Executive Committee Members
Patrick Ward – Chair
Angela Russo – Chair-Elect
Mark Barzda – Treasurer
Sally LaJoie – Secretary
Sally LaJoie – Secretary
Sally LaJoie is a neutral arbitrator, mediator, and workplace investigator in private practice. She is a graduate of Willamette University College of Law and has spent over twenty-five years working in labor and employment law in Oregon.
Before opening her arbitration and mediation practice, Sally was a mediator for the Oregon Employment Relations Board (“ERB”). As one of three mediators for the ERB, she assisted public employers and unions throughout Oregon to resolve labor disputes. Those mediations included resolving collective bargaining agreements, grievances, unfair labor practice cases and civil service appeals. She also conducted joint trainings and facilitations for labor and management.
Prior to becoming a neutral, her legal practice focused on representing employees in individual and class action claims for Wage and Hour, Family Medical Leave Act, Title VII, and other employment related cases. She has also worked as a public affairs attorney at the Oregon State Bar in the law improvement and government relations program, as a labor representative for the Oregon Nurses Association, and as a Labor Relations Manager for Multnomah County. Sally also currently provides services as a special education mediator and investigator for the Oregon Department of Education and is a licensed investigator providing workplace investigation services.
Contact Info: OSB Listing
Website: https://www.lajoiemediation.com/
Jeffrey Edelson
Jeffrey Edelson
Contact Info: OSB Listing
Website: https://www.edelsonadr.com
Alexander Erwig
Alexander Erwig
Alexander is a Portland-based mediator with a national mediation practice. After practicing as a lawyer at a boutique litigation firm, Alexander launched Erwig Mediation to help parties resolve a range of civil disputes. Alexander uses an innovative method that moves beyond traditional shuttle negotiations and instead combines open communication with an evaluation of case strengths and weaknesses to bring about optimal self-determined resolutions.
Alexander strongly believes in facilitating access to mediation. He volunteers his time as a member of the Multnomah Small Claims mediation program and the Los Angeles Superior Court Mediation Volunteer Panel.
Contact Info: OSB Listing
Website: https://www.erwigmediation.com
Adam Greenman
Chantal Guzman
Kate Hall – Immediate Past Chair
Kate Hall – Immediate Past Chair
Kate Hall is a Collaborative attorney and mediator in Salem, Oregon, with a statewide online practice. She finds meaning in her work from approaching family law problems with a planning focus to help families in transition avoid trauma.
Kate has been a mediator since 2012 and has mediated more than 1,000 cases involving divorce, businesses, custody and parenting time, landlord tenant, small claims and neighbor disputes.
Kate teaches Mediation & Mediation Advocacy at Willamette University College of Law. She is past Chair and the Mediation Co-Chair for the Oregon State Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Executive Committee, a past member of the Marion County Local Family Law Advisory Committee, a past two-term president of the Oregon Association of Collaborative Professionals, a member of the Oregon Mediation Association Standards and Practices, a member of the International Association of Collaborative Professionals, and the Clackamas Collaborative Divorce practice group.
Contact Info: OSB Listing
Website: https://www.katehalllaw.com
Scott Hunt
Angela Lynn Laidlaw
Steve Leskin
Rudy Lachenmeier
Rudy Lachenmeier
An Oregon Native, fond of outdoor recreation, I am a longtime civil litigator. I have handled more than 1600 litigation cases and tried to jury verdict at least 150 cases, resolving the rest through mediation, arbitration, motions and direct settlements with opposing counsel. I received my first mediation training in 2012 and since have had more than 200 hours of additional training. I now do exclusively mediations and arbitrations. I co-authored Chapter 5 on mediation Techniques in the OSB publication ADR In Oregon.
I’m excited about what this years ADR Board has planned. CLEs on ADR issues; an updated website with info on trainings and CLEs from multiple sources; and short videos by Board members on ADR topics. We are also trying to find the best arbitration practices which could be used interchangeably in the 5 largest counties.
Contact Info: OSB Listing
Website: www.Ledrlaw.com
Dana Mitchell
Lisa Pettinati
Christopher Piekarski
Christopher Piekarski
Chris Piekarski is a litigation attorney and neutral arbitrator at GLB, PC, based in Portland. With over 25 years of experience in the Oregon legal community, Chris focuses his practice on civil general liability defense while continuing to grow his work as a mediator and arbitrator.
Chris began his legal career in the public sector, serving as a prosecutor in Marion County from 2000 to 2001 and in Multnomah County from 2001 to 2006. Since transitioning to civil practice in 2006, he has leveraged his extensive courtroom experience to help parties resolve disputes fairly and efficiently.
He earned his J.D. from Willamette University College of Law in 1999 and holds a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy from Whitman College. In addition to his legal practice, Chris is a member of the City of Portland Citizen Review Committee and the David Douglas School District Budget Committee. He is a member of the Oregon and Washington State Bars and maintains inactive licenses in Alaska and Hawaii. He has served in many capacities with the Oregon State Bar and is a member of the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel Board of Directors.
When he isn’t serving as a neutral or advocate, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, exploring the Oregon Coast, and appreciating a good bourbon.
Contact Info: OSB Listing
Website: https://theglb.com
Dane Rowinski
Dane Rowinski
Dane Rowinski is an Associate Area Director for Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), a trade organization consisting of shippers, marine terminal operators, and stevedoring companies, operating along the West Coast of the United States.
As the manager of the Portland office of PMA, where he has worked since 2013, Dane is responsible for negotiating and arbitrating local labor disputes between waterfront employers and their workers under the Pacific Coast Longshore Contract Document, the collective bargaining agreement between PMA and its unionized workforce of longshore workers, who are represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).
Dane is an alumnus of the University of Oregon, Willamette University College of Law, and Tulane University School of Law. In his free time, he enjoys boating, rowing, and coaching youth baseball in rural Yamhill County, Oregon.
Contact Info: OSB Listing
Tegan Schlatter
Kathryn “Kat” Fahrion
Kathryn “Kat” Fahrion
Kathryn “Kat” Fahrion is both a court-connected and private practice mediator and has mediated thousands of domestic relations cases since 2017. While her primary focus is domestic relations mediation, Kat has mediated a wide range of disputes from restorative justice to agricultural strikes.
Along with being a mediator, she teaches mediation for Oregon Law. Her private practice focuses on training and dispute system design projects, both individually designed and for organizations ranging from the Oregon Department of Justice to the City of Hillsboro to a wide variety of non-profits.
When she’s not working, she enjoys her garden or cooking a great meal.
Website: https://www.compassresolutions.com/