Mediator Resume

Experienced litigator with substantial trial experience. Represents both employees and employers in employment law matters of all types, including class and collective actions. Complex commercial litigator representing individuals and businesses of all shapes and sizes in matters involving injunctions, errors & omissions, real estate, and business disputes.

Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP - Partner

Attorney, Mediator, Arbitrator

Partner, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP, 2012 - Present.

EMPLOYMENT Unusual practice representing both employees and employers in litigation involving discrimination (including but not limited to age, race, sex, family responsibility, pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity, religion, national origin, and disability), harassment, retaliation, whistleblower retaliation, and employment contract disputes (including non-competes). Plaintiffs’-side practice limited to high-value claims. Extensive trial experience. Litigates class and collective actions for wage and hour violations and age discrimination. Provides HR legal advice to employers. Represents employees in severance negotiations. ERRORS & OMISSIONS Represents clients in defending errors and omissions claims, including in technology sector, software and web development, hardware design, construction, surveying, engineering and architectural design, and real estate sales. GENERAL BUSINESS LITIGATION Litigates business disputes of all kinds, including contract disputes, debt collection, breach of warranty claims, disputes over the ownership and/or sale of businesses, claims by consumers, and insurance coverage disputes. COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK, AND TRADE SECRET INFRINGEMENT CLAIMS Litigates disputes over the ownership of creative works and other critical proprietary information. REAL ESTATE Litigates claims to real estate, including working out residential and commercial mortgages and title disputes. NONPROFIT Litigates non-profit governance disputes including over implementation of bylaws, board elections, and board decisions.

Experienced mediator with successful settlements ranging from “nuisance value” to $1 million+. Most experience is with employment law with experience mediating other types of cases as well. Practicing mediator since 2021.

Discrimination (including but not limited to age, race, sex, family responsibility, pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity, religion, national origin, and disability), harassment, retaliation, whistleblower retaliation, and employment contract disputes (including non-competes).

My approach to mediation is flexible. I schedule a pre-trial call with counsel for the parties to determine the parties’ preferences for pre-mediation submissions and to address any issues that might impede progress at mediation and ensure that the right people will be present in the room. I am flexible regarding pre-mediation submissions—I am willing to read whatever the parties send me, but often the pleadings are sufficient. I recommend that the Plaintiff make a demand sufficiently in advance of mediation for the Defendant to make an educated decision about authorization. I usually mediate via Zoom but am willing to mediate in-person if the parties prefer. On occasion, I will speak individually with counsel and sometimes the parties themselves. My approach to mediation is both facilitative and evaluative, in the sense that I view my role as helping the parties to make an educated decision about their case. I explain to the parties that there is nothing wrong with not reaching settlement, and their purpose at mediation is to explore whether settlement is possible. I further explain that they are missing an opportunity if there was as settlement that both sides would have accepted but they do not reach that settlement because they fail to engage in the process. While I mostly assist the parties in making their own evaluations of the case, I am candid with the parties if I feel that they are grossly misjudging their position. My experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants gives me the skills to work effectively with individuals as well an understanding of company and insurance carrier decision-making. If a settlement is reached, I insist that the parties memorialize their agreement in a terms sheet while the decision-makers are still present. If the parties reach impasse, I will make a mediator’s proposal if I feel that it is appropriate and both sides consent.

Proficient with videoconferencing platforms (including Zoom, Teams, Google Meet). Will arbitrate and mediate via Zoom or in-person. Experienced with ESI issues including: hosting, searches, preservation, production, cost management, parameters, and disputes.

University of Pittsburgh School of Law (JD, cum laude - 2011); Trinity College (BA - 2006). National Trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia School of Law (Certificate - 2013); The Conflict Lab – 40 Hour Mediation Training Program (Certificate 2019).

Admitted to the Bar: Pennsylvania (2011), Ohio (2022). Admitted pro hac vice in numerous federal and state courts.

Allegheny County Bar Association – Labor & Employment Section; Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania - Board Member; National Employment Lawyers’ Association; Western Pennsylvania Employment Lawyers’ Association.

From a Mediator’s Perspective: Common Mis-steps That Parties Make at Mediation. The Legal Intelligencer, Jan. 14, 2025.

Hourly Rate: Not provided Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: Not provided Cancellation: Not provided Cancellation Period: Not provided Comment: Compensation rates, established by the AAA, are set forth in the applicable Consumer Mediation Procedures.

English

United States of America

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania