Mediator Profile
Mr. Paul brings experience, substantive knowledge, counseling and negotiation skills, and a balanced analytical perspective to successfully resolving business, employment, and other litigated and pre-litigated disputes. He has over twenty years of practical legal experience, including handling employment and general business and operational issues while serving as in-house legal/business affairs counsel at a major studio. In private practice, Mr. Paul has advised and represented a wide variety of businesses and industries on negotiation, transactional, and employment matters. Mr. Paul is an Adjunct Professor at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, and his extensive ADR training furthers his effectiveness in managing the mediation process to reach a satisfactory resolution.
Mr. Paul graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley with a degree in psychology in 1983, and received his law degree in 1987 from Boalt Hall School of Law. He has received extensive training in Mediation and Arbitration at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, where he has worked with some of the most esteemed mediators in the country. He was recently a Fellow for the Dispute Resolution Clinic at the Straus Institute. Mr. Paul's in-depth understanding of the ADR process furthers his overall effectiveness as a mediator.
Having equally represented and advised both plaintiffs and defendants, Mr. Paul knows what drives employment and other highly-emotional disputes and why they can be so hard to resolve without the assistance of an experienced mediator. Because he has represented and advised both employees and employers in a wide variety of employment matters, including discrimination, wage and hour, wrongful discharge, defamation, breach of contract, and sexual harassment, Mr. Paul is uniquely situated to understand and analyze the legal issues, nuances, competing emotions and dynamics that permeate employment disputes - and to find agreeable and creative solutions for resolving them short of prolonged, time consuming, uncertain and costly litigation. In addition, Mr. Paul's practical experience handling general business issues and disputes while serving as in-house counsel adds to his versatility in mediating a wide range of issues.
Steve is married and has two children, ages 11 and 13. He is an avid traveler, skier, coach and sports enthusiast, and devotes significant time to community service, including pro bono and charitable activities.
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