SCBA CLE – January 7, 2018; Max Dale's; 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. – 1.0 Credit + 0.5 Ethics Credit

Granddaddy’s Bible and a Ford F150 – Interest Based and Evaluative Mediation Techniques and Mediation Ethics Review

Summary:

Mediation is a frequently used and efficient process for matter resolution.  The mediation process can be used to resolve both interest based matters and matters related to financial evaluation, but the techniques used vary widely from matter to matter.  Emotions can run high at mediations and issues can vary widely requiring practitioners to be ready to react to unexpected issues.

The focal point of the CLE will be a panel discussion including Mediator/Arbitrator Hon. Michael E. Rickert (Ret.), retired attorney and Mediator Wil Harlock, and attorney Andy Schuh who, as an in-house attorney for a healthcare company, spent 9 years traveling the country attending mediations from the client perspective as the company representative with settlement authority.  These mediation experts will also discuss the proposed revisions to Advisory Opinion 2223, RPC 2.4, GR 24(a)(2) and Rule 1.7(b)(3).

Speaker Bios:

Hon. Michael E. Rickert (Ret.), WSBA 13765

Rickert Mediation & Arbitration

1204 Cleveland Avenue

Mount Vernon, WA 98273

(360) 503-1042

Judge Rickert was raised in the Skagit Valley, the son of a high school football coach and grade school teacher.  He graduated from Burlington-Edison High School and received his undergraduate degree from a prestigious Eastern school (Washington State University).  He served in the United States Army from 1975-1980, rising to the rank of Captain and working in counterintelligence, including three years in Central America.

Following his graduation from the University of Puget Sound Law School, Michael returned to the Skagit Valley as partner in the Mullen & Rickert Law Firm, where his areas of practice were primarily civil and criminal defense.

He was elected Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney in 1985, a position he held from 1986 – 1992.  He was elected Superior Court Judge in 1992, where he remained until his retirement in 2017.  His 25-year tenure on the bench makes him the longest serving Superior Court Judge in Skagit County history.

Michael is a graduate of the National Judicial College Mediation School, which he attended in anticipation of opening a mediation/arbitration practice in his retirement.

Michael has enjoyed mountain climbing and SCUBA diving over the years, as well as playing guitar in an old rock ‘n roll band.  He has three adult children, seven grandchildren and makes his home in Mount Vernon with his better half and business partner, Piper, and their 5-year-old Jack Russell Terrorist, Rupert.

Wilhelmina C. Harlock, WSBA 45441 (inactive)

PO Box 279

Mount Vernon, WA 98273

(360) 593-5594

Wil Harlock came to the law later in life than most lawyers – but better late than never!  Her past endeavors include teaching, medical research, restaurant cook, small business owner, community activist, non-profit manager, PTA president, and paralegal.  She moved to Skagit in 2003, and in late 2007 when given an opportunity not to be declined, she studied the law with Tutor John W. Murphy under APR Rule 6.  She passed the WA Bar Exam in Summer 2012 and practiced law in Skagit County for 5 years, retiring at the end of 2017.  In addition to working in the areas of Estate Planning, Probate and Guardianship, she also served as a GAL for Title 26 and Title 11 cases.  She served as President of the Skagit County Bar Association from September 2013 – December 2015, and has served on the SCBA VLP Steering Committee for more than 5 years.

Wil is a certified mediator since 2012, and still takes some cases as her schedule allows; she also volunteers occasionally with the Skagit DRC, including Small Claims Court.  She currently serves as Vice President on the Board of Community Action of Skagit County. Wil loves the theatre, films, good books and traveling with her husband Denis.

Andrew C. Schuh, WSBA 47724

Law Offices of Andrew C. Schuh, PLLC

1204 Cleveland Avenue

Mount Vernon, WA 98273

(360) 503-1043

Andy Schuh  was born on his family’s farm in Mount Vernon and lived there until he graduated from high school and left to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California (1993).  He went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona in 1996.  He currently has a law practice in his home town, Mount Vernon, after having practiced law in Southern California for 20 years.  He is admitted to practice in Washington State, California and the District of Columbia.

Andy started out his career at a medical malpractice defense firm in Los Angeles.  Thereafter, he worked at Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, one of the largest firms in the country.  He continued to defend medical malpractice cases at that time, while broadening his practice areas to include most any type of civil litigation and estate planning.  Andy was later recruited to the Legal Department of Sun Healthcare Group, Inc., a publicly-traded healthcare company with nationwide operations, over 30,000 employees and annual revenue in excess of $2 billion.  After working for Sun as Corporate Counsel for 2 years, Andy was promoted to Assistant General Counsel managing all litigation for the company and its subsidiaries nationwide and overseeing regulatory, compliance, employment law and human resource matters for the company.

After 9 years of service to Sun, the company was acquired by Genesis Healthcare, LLC, which would have included a move for the Schuh family to Kennett Square, PA.  Andy and his family made the decision to remain on the West Coast and decided to move back to Mount Vernon to be closer to family and the home base of the family business, Schuh Farms.  Through Andy’s law practice in Mount Vernon, he offers legal services in his areas of expertise: litigation, estate planning, healthcare and agri-business.

Andy and his wife Bonnie live in Mount Vernon and have three children: Aaron, who makes his home in Orange County, CA; Hannah a sophomore at Pace University in New York, NY; and Juliana a senior at Mount Vernon High School.  Andy has enjoyed watching his children’s activities over the years including volleyball and ballet and is an avid downhill snow skier.