Mediator Resume

Roberts-Washington Firm - Owner

Attorney, Arbitrator, Mediator, Administrative Law Judge, Trial Board Hearing Judge, Hearing Examiner, Professor, Realtor

Attorney, Arbitrator, Mediator, Roberts-Washington Firm, Present; Administrative Law Judge, City of Dallas, 2017 - Present; Managing Partner, Thorpe Hatcher & Washington PLLC, 1994 - 2015; Shareholder/Associate, Godwin Bowman PC, 1986 - 1993; Assistant City Attorney, City of Dallas, 1995 - 1996; Briefing Attorney, 5th Court of Appeals, 1984 - 1985. Adjunct Professor (arbitration, mediation and negotiation), Texas A&M School of Law, 2016 - Present. Owner, Pro Property Managers LLC

I have practiced law for 40 years. I have 30+ years of experience serving as a neutral (mediator, arbitrator, hearing examiner, ALJ, etc.). Also, I have extensive experience with a wide variety of commercial and business litigation, and on both sides of the docket. I have many years of focus on employment matters, including discrimination, retaliation, contract issues (such as noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements, trade secrets, and separation agreements), real estate, and business breakups. I have handled DOL audits and claims of FLSA violations (pay violations, misclassification, and FMLA). I have varied experience doing legal work consistent with representation of an ongoing concern, including hiring and termination of employees, contract questions, policy manuals, entity governance, and other matters. I have a wealth of experience in property matters.

I bring to the table much experience in the practice of law and in running a business. I have served as outside general counsel for several organizations, for profit and nonprofit. I have formed and helped to run businesses. As a mediator, I have served on a wide variety of cases over a 30+ year period, by selection of the parties and by court appointment. I have extensive experience in business related cases, including those involving employment matters, contract disputes, DTPA, breach of fiduciary duty, and insurance. My ADR experience includes consumer claims and defenses. I am also well-versed with the laws relating to employment discrimination or retaliation, enforcement of noncompete, nonsolicitation and nondisclosure agreements and employer/employee relationships. My mediation work is enhanced by the fact that as a lawyer, I have worked on both sides of the docket, and I have an understanding of concerns that extend beyond the documents and statutes. I approach mediation in a facilitative, practical manner assisting parties in reviewing alternatives to a negotiated agreement, and will be evaluative when appropriate. Further solidifying my understanding of mediation processes and techniques, I have been teaching Mediation and ADR at Texas A & M University School of Law for a decade. I have completed many advanced mediation training courses, including CDR, AMI, EEOC, and USPS Redress. I stand committed to staying current on statutory revisions and judicial decisions.

I have assisted parties in a variety of workplace related issues, including when employees charged their employer with discrimination, failure to accommodate or retaliation. Is aware of many issues to consider, including whether the employment relation will continue or terminate. I've mediated a number of cases in which businesses were started by parties together and they desperately wanted to figure out how to separate from each other. I have helped parties resolve many contract disputes, including business to business and consumer matters, insurance claims, and product or property issues through mediation.

The mediator has a valuable opportunity to help people obtain resolution. With a mediated agreement, the parties control the outcome of their dispute rather than yield that power to another. It is the mediator's responsibility to listen carefully to the parties, help them think through issues, question positions taken, identify impediments, and perhaps creatively, help bring forward possible resolutions. While it is not the mediator's role to tell the parties what they should do or what the mediator would do under similar circumstances, it is rarely helpful for the mediator to simply carry messages back and forth between the parties. Parties assist greatly in the process by preparing beforehand, knowing their claims, defenses and damages, and communicating with the mediator. Parties also increase the chances of success by alerting the mediator to any issues of which they are aware, for example, a particular sensitivity regarding an issue, a history between the parties, health concerns, or even something as simple as time constraints.

I am well experienced in Zoom and hybrid mediation and arbitration.

University of Texas (JD-1984); Texas Tech University (BA, Magna Cum Laude, Major: Spanish, Minor: English-1981).

Admitted to the Bar: Texas (1984); U.S. District Court: Northern (1984), Eastern (1996), Southern and Western (1987); U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit (1989); U.S. Supreme Court (1989).

National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals; College of Commercial Arbitrators; Texas Mediator Credentialing Association - Distinguished Credentialed Mediator. Commissioner on Uniform Law Commission - Texas Commission on Uniform State Laws; American Law Institute; William "Mac" Taylor American Inn of Court - Bencher; Patrick Higginbotham American Inn of Court - Barrister (former member); Dallas Bar Association (ADR Section Board); Independent Hearing Examiner Texas Education Agency; FINRA Mediator and Arbitrator, Administrative Law Judge, City of Dallas; DART Trial Board Hearing Officer.

State Bar of Texas Litigation Section, The Advocate, published January 2020, Mediation Ethics: Know the Boundaries Presentation to DFW NELA 2019, Mediation Ethics Presentation to National Employment Lawyers' Association Annual Meeting 2018 - Arbitration Case Law Update Presentation to State Bar of Texas, Advanced Labor & Employment Course 2018, Make Mediation Count: Effective Advocacy Presentation to DFW NELA, Effective Mediation Practices Presentation to LANWT, Proving Attorneys' Fees

Of course there are no travel costs for online mediations, and I do those nationwide. For in-person mediation, I have an office in North Texas. In certain cases, where needs dictate going elsewhere, I would consider waiving travel cost. For in-person mediations in or near the triangle that consists of Asheville, North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina and Greenville South Carolina,, I will serve without travel costs.

Hourly Rate: $495.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $495.00/hr Cancellation: $1,980.00/Day Cancellation Period: 5 Days Comment: Compensation rates, established by the AAA, are set forth in the applicable Consumer Mediation Procedures.

English

United States of America

Dallas, Texas