ADDRESS
Office: 310 K Street, Suite 200
Anchorage, Alaska 99501 - Work Phone: (907) 56l-1518
- Home Office
Phone: (907) 245-4545
California Office: 1626 Channing Way, Suite C, Berkeley, CA 94703 - Phone (510) 843-8433
EDUCATION
Southwest High School, High School Diploma, June l964, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Gustavus Adolphus College, Bachelors of Arts Degree, June l968, St. Peter, Minnesota
University of Minnesota School of Law, Juris Doctor Degree, June l972, Minneapolis, Minnesota
WORK EXPERIENCE
l982 - present - Self employed attorney in Anchorage with emphasis upon personal injury law, family law, collaborative law, "unbundled legal services", Indian law, including issues related to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, appeals, and representing family owned businesses.
l987 - present - Self employed mediator with emphasis upon family and general mediation cases, including divorce and child custody mediation, mediation of small business disputes, insurance mediation, alternative dispute resolution systems design, facilitation, minitrials, "med-arb" , and consultations on dispute resolution alternatives .
l993- present - Principal in "Wingspan", a training and facilitation company presenting workshops on Win-Win Negotiations, Collaborative Problem Solving, Ecological Dispute Resolution, and the Mediation Method.
l995 - 1999 - Program Head - Paralegal Studies - Charter College, Anchorage, Alaska; teaching and administrative duties.
1989 - 1995 - Part time adjunct faculty member at the University of Alaska Anchorage and Charter College, Anchorage, Alaska; teaching paralegal and justice courses.
l980 - l982 - Attorney, Ellis & Whittaker, Inc., Anchorage and Ketchikan, Alaska - Organized and began Anchorage Office of Ketchikan private law firm (later Ellis Law Offices).
l979 - l980 - Rural Litigation Coordinator, Alaska Legal Services
Corporation, Statewide Office, Anchorage, Alaska. -
Major involvement in administrative and fund raising duties in close
coordination with Executive Director.
l976 - l979 - Supervising Attorney, Alaska Legal Services Corporation, Ketchikan, Alaska. - Supervised Ketchikan office of statewide legal services program. Also supervised Sitka office for two years.
l975 - l976 - Hearing Officer, State of Minnesota Department of Employment Services. - Served as an administrative hearing officer (appeal tribunal chairman) for state employment department. Conducted fair hearings in unemployment proceedings.
l972 - l975 - Attorney/Director, Legal Assistance of Washington County, Inc., Stillwater, Minnesota. - Organized and ran small suburban Minnesota county legal assistance program. Began program and oversaw growth from two to six employees.
l969 - l970 - Case Worker, Bernalillo Country Welfare Department, Albuquerque, New Mexico. - Worked for one year as social worker for urban southwestern county welfare department. Left to return to law school.
l968 - l969 - Peace Corps Volunteer, Nicaragua. - Served as volunteer in first Peace Corps program to Nicaragua. Medically discharged.
l964 - l972 - Employed at a variety of jobs while in college and law school,
especially with Soo Line Railroad in Minnesota; duties including railroad clerk,
warehouseman, freight loader, brakeman, and depot agent. Also worked as a cab
driver, musician, and other odd jobs. Honorable withdrawal from Teamsters,
Musicians, and Railroad Workers' Unions.
COURT ADMISSIONS
Minnesota Supreme Court, October l972
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, l973
U.S. Court of Claims, January l977
Alaska Supreme Court, June l977
United States District Court for the District of Alaska, August l977
Ninth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals, l977
United States Supreme Court, l978
PROFESSIONAL ATTORNEY ORGANIZATIONS
Washington County, Minnesota (inactive); Minnesota (inactive); Ketchikan
(inactive); American (inactive), Anchorage, and Alaska Bar Associations.
CITED CASES
Sealaska v. Roberts, 428 F. Supp. l254 (U.S.D.C. Alaska l977)
Simon v. Alaska Wood Products, Inc., 633 P.2d 252 (Alaska 1981)
Hydaburg Cooperative Association, et al. v. United States, 667 P.2d 64,
229 Ct. Cl. 250 (1981), Cert. denied, 459 U.S. 905 (l983)
Lyle Jones v. Alaska Limited Entries Fishing Commission, 649 P.2d 247
(Alaska l982)
Fleenor v. Church, 68l P.2d 1351, (Alaska, l984)
Crafts v. Morgan, 776 P.2d 1049, (Alaska, l989)
MEDIATION TRAINING
Lemmon Mediation Institute, July, 1988; Association of Family and
Conciliation Courts, November, 1990; Erickson Mediation Institute, Advanced
Mediation Training, January, 1994; CDR Associates - Mediating in Child in Need
of Aid Cases, February, 2000; various workshops including SPIDR, Academy of
Family Mediators, and NCPCR Conferences.
PROFESSIONAL MEDIATION ORGANIZATIONS
Alaska Dispute Settlement Association (founding board member); Alternative
Dispute Resolution Section of the Alaska Bar Association (founding Executive
Committee member) ; Community Dispute Resolution Center (former Board Member);
Regular Member of the Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution;
Practitioner Member of and Approved Consultant for the Academy of Family
Mediators; former member of the National Association of Mediation in Education.
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS
Transformative Mediation, Alaska Bar Rag, September-October, 1998; The
Future of Dispute Resolution, Alaska Bar Rag, July-August, 1998; Settlement
Conferences as Mediation, Alaska Bar Rag; November-December, 1996, Win-Win
Negotiations and Deception - Are they Compatible? Alaska Bar Rag,
March-April, 1996; Dueling Paradigms, Alaska Bar Rag, January-February,
1996; The Tao of Negotiation, Alaska Bar Rag, May-June, 1994; Book
Review - I'm Dysfunctional, You're Dysfunctional; Academy of Family
Mediation News, Spring, 1994 Anchorage Youth Court, Alaska Bar Rag,
March-April, 1994; Book Review - Mediation: Revenge and the Magic of
Forgiveness, SPIDR News, Winter, 1994; Competition, Collaboration and
Gender, Alaska Bar Rag, January-February, 1994; Ecological Law: World
View Changes in the 90s, Alaska Bar Rag, May-June, 1993; Mediation and
Ecological Epistemology, Mediation Quarterly, Winter, 1992, Vol. 10, No. 2.;
Lawyers as Peacemakers, Alaska Bar Rag, November-December, 1992; Family
Therapy And The Law, Alaska Bar Rag, March-April, 1989; How To Be A Good
Judge, Case & Comment, November-December, 1988.
PERSONAL DATA
Divorced; two sons, aged 31 and 24 years.
Hobbies and interests include children, writing, music, soccer, cross country
skiing, mountain hiking, cancer wellness groups, public speaking, tennis, and
golf.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
Alaska Dispute Settlement Association (former board member); Anchorage Unit
of the American Cancer Society, (Past President); Anchorage Youth Court (former
board member); Anchorage Community Dispute Resolution Center (former board
member)
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES
Available upon request
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