Sasha Susan Philip, Esq.
Arbitrator, Mediator, Facilitator, Adjunct Law School Faculty
P.O. Box 82614
Kenmore, WA 98028
Hourly Rate $600
Current Philip Mediation - Mediator & Arbitrator
Languages English, German
Philip Mediation - Mediator & Arbitrator
Arbitrator, Mediator, Facilitator, Adjunct Law School Faculty
Mediator & Arbitrator, Philip Mediation, 2014 - Present; Of Counsel, Christie Law Group, 2011 - 2014; (Senior) Associate, Johnson Andrews & Skinner, 2001 - 2011.
Licensed attorney who practiced civil litigation for well over a decade before becoming a professional mediator and arbitrator. <br/><br/>Handled cases ranging from personal injury to civil rights (including claims against corporations and commercial and residential buildings), legal and medical malpractice, professional liability, premises liability (including claims against large commercial businesses and retail stores), personal injury and wrongful death (including high rise construction site injuries), municipal liability (including claims against cities, school districts, and other municipal entities), and police misconduct claims. Tried cases in state and federal courts, and appeared before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on briefs. Represented parties in mediations and arbitrations of litigated cases in Washington State and Federal courts. <br/><br/>Adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law and University of Washington School of Law, teaching ADR and Mediation Skills to second and third year law students.<br/><br/>Full-time neutral in private practice since 2014, mediating and arbitrating complex commercial disputes, consumer matters, workplace/employment disputes, and personal injury cases. <br/><br/>Mediated multi-party cases, including business disputes, workplace/employment disputes, and personal injury cases. <br/><br/>Representative matters include:<br/><br/>- Partnership dispute in a licensed cannabis growing business, in which issues included the distribution of partnership assets from a departing member to three remaining members, as well as the level of continued involvement of a “silent partner” (resolved through a combination of “shuttle” mediation and facilitated joint sessions between the attorneys)<br/><br/>- Personal injury case involving two defendants, five plaintiffs, and two motor vehicle collisions, with limited insurance coverage, several UIM policies, multiple medical liens, an injured minor represented by a GAL, and one unrepresented party (resolved through “shuttle” mediation and follow-up telephone calls)<br/><br/>- Mediation at an institution of higher education involving an employee with a disability, their co-worker, their direct manager, and a dean, in which issues included reasonable accommodations as well as clarification of roles and responsibilities under a new manager (resolved primarily in joint session, with some breakout caucus sessions with each party).
Served as a neutral since 2007, and became a full-time private practice ADR professional in early 2014. <br/><br/>Active as a mediation coach and volunteer mediator – mediating discrimination claims for the EEOC and the Seattle Office of Civil Rights, workplace conflicts at federal, state and local government agencies for the Federal Executive Board's ADR Consortium, small claims court cases for the King County Dispute Resolution Center, and neighborhood disputes for the City of Bellevue Neighborhood Mediation Program. FINRA arbitrator as well as an arbitrator for the King County and Snohomish County Superior Courts in mandatory arbitration matters.<br/><br/>Mediated over 100 cases, primarily involving personal injury, business/contract disputes, workplace disputes, and employment discrimination matters. Clients include attorneys in Seattle area law firms, corporate and organizational clients, large public educational institutions, as well as unrepresented individuals and companies seeking early and cost-efficient resolution of disputes.<br/><br/>Experience includes ODR (Online Dispute Resolution), specifically including the use of Zoom and other video-conferencing platforms to meet client needs.<br/><br/>Personal Injury Matters<br/>Mediated numerous personal injury matters, including claims involving minors and unrepresented parties, as well as allegations of permanent physical and mental impairment. The majority of such matters involve insured defendants, insurance defense counsel, and insurance professionals. <br/><br/>Business/Contract Disputes<br/>Mediated matters involving partnership disputes and/or dissolutions, including but not limited to division of assets, valuation of labor and expertise versus physical assets, retirement of partners, and clarification of roles and responsibilities among existing partners.<br/><br/>Workplace Disputes<br/>Mediated workplace disputes between co-workers and between employees and management, primarily in facilitated conversations with individual caucus sessions as needed. Disputes involve disciplinary actions, disputes regarding roles and responsibilities, and breakdowns in communication, among other things. Clients include private businesses, state and federal agencies, and public and private educational institutions. <br/><br/>Employment Discrimination Matters<br/>Mediated numerous matters involving allegations of employment discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination, including claims based on race, national origin, gender, age, disability, and sexual orientation. Clients include private businesses, state and federal agencies, and educational institutions. Mediations have occurred at all stages of the dispute, including pre-litigation.
