediator Profile for JB Rizzo
JB Rizzo, CPA/ABV/CFF is a financial mediator assisting clients in resolving financial matters in marital dissolutions. Financial issues in marital dissolutions can include property divisions, calculating incomes available for child and spousal support, valuing small and medium-sized businesses and professional practices, characterizing community and separate property, as well as other simple or complex financial analyses within family law. With his background immersed in complex family law litigation since 1999, JB appreciates and commends clients for choosing the Peace Talks mediation process as opposed to the litigation process. Peace Talks mediation is a superior process when the goal is resuming positive relationships sooner for all family stakeholders. JB thinks creatively and strives vigorously to find the win-win scenario for Peace Talks clients.
Career Highlights:
- Served the Los Angeles Superior Court's Family Law Mediator Panel as a Family Law CPA Co-mediator from 2010 to 2013;
- Testified as an expert in the Los Angeles County and Ventura County Superior Courts;
- Author, "Dissolution of Goodwill" Los Angeles Lawyer, Los Angeles County Bar Association, September 2013;
- Author, "Court or Neutral Expert," Chapter 20 of Family Law Services Handbook: The Role of the Financial Expert, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ 2011;
- Speaker, California Society of CPAs' 2009 Family Law Conference, 730 Appointments [serving as the neutral CPA expert], October 2009;
- Speaker, California Society of CPAs' Family Law Section meeting, Calculation Reports under SSVS 1, November 2009;
- Instructor and co-author, Business Valuation Overview, an eight hour course provided by the California Society of Certified Public Accountants' California CPA Education Foundation 2007 and 2008;
- Instructor, Accounting 701: Federal Tax Topics at UNLV from August through October 2005.
Professional Credentials and Education:
- Licensed CPA (Certified Public Accountant) in the states of California and Nevada, maintaining at least 80 hours of continuing professional education every two years;
- Credentialed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("AICPA") as an ABV (Accredited in Business Valuation) and as a CFF (Certified in Financial Forensics);
- Graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas ("UNLV"); Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Accounting Major, December 1996; as well as graduate-level courses in accounting, economics, and business management.
Professional Memberships:
- Member, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals;
- Member, Nevada Society of CPAs' Business Valuation and Litigation Services Section;
- Member, California Society of CPAs' Family Law Section;
- Member, California Society of CPAs' Business Valuation Section;
- Member, California Society of CPAs' Economic Damages Section;
- Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants;
- Member, National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.
See JB Rizzo's Curriculum Vitae or JB Rizzo's Resume for more information.
Mediation Experience
Peace Talks. Mediation Services: peace-talks.com. CPA-Mediator with mediation practice which teams lawyers with family therapists in a cooperative, co-mediator setting to assist families in resolving disputes in a constructive, informed and pro-active manner.
Mediation Style
- Compassionate
- Creative
- Straight forward
- Knowledgeable
- Patient
Personal Values in Mediation
- This is a stressful time and it is my goal to get you to get you to look towards the future and not dwell in the past;
- I have so much respect for Peace Talks clients who have chosen to heal their family disputes through the litigation process;
- I believe that you know and understand your family better than anyone else and therefore you should decide how your family will move forward from here, not an arbitrary third party;
- I have had years of experience in family law litigation therefore I can provide you with the information you need to make informed decisions.