Dispute Resolution Experience and Training

After working as a litigator for 30 years, Steve Randels was selected to manage the mediation program at the Seattle District Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1999. The EEOC created and fully staffed Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Units in each of its district offices across the country that year. After nine years of exceeding the Commission’s goals and expectations for the Seattle office’s ADR program, Steve left the EEOC in 2007 and established a private mediation practice. In 2009, he contracted with the Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco District Offices of the EEOC to conduct mediations in twelve states.

As the ADR Program Coordinator for the EEOC’s Seattle Office, Steve’s responsibilities included:

  • Selecting, supervising and training over three dozen staff, contractor, and volunteer mediators.
  • Mediating over 350 disputes in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho with an 85% resolution rate.

Achieving the following program results:

  • 2037 mediations
  • 75% resolution rate for all mediators (exceeding the EEOC’s national average of 68.2%)
  • Total settlements of $24,586,393

At a meeting on November 5, 2007, the EEOC’s Commissioners adopted a resolution honoring his career, stating in part:

Stephen M. Randels served with distinction as the ADR Coordinator … during which the Seattle office exceeded its goals for successful mediations, resulting in settlements that promptly resolved many cases …

In addition to his private practice and work with the EEOC, his experience includes the following:

  • Member of the Seattle Federal Executive Board’s ADR Consortium, a pool of mediators providing pro bono dispute resolution services for federal, state and local government agencies in the Seattle area.
  • Trainer of and lead mediator with students participating in the mediation clinics of University of Washington and Seattle University Schools of Law.
  • Attorney representing the EEOC as a party in the mediations of pending court cases, 1985 – 1999.

Training

Steve participated in three, 40 hour basic mediation training provided by the University Washington School of Law, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Dispute Resolution Center of Snohomish and Island Counties. He has participated in the annual Northwest ADR Conference co-sponsored by the UW School of Law and the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Section of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) for nine consecutive years starting in 1999. He has participated in many other training programs provided by Dispute Resolution Section of the WSBA, the Seattle Federal Executive Board’s ADR Consortium, the EEOC and numerous other organizations.

Following is a list of eighteen specific training events of 290 hours he has attended:

  • February 18, 2009, Seattle, WA, “Hostage Negotiation and Mediation,” sponsored by the Federal Executive Board’s ADR Consortium (2.5 hours).
  • September 26, 2008, Seattle, WA, “ADR 2.0: Science, Technology & New Developments,” co-sponsored by the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) and its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Section (6 hours).
  • March 11, 2008, Seattle, WA, “Resolving Conflicts at Work” with Kenneth Cloke, Antioch University (6 hours).
  • April 3-5, 2008, Seattle, WA, “Pacific Currents, Sound Perspectives on ADR,” 10th Annual Conference of the American Bar Association’s Section on Dispute Resolution (nine, one and one half hour seminars – 13.5 hours).
  • April 1999 to 2009 (nine events), Seattle, WA, Eighth through Sixteenth Annual Northwest Dispute Resolution Conferences (nine hour seminars over one and a half days each year for a total of 90 hours) co-sponsored by the University of Washington (UW) Law School Foundation and the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Section of the WSBA.
  • October 16, 2006, Seattle, WA, “Understanding Institutional Racism,” sponsored by the City of Seattle ADR Program (3 hours)
  • May 19, 2006, Seattle, WA, “Mediating in the Aftermath of Katrina,” sponsored by the WSBA ADR Section. (1 hour)
  • February 8-9, 2006, Seattle, WA, Fifth Annual Training Conference, “A Place at the Table,” Seattle Federal Executive Board (FEB) ADR Consortium. (14 hours)
  • September 23, 2005, Seattle, WA, “What You Need to Know to Get Ready for the Mediation Act,” co-sponsored by the UW School of Law and the ADR Section of the WSBA. (3 hours)
  • March 25-26, 2005, Seattle, WA, “Large Group Facilitation Training,” provided by the Dispute Resolution Center of Snohomish and Island County at Antioch University. (15 hours)
  • January 26, 2005, Seattle, WA, “Mediating Employment Matters,” sponsored by the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service (JAMS). (3 hours)
  • January 21, 2005, Seattle, WA, “Ethics Issues in Mediation,” sponsored by the WSBA. (4 hours)
  • September 19, 2003, Seattle, WA, “Mediating in the Intersection of Logic and Emotion,” Sam Imperati, Institute of Conflict Management, sponsored by the the ADR Section of the WSBA. (4 hours)
  • April 4-6, 2003, Seattle, WA, “New Vistas in Dispute Resolution,” American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, UW Law School Foundation, WSBA Dispute Resolution Section (six one and one half hours seminars). (9 hours)
  • October 8, 1999, “Beyond Winning: Problem-solving in Dispute Resolution and Deal Making,” Scott Peppett, Harvard Law School and Harvard Negotiation Research Project, sponsored by the ADR Section of the WSBA. (6 hours)
  • March 1999, Washington, D.C., “Mediation Skills Training” (four day program) sponsored by the EEOC. (24 hours)
  • September 1-2, 1999, Phoenix, AZ, “Maximizing Mediation,” James C. Melamed of the Mediation Center (sponsored by the EEOC). (12 hours)
  • 1999, Edmonds Community College, “Basic Mediation Training” (five day program) provided by the Dispute Resolution Center of Snohomish and Island County. (40 hours)
  • October 3-5 and 11-12, 1997, Seattle, WA. “Professional Mediation Skills Training Program,” provided by the UW School of Law. (40 hours)
  • Total: 290 hours (not all training events listed).