Primary mediation experience has been in the areas of business and contract disputes, employment discrimination, workplace disputes, and personal injury matters. <br/><br/>Examples include:<br/><br/>- Business dissolution negotiations<br/>- Disputes between private contractors and homeowners<br/>- Attorney fee disputes<br/>- Matters involving allegations of wrongful termination and discrimination based on race, age, gender, and disability, against corporations, educational institutions, and state and federal agencies<br/>- Conflicts between co-workers, and between employees and managers or supervisors, at corporations, educational institutions, and state and federal agencies<br/>- Disputes between union and management representatives<br/>- Personal injury matters, including automobile accident cases
Guiding principles are party self-determination, confidentiality, and the voluntary nature of mediation. Mediation approach reflects these principles by focusing on the parties’ stated goals as well as assessing their underlying needs and interests, in order to assist parties in crafting durable agreements that meet as many of their objectives as possible. <br/><br/>Employs a flexible mediation style as a result of experience in a successful litigation career combined with the completion of a two-year mediation practicum. Draws from both facilitative and evaluative techniques, and is experienced in “shuttle” and “joint session” styles of mediation, using either or a combination of both depending on the nature of the case and the relationship of the parties.<br/><br/>Every mediation session is preceded by pre-mediation calls with each participant to determine the overall posture of the case, individual goals for the mediation, and potential obstacles to settlement. Expectations include that attorneys will have engaged in substantive conversations with their clients prior to that telephone call, in which they will have discussed their case strategy as well as assessing the client’s underlying needs and interests. This enables both attorneys and clients to fully participate in all aspects of the mediation, and allows facilitation of negotiations that may include thinking “outside the box” to reach resolution.<br/><br/>Offers mediations via Zoom and other online mediation platforms to meet parties' needs.<br/><br/>Committed to continuing to facilitate ongoing negotiations by telephone, video-conference, through in-person meetings, and in additional mediation sessions, as appropriate to the case.
Tulane University Law School (JD-2001); Vassar College (BA, cum laude-1998).
Admitted to the Bar: Washington (2002)
Washington State Bar Association<br/>American Bar Association<br/>King County Bar Association<br/>Claims & Litigation Management Alliance<br/>Washington State Association for Justice
Philip Mediation newsletter (www.philipmediation.com)<br/><br/>Article: "The Thorny Issue of Diversity", American Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Newsletter, November 2015<br/><br/>Speaking engagements (representative sampling): <br/><br/>May 11, 2020 - Sound Options Group, "Using Zoom in Mediation", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>May 29 & 30, 2020 - Washington State Bar Association, Solo & Small Practice Section members, "Using Zoom in Mediation & Litigation", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>April 21, 2020 - Washington State Bar Association, ADR Section, "Using Zoom in Mediation", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>March 16, 2019 - City of Seattle PACE (People's Academy for Community Engagement), "Skillful Engagement in Conflict", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>February 19, 2019 - King County Dispute Resolution Center, Mediation Theory to Practice: "The Co-Mediation Model", Seattle, Washington<br/><br/>August 14, 2018 - Washington State Bar Association, "Arbitrator Ethics", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>June 16, 2018 - City of Seattle PACE (People's Academy for Community Engagement), "Skillful Engagement in Conflict", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>​May 17, 2018 - King County Bar Association "Bridging the Gap" Conference, "Introduction to Mandatory Arbitration in King County Superior Court", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>March 17, 2018 - City of Seattle PACE (People's Academy for Community Engagement), "Skillful Engagement in Conflict", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>February 5, 2018 - King County Dispute Resolution Center, ​Basic Mediation Training: "Focus on Underlying Interests", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>February 5, 2018 - King County Dispute Resolution Center, Basic Mediation Training: "Active Listening", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>January 11, 2018 - Seattle Planning and Community Development Office (SPCD), "Conflict Resolution and De-escalation Training", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>September 7-9, 2017 - CLM Mediation Claims College, "Selecting a Mediator and Designing the Mediation", Baltimore, MD<br/><br/>June 17, 2017 - City of Seattle PACE (People's Academy for Community Engagement), "Skillful Engagement in Conflict", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>April 17, 2017 - The Bush School, "Skillful Conflict Engagement – A Primer", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>March 23, 2017 - Northwest Dispute Resolution Conference, "Mediation Primer for New Lawyers", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>March 4, 2017 - City of Seattle PACE (People's Academy for Community Engagement), "Skillful Engagement in Conflict", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>January 12, 2017 - King County Bar Association ADR Section, “The Role of ADR in a Polarized Society”, Seattle, WA <br/><br/>November 23, 2016 - Philip Mediation, "Conflict Engagement Tools for Post-Election Dinner Table Conversations", Kenmore, WA<br/><br/>November 15, 2016 - City of Seattle PACE (People’s Academy for Community Engagement), "Skillful Engagement in Conflict", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>November 3, 2016 - NAPABA Annual Conference, "How Solo and Small Firms can Leverage Arbitration’s Tools and Flexibility to Manage Cost and Efficiency", San Diego, CA<br/><br/>October 18, 2016 - CLM Northwest Regional Educational Event, "Advanced Negotiation Strategy", Seattle, WA<br/><br/>October 5, 2016 - Bellevue Neighborhood Mediation Program, Concilitation Training: "The Uniform Mediation Act & Ethics", Bellevue, WA<br/><br/>September 24, 2016 - King County Dispute Resolution Center, Mediation Theory to Practice: "The Co-Mediation Model", Seattle, Washington<br/><br/>September 8-10, 2016 - CLM Mediation Claims College, "Selecting a Mediator and Designing the Mediation", Baltimore, MD
Conducting all arbitrations and mediations virtually (by video-conference or teleconference) only.
$600 Per Hour
English, German
Kenmore, WA

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