About Susan M. Hammer
Susan Hammer's approach to mediation is flexible. She strives for a process that fits the parties' needs and maximizes their opportunity to reach a value added resolution.
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- Employment
- Dispute Resolution Associations
- Publications
- Speaking and Training
- Bar Memberships
- Education
- Honors
- Training
- More About Susan
- Read testimonials
- Law Without Litigation, from Oregon Business Magazine
She is listed in the Best Lawyers in America 2005-2008 for Alternative Dispute Resolution and in Oregon Super Lawyers, 2006-2007. She is a Fellow in the International Academy of Mediators.
Susan M. Hammer
Attorney at Law
25 NW 23rd Place
Suite 6-473
Portland, OR 97210-5599
Telephone: (503) 222-5949
susan@susan-hammer.com
Employment
- Susan M. Hammer, Attorney at Law - 1998 to present
- Practice focuses on mediation, teaching negotiation, mediation and mediation advocacy skills to law students, attorneys and graduate students in conflict resolution.
- Stoel Rives LLP - 1978-1998
- Partner in a 250-lawyer, 6-city law firm;
- Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Practice Group;
- Legal Advisor to the Firm on Human Resource Issues;
- Background in general commercial litigation;
- Specialist in employment law, education law and alternative dispute resolution.
- Portland State University - 1999
- Adjunct Professor, graduate program in Conflict Resolution;
- Taught Law and Ethics of Conflict Resolution
- Bennington College - July, 1998
- Constitutional Law Instructor
- Washington State Supreme Court - 1976-1977
- Law Clerk to Justice James Dolliver
- U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon - 1974-1975
- Law Clerk to Sidney I. Lezak, U.S. Attorney for Oregon
- Regional Alcoholism Board - 1972-1973
- Director; Portland, Oregon
- Washington State Human Rights Commission - 1971
- Investigator of Civil Rights Complaints
Dispute Resolution Associations
- International Academy of Mediators: Fellow, 2001- present
- Oregon State Bar ADR Section, Executive Committee: 1999-2004
- Oregon Dispute Resolution Commission (ODRC), Vice-chair: 1992-1996
- Chair of ODRC Advisory Committee: 1989-99
- Chair of Advisory Council, Willamette University College of Law, Center for Dispute Resolution, 2000-2002
- American Arbitration Association: Panel Member, 1999-present
- U.S. Arbitration and Mediation: Panel Member, 1989-1994
- JAMS/Endispute: Panel Member, 1987-1989
Publications
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“A Short and Recent History of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Multnomah County and Oregon”, The Multnomah Lawyer, October 2006. http://www.mbabar.org/docs/newsletters/ml_oct2006.pdf (page 17)
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“A Tribute to Sid Lezak, Oregon State Bar Bulletin,” June 2006
http://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/06jun/heritage.html.
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"The Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors, A Model Dispute Resolution Program", Oregon State Bar ADR Section Newsletter, Summer 2004
- "Dispute Resolution Offers Viable Alternative to Suing", The Business Journal, April 4, 2003
- "EEOC v. Waffle House, Inc. Employment Arbitration Agreements and the EEOC": Oregon State Bar ADR Section Newsletter, Summer 2002
- "Who Needs a Mediator?" Oregon State Bar ADR Section Newsletter, March 2001
- "Oregon Court of Appeals Protects Confidential Mediation Communications", Oregon State Bar ADR Section Newsletter, Summer 2001
- Section Newsletter, Summer 2001 "Arbitration and Mediation", Oregon State Bar CLE, 2000 supplement
- "Redefining the Practice of Law", Oregon State Bar Bulletin, January 1993
Speaking and Training (selected list)
- Oregon Mediation Association
- "Mediator as a Leader”, November 9, 2007.
- International Academy of Mediators
- "Excellence in Mediation Advocacy”, October 17, 2007.
- Oregon State Bar
- "Not just the Basics: Excelling at Mediation and Arbitration”, December 14, 2006.
- Oregon Women Lawyers
- “Seven things I wish I would have known when I was 30”, July 2006.
- Oregon Women Lawyers
- Truffles for the Mind, Sorbet for the Soul, June 2005.
- Oregon Law Institute
- Effective Litigation of Attorney Fee Disputes, April 2005.
- Oregon State Bar
- Corporate Counsel Section, Mediation and Ethics in Oregon, May 2004.
- Oregon Law Institute
- Private and Court Sponsored Mediation: The Differences and Similarities, April 2004
- Federal Bar Association
- Introduction to the Federal Court and Judicial and Private Settlement of Cases, April 2004
- Oregon State Bar
- Ethical Decisions Regarding Mediation and Arbitration, May 2003
- Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM)
- Why Mediation Works, April 2003
- Oregon State Bar Association
- From Local Arbitration to the NLRB, September 2002
- Multnomah Bar Association Mediating the Complex Case
- January 2002
- Oregon Trial Lawyers Associationand 3rd Annual Conference on Oregon Labor and Employment Law
- Who Needs a Mediator?, December, 2001
- Treasure Valley Human Resources Association, Boise, Idaho
- Mediation of Employment Claims December 2001
- Oregon State Bar ADR Section Conference
- Using Different Mediation Processes, November 2001
- Oregon State Bar Labor and Employment Section Conference
- Effective Client Representation in Mediation, October 2001
- Conversations on Advanced Topics in Dispute Resolution
- Participated in the design and presentation of a course for experienced mediators, January and February of 2001
- The Seminar Group Annual Conference
- Mediation of Employment Claims, December of 1999 and 2000
- Oregon State Bar, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section
- Lying in Negotiations, November 2000
- The Masters' Forum, Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law
- Served as a dialogue leader for advocates and neutrals involved in dispute resolution, October 2000
- Oregon Law Institute
- Mediating Employment Claims, June 2000
- Oregon Women Lawyers Annual Conference
- Preparing your case and your client for mediation, April 2000
- Willamette University College of Law
- Guest presenter: Demonstrated an employment mediation and spoke to a law school class about accommodating "differences" (race, gender, national origin) in mediation, March and December 2000
- Forum on Dispute Resolution, University of Oregon Law School
- Presented an overview of mediating an employment case, February 2000
- Oregon Trial Lawyers
- The 5 Biggest Obstacles to Settlement in a Mediation, February 2000
Bar Memberships
- Oregon State Bar, member since 1976
- Washington State Bar, member since 1977, inactive since 2007
Education
- Willamette University College of Law, JD - 1976
- University of Puget Sound, BA in Political Science, Honors, 1971 Austria-American Institute, Vienna, Austria, 1970
Honors
- Chosen for “50 Great Leaders for Oregon,, Oregon Business Power Book 2007.
- Multnomah Bar Association Professionalism Award, September 2006
http://www.mbabar.org/docs/newsletters/ml_sept2006.pdf (page 9)
http://www.mbabar.org/docs/newsletters/ml_nov2006.pdf (page 9) - James M. Burns Federal Practice Award, presented by the Oregon Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, 2006
- Willamette University's Outstanding Alumni Award, 1991
- State of Oregon Women's Commission's Woman of Achievement Award, 1988
- Wayne R. Stevens Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy, 1975
Training
- International Academy of Mediators training, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.
- American Arbitrations Association training, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
- Masters Forum, Pepperdine University, 2000.
- National Employment Mediation Service Training by ADR Associates, 1998.
- Institute for Conflict Management Training, 1994-1995.
- United States Arbitration and Mediation Training, 1989.
References available upon request