In more than twenty years of practice I have sat in every chair in settlement negotiations: as defense counsel, as a neutral, as  plaintiff's counsel, and as outside general counsel. That experience in having sat in every chair at the negotiation table is invaluable to me as a neutral.   My focus is on dispute resolution in civil cases for personal injury, business disputes, medical malpractice, insurance disputes, and employment. It does not include custody.

I have been an attorney with the Colkitt Law Firm, P.C. since 2003 and previously practiced with law firms in Pittsburgh and Altoona. I have been a member of the American Bar Association since 1994 and have served in various bar positions in the ABA, state, and local bar associations since then. I trained in negotiation at Harvard Business School and in mediation at the Conflict Lab with Selina Schultz, Esq, LL.M. and Bernie Behrend, who are both prominent trainers of mediators in Western Pennsylvania.  I am on the approved panel of mediators for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, which has one of the leading ADR programs in the nation.

Substantive Law

As an advocate I have mediated in a wide spectrum of cases including medical malpractice, employment discrimination, breach of contract, insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, securities fraud, fraudulent transfer, and personal injury. I have litigated civil cases in state and federal court, and litigated or supervised outside counsel in eight states.   I have represented school districts,  municipalities, public and private employers, and have significant experience in health care.