Harold Oehler is a full-time federal and state certified mediator. He has 30 years of experience mediating all types of civil claims as a trial lawer, General Counsel of a national public company and as a mediator. Harold has extensive experience with personal injury, business litigation, insurance, employment, breach of contract, consumer and construction claims.
Harold is the primary author of the Florida Mediation Best Practices Handbook, Florida's first mediation best practices guide. He also created the “Litigator Mediator Forums” to provide trial lawyers and mediators across the state a platform to collaboratively improve the mediation process. Harold received the Florida Bar ADR Section’s 2022 “MVP Award” for most outstanding contribution towards improving mediation in the State of Florida. He serves on the Executive Council of the Florida Bar’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Section and is a former member of the Florida Bar’s Consumer Protection Law Committee.
Harold is a past Chair of the Mediation and Arbitration Section of the Hillsborough County Bar Association. The HCBA awarded Harold its “Red McEwen Award” given to the member of the Bar whose service and contribution will have an everlasting, positive impact on the legal community.
Harold began his career as a trial lawyer. He was a partner in one of Tampa’s largest and most prominent law firms. He handled a number of significant cases including a successful 17-week jury trial, which was the longest personal injury jury trial in Pinellas County history at that time. He represented some of the largest companies in the Bay Area and handled employment, commercial, insurance, consumer, contract, personal injury, construction and product liability claims.
Harold spent the next 21 years as General Counsel of a national automotive retailer which ultimately went public. He oversaw all litigation across the country and represented the company at all mediations. He managed all insurance claims and worked directly with adjusters. He negotiated the company’s contracts across the country. He successfully lobbied for laws utilizing mediation to settle disputes. Harold received a national service award from his industry for creating a program widely utilized across the country to resolve litigation using mediation. Harold was awarded “Corporate Counsel of the Year” in 2009 (Hillsborough County Bar Association) and 2014 (Tampa Bay Business Journal).
As Corporate Counsel, Harold led the creation of a national employee-funded foundation which donated over two and a half million dollars to children’s charities. The Foundation was instrumental in building the first long-term care facility for victims of human trafficking in the Tampa Bay area, in addition to an emergency shelter for abused and neglected children in Brandon, Florida and the first medical clinic in the Southeast dedicated to treating homeless youth. The Foundation recognized Harold’s 15 years of service to at-risk children by naming him an Emeritus board member for life.