Judge Lisa Rau (Ret.) founded Resonate Mediation and Arbitration LLC in December 2019 after serving for over 18 years on the highest state trial court in Philadelphia County, the Court of Common Pleas. During her judicial career, Judge Rau presided over hundreds of trials, mostly civil jury trials. Judge Rau was selected as a judicial Team Leader, where she supervised a team of judges and managed thousands of major civil cases. At Resonate, Judge Rau uses her extensive judicial expertise to continue her work in the civil justice system as a mediator to resolve complex and entrenched civil disputes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Judge Rau launched an innovative remote private jury trial service to assist case movement when public jury trials were suspended indefinitely. She also honed her videoconferencing skills mediating cases to resolution. In a private jury trial, Judge Rau presides over a virtual trial using existing law and procedures; paid citizen jurors selected by a jury research firm and screened by the parties deliver a final binding verdict. Judge Rau graduated from Stanford Law School where she was an associate editor of the Stanford Law Review. She received her B.A. magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in psychology from Colgate University. Judge Rau recently received a master’s degree in judicial studies from the University of Nevada’s Judicial College with her thesis focusing on the modernization of Philadelphia Court’s civil case management system. Judge Rau has extensive mediation training and has Certificates in Dispute Resolution Trial Skills and Judicial Development & General Jurisdiction Trial Skills from the National Judicial College. Judge Rau is an active educator who has served on the National Judicial College’s faculty teaching advanced evidence to judges. She has taught courses at the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova, and Temple’s law schools. Prior to law school, she served in the United States Peace Corps in Thailand.