Contact Information:

Bar Admissions

ADR Experience

Has served as a Mediator/Arbitrator in more than 4,500 matters arising in federal, state and administrative agencies.   These matters include civil rights, commercial law, consumer fraud, consumer protection violations, contract law, constitutional law, construction law, corporate dissolution, domestic relations, domestic relations division of assets, employment law, environmental law, fair debt collection practices, fair housing, FSLA, insurance claims/bad faith, international disputes, material and latent defects, malpractice, labor law, lemon law, personal injury, public policy residential construction, real estate, truth-in-lending, workers' compensation, Section 1981 and 1983, toxic tort, regular education/special education disputes, securities, water law issues, wills, trusts and estates, zoning disputes, and design and development of internal dispute resolution systems.  Settlements have ranged from a few thousand dollars to several million dollars.  

Approved by the Kansas Supreme Court as a mediator and mediator trainer in all categories.  Serves on arbitration panels for the American Arbitration Association, FINRA and National Arbitration Forum.  Certified by the Kansas Department of Education as an approved special education mediator and due process hearing officer.

ADR Training

Has completed three separate 40-hour civil mediation training programs provided by the Kansas Bar Association; Kansas Department of Education, Special Education Mediation Training and Due Process Hearing Officer Training.  U.S. Postal Service “Redress” Mediation Training, St. Louis, Missouri; U.S. Department of Justice, ADA Mediation Training, St. Louis, Missouri; U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Advanced Mediation Training; and, Topeka Bar Association, Arbitration Training (40-hour).

Other advanced dispute resolution training events in which he has participated:   

2022
American Arbitration Association ACE 22 – Process Essentials for AAA Arbitrators, Spring 2022
Topeka Bar Association, Effective Mediation Advocacy & the Future of In-Person versus Zoom Mediations, August 5, 2022
U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Mediation & Assessment Program – Advanced Training, October 13, 2022
Associates in Dispute Resolution LLC, Exploring the Boundaries of Dispute Resolution:  Arbitration, Mediation & Collaborative Law, November 4, 2022.
Heartland Dispute Resolution Association, Family Law Arbitration, December 21, 2022.

2021
American Arbitration Association ACE 21 – Impartiality:  Do you Know where Your Biases Are? Spring 2021.
U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Mediation & Assessment Program Webinar, February 25, 2021.
Kansas Bar Association, How to Present a Case via Remote Hearing, March 4, 2021.
Kansas Bar Association, Alternative Dispute Resolution Virtual CLE Conference, March 12, 2021.
Topeka Bar Association, Board Blast CLE, June 4, 2021.
Associates in Dispute Resolution LLC, Family Law Update in a Nutshell, June 28, 2021.
Heartland Dispute Resolution Association, How Fortune 500 Companies Handle Conflict, October 20, 2021.
Associates in Dispute Resolution, Taking a Deep Dive into Dispute Resolution, November 5, 2021.

2020
American Arbitration Association, The American Arbitration Association’s Adoption of Initial Employment and FLSA Discovery Protocols, December 2020
Heartland Dispute Resolution Association, Commercial Mediation Practice Techniques, August 19, 2020.
Associates in Dispute Resolution LLC, Commercial Mediation Practice Techniques, August 19, 2020.

2019
International Academy of Mediators, 2019 Spring Meeting, Banff, Alberta, Canada, May 29-June 1, 2019.
Federal District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Mediation Assessment CLE, June 27, 2019.
American Arbitration Association ACE 19, Case Finances:  What Arbitrators Need to Know, Spring 2019.
American Arbitration Association, Arbitration & Mediation Round Table, Kansas City, Missouri,
          October 15, 2019.
International Academy of Mediators, 2019 Fall Meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona, November 7-9, 2019.

2018
International Academy of Mediators, 2018 Spring Meeting, Edinburgh, Scotland, May 20-22, 2018.
International Academy of Mediators, 2018 Fall Meeting, Cleveland, Ohio, October 4-5, 2018.
American Arbitration Association, Health Care Dispute Resolution, Nashville, Tennessee,
        October 12, 2018.

2017
U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Mediation & Assessment Program—Advanced Training for Outside Mediators, October 27, 2017.
International Academy of Mediators, 2017 Fall Meeting, The Future is Here, Austin, Texas,
         November 2-4, 2017.
Lathrop & Gage LLP, Labor & Employment – Executive Briefing, Kansas City, Missouri,
         November 16, 2017.

Legal Experience

More than 27 years' civil litigation experience in state and federal courts.  Primary areas of practice include civil rights, constitutional law, and general civil litigation.  Has successfully litigated several class action civil rights matters in both state and federal court, including the establishment of due process rights for individuals facing mental health commitment, and conditions-of-confinement in state and local institutions.  Has served as lead trial counsel in hundreds of federal and state trial proceedings and administrative law matters including:  civil rights, contract law, consumer fraud, consumer protection violations, corporate liability issues, constitutional law, domestic relations, fair debt collection practices, fair housing, material and latent defects, lemon law, Native American law, residential contract and construction, real estate law, truth-in-lending, Section 1983, and special education disputes.

Partner and Co-founder, Associates in Dispute Resolution LLC, 1999-present; Adjunct Professor, Alternative Dispute Resolution (Interviewing & Counseling, Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration) Washburn University School of Law, Spring Semesters 2007-2012; Special General Counsel/Legislative Liaison, Midland Group, 1990-03; General Counsel/Litigation Director, Kansas Legal Services, Inc., 1973-01; Litigation Director, Farmer Assistance Counseling and Training Service (FACTS), 1984-01; Director/Mediation Coordinator, Midland Mediation & Settlement Services, 1995-01; Officer, United States Air Force, 1966-70

Recent Publications:  
Author, AC Resolution, Developing Opportunities for Experienced Mediators to Improve the Mediation Profession, Summer 2015, Vol. 14, No. 3.  
Co-author, Mediating the Multi-Party Fair Labor Standards Act Case: Terminology, Tactics & Traps, American Bar Association Spring Section Meeting, 2014.
Author, Successful Settlements that Last:  How Mediation Best Practices Techniques Can Improve Your Settlement Strategy, Trial Tort & Insurance Section Committee News, Fall 2011.
Co-author, Discrimination in the Workplace:  How Mediation Can Help American Arbitration Association Journal, February-April, 2000 (republished as a Chapter in the Handbook on Employment Arbitration in ADR, Second Edition, Jurist, LLC 2010)
Author, The Evolution of Commercial Mediation in the Midwest:  Best Practices, Confidentiality and Good Faith, Journal of the Kansas Bar Association, January 2010;
Co-author, Mediation Round Table:  Improving the Quality and Effectiveness of Mediation, Kansas Trial Lawyers Association Journal, Volume 26, Number 4, March 2003.
Co-author, The Changing Face of Arbitration:  What Once Was Old is New Again, Journal of the Kansas Bar Association, August, 2003

Awards:  
Has received a Bronze Star while serving for the United States Airforce for his work as an Air-Traffic Controller/Air Sea Rescue Coordinator.
Has received the Governor’s Award for Exemplary and Distinguished Service to Children and Families.
He was elected in 2011 as Chair of the Kansas Supreme Court’s Dispute Resolution Council
He has twice received the Kansas Bar Association’s Outstanding Service Award.  
He is a 2009-2020 Super Lawyer in Kansas and Missouri.
He is a 2011-2020 Who’s Who of International Commercial Mediators
Best Attorneys in America 2015-2020
U.S. News “Best Law Firm” 2015-2020

Fee Structure