Mediation

Mediator Resume

1993-present: Private mediator managing employment, civil and family disputes. (Over 3000 cases mediated); 1997-present: Court-appointed mediator managing child custody disputes. Parenting Coordinating services provided for ongoing co-parenting conflict; 1998-present: Contract Mediator for U.S. EEOC and Contract Mediator for U.S. Postal Service; 1998-present: Arbitrator for U.S. District Court for Western District of Pennsylvania; 1999-present: Mediator for U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Pennsylvania 1986-1988: Law Clerk, Civil Division, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

General practice of law with emphasis on family law, employment law, probate, estates, real estate, banking, personal injury and tort litigation. Federal, state courts, all appellate courts and minor tribunals.  Family Law:: divorce, custody and economic disputes with emphasis on complex financial and tax issues and Mediation; Employment Discrimination and Wrongful Discharge.

B.A., English Department Honors, Chatham University; J.D., University of Pittsburgh, Moot Court Honors

1996/97: Effective Family Law Practice, National Business Institute Pension Laws for Mediators, Family Mediation Council of Western Pa. Child Custody in Pennsylvania: The Substantive Law for Mediators, Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania Professionalism for Mediators: MCWP Training Paralegals for Family Law Practice in Pennsylvania, Institute for Paralegal Education 1998: Pennsylvania Probate: Beyond the Basics, National Business Institute Family Law Case Update: Recent Appellate Cases and the Impact on Family Law Practice, Continuing Legal Education Program of Community College of Allegheny County The Role of Attorneys in Mediation, Community College of Allegheny County 1999: Who's Ready for Mediation? Assessment and Intervention for Client Readiness, Workshop and Materials, Academy of Family Mediators Summer Conference, Chicago, IL 2001:Presenter, Break on Through to the Other Side: Managing Conflict in Mediation; Workshop and Materials, Continuing Education course for psychologists, Gateway Rehabilitation Center, Aliquippa, PA 2002:Presenter, Association for Conflict Resolution Annual Family Section Conference, Savannah, GA: Broadening the Construct of Family: A Diversity Approach to Mediation; ADR in the Millenium, Allegheny County Bar Assn. 2003: The Language of Transformative Mediation, Continuing Education Series for Court Mediators, Planned for December 2003 (The Allegheny County Bar Association): Mediation for Estate and Probate Practitioners. 2004: Provider of Basic Mediation Training (40 hour) approved by ACR and meets state requirements. 2004-2007: Guest Lecturer at University of Pittsburgh School of Law and Duquesne University School of Law; Generations Peer Education: Mediating with Narcissists and Borderlines, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Advocacy and Ethics in Mediation,  Presenter at AFCC Annual Conference in Tampa Bay: Workshop: Who's Ready for Mediation II: Assessment and Intervention for Client Readiness (with Roberta Eisen). Adjunct Professor of Law, Duquesne University School of Law, The Art of Mediation: Theory and Practice. 2008:  ACR Family Section Annual Conference: Building Bridges, Moving Mountains, Park City, Utah, Workshop Presenter: "Casting a Wider Net: Developing Mediator Tolerance for Diverse Personalities,"  Saturday July 26, 2008. 2009:  Invited Speaker at Washington County Summer Bench Bar Conference, Bedford Springs, PA, Mediation and Collaborative Negotiation, A Six-Hour Workshop for Collaborative Lawyers. August 7, 2009.  2009/2010: Adjunct Faculty, Capella University and Strayer University;

1996: "Mediation: An Alternative to Consider," Pittsburgh Legal Journal 1997: "Effective Family Law Practice," National Business Institute "Paralegals in Family Law Practice," Institute for Paralegal Education "Child Custody in Pennsylvania: Substantive Law for Mediators" Manual 1998: "Pennsylvania Probate: Beyond the Basics," National Business Institute 1999-2000: Editor, Mediation News, newsletter of Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania. Opinion Editor, Pittsburgh Legal Journal; Columnist (Lessons in Legalese) The Lawyer's Journal 2004: Mediation of Divorce and Family Conflicts, Basic Training Manual. Coming in early 2010: Textbook: The Art of Family Mediation: Theory and Practice. A Foundational Text for Family Mediators, Van de Plas Publishing, Blast From the Past: History of Family Mediation in America, Family Mediation News, Summer 2010, The Art of Mediation: Is it Therapy? Pennsylvania Family Lawyer, Vol. 32, Issue 2, 112-113.

National Center for Mediation Education, Washington, DC Mediating Post-Decree Issues, Lynn C. Jacob, Chicago, IL Advanced Issues in Family Mediation, Robert D. Benjamin, St. Louis, MO Domestic Violence Training for Mediators, Steven Abel, NY, NY Mediating Business and Commercial Disputes, Robert D. Benjamin Advanced Issues in Family Mediation, Robert D. Benjamin Training for Mediators in the Mediation Program for U.S. EEOC Academy of Family Mediators Summer Conference, San Francisco, CA Training in Transformative Mediation for U.S. Postal Service Mediators, Cleveland, OH Academy of Family Mediators Summer Conference, Chicago, IL Mediator Skills Training for Bankruptcy Court, Sam Imperati, Pittsburgh, PA Emotional Intelligence, Health and Relationships, by Mind Matters Advanced Domestic Violence Mediation Training by Women's Center and Shelter, Pittsburgh, PA American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Collaboration in the Capital: The Power of ADR, Arlington, VA; Assoc. for Conflict Resolution, Annual Family Section conference, Savannah, Georgia; Assoc. for Conflict Resolution, Annual Conference: Valuing Peace in the 21st Century, September 2004, Sacramento, CA, AFCC Conference in Tampa Bay, June 2006.

 Attorney admitted to Supreme Court of Pa. and U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania; Gestalt Institute of New England, Certificate; Practicing Mediator, Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania; Advanced Practitioner, and Mediation Training approved by Association for Conflict Resolution; Officer and Director, Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania; Allegheny County Bar Association Family Law Section (Chair, ADR Committee), Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee; Opinion Editor Pittsburgh Legal Journal; Columnist, The Lawyers Journal; Elected to Judiciary Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association, 2004; Appointed to Nominating Committee, Allegheny County Bar Association, 2006-2007. Listed in Who's Who in American Law, 10th, 11th, 12th Editions