The mediator’s goal is to effectively and creatively help you resolve your legal dispute. In doing so, I draw from my experiences over the course of my 25-year legal career. However, looking back at my life, no matter how small the job, I have always strived to learn at least one lesson. Click on the button bellow to view some highlights of the lessons I learned and their impact on my mediation style.
University of Michigan Law School, JD, cum laude, 1994.
University of Illinois, B.A. in Russian and East European Studies (highest distinction) and History, summa cum laude, Bronze Tablet (top 3%), 1991.
Illinois State Bar Association 40-hour Mediation/Arbitration Training.
Conflict Rescue: Four Hour Texas- Specific Mediation Training in accordance with the requirements of the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association (“TMCA”).
Austin Dispute Resolution Center: 30-Hour Advanced Family Mediation Training per the Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable (“TMTR”).
• Illinois Supreme Court (1994)
• State Bar of Texas (2019)
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
Highlights for Defendants: Successfully obtained summary judgment in favor of client and handled arguments in front of trial and appellate court judges in Cinergy, City of Evansville v. USF&G and Degroate. Successfully urged federal court to dismiss key claims in Hillshire v. Travelers.
Highlights for Plaintiffs: Week long confidential AAA Commercial arbitration: Lead and sole attorney for plaintiff presenting argument and evidence in business dispute to three member panel who issued a seven-figure award for the full amount of damages sought.
Counterpoint: Mediators’ Discussing the Merits at Mediation Meets Expectations and Allows for People to Feel Heard. ABA TIPS Dispute Resolution Journal (Winter 2023).
Adding it All Up: Psychology and the Law. ABA TortSource, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Summer 2022)
Online Mediation: Reflection on Its Impact and Future. Use ABA TIPS Dispute Resolution Committee Newsletter (Summer 2022)
AGLIC v. ACE: Anatomy of a Stowers Breach. Texas Journal of Insurance Law, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring/
Summer 2021)
Let’s Make a Deal: The Psychology of Mediation. ABA TIPS Dispute Resolution Committee Newsletter (Fall 2021)
Opening Doors to Resolution: A Mediation Podcast. Available at SchulwolfMediation.com/Podcasts
A Mediator’s Take on COVID-19: Part One (April 2020) & Part Two (September 2020). Insurance Law Section of State Bar of Texas
Global Warming Claims: Will Things Heat Up for General Liability Insurers?. The Brief, American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, 41(3), 14-25. Co-authored with Ahearn, K (2012)
NATO and the Balkans: An International Lawyer’s Viewpoint. 7 Loyola Forum of International Law 1 (Dec. 1999)
Nuclear Verdicts (Mediators Panel) CLM Dallas (April, 2023)
Court Appointed Neutrals (moderator, Interviewed Deborah Greenspan) Austin and San Antonio Bar Association Dispute Resolution Sections and Austin Mediators Association (April, 2023)
Concurrent Causation: An Analysis of Texas Insurance Coverage Law (moderator, panel with Brendan McBride and Bruce Wilkin) Insurance Section of State Bar of Texas (April, 2023)
Ethical Issues with Litigation Funding: Scottsdale, AZ(moderator) Part of Conference on PFAS for ABA TIPS Toxic Tort and Environmental Section (April, 2023)
Resolving Environmental Disputes (moderator) Webinar co-sponsored by Environmental and ADR Sections of Austin Bar Association (March, 2023)
Meet the Authors (Webinar with authors of articles in the Winter 2023 publication) ABA TIPS Dispute Resolution Committee (March, 2023)
COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims (moderator with Robin O’Neil and Chris Martin) Insurance Section of State Bar of Texas (Dec., 2022)
Cognitive Biases and Mediation 19th Annual Advanced Insurance Law Course, San Antonio Texas Bar Association ( June, 2022)
Psych! How Psychology Impacts Negotiations and Trial (co-presenter with Shari Beltz) American Bar Association TIPS (May, 2022)
Mediating Insurance Coverage Cases (co-presenter with the Hon. Thomas Mulroy) Chicago Bar Association (May, 2022)
Turning Eight Corners into a New Era: Life After Monroe Guarantee v. Bitco (moderator, panel with Jody Stasney and David Farmer) Insurance Section of the Texas Bar (April, 2022)
Online Mediation is Here to Stay: How Do We Make the Most of Coverage Cases (co-presenter with Jeff Kichaven) American Bar Association 2022 Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Roundtable, Tucson, AZ (March, 2022)
Meet the Authors of the Dispute Resolution Committee Newsletter (copresenter with Jon Lewis and Rick Alimonti) American Bar Association TIPS (March, 2022)
Mediating Insurance Coverage Claims (moderator) Insurance Section of Texas Bar and Austin Bar Association ( January, 2021)
Biases and Ethical Considerations for Mediators Austin Mediator’s Association (December, 2020)
Cognitive Biases, Math and Case Evaluations in Insurance Coverage Cases: A Mediator’s Perspective Chicago Bar Association: Insurance Law Committee (December, 2020)
Odds Are This Will Settle: How Probability and Biases Impact Negotiations Central Texas Dispute Resolution Center (September, 2020)
Surprise, Surprise it is a Numbers Game Austin Bar Association, ADR Section (May, 2020)
Global Warming Insurance Coverage Issues: Panelist American Bar Association Meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona (2012)
“Steve has served as counsel in several complex mediations I’ve conducted, and his smart, tenacious, problem-solving nature as an advocate makes him a ‘natural’ in the role of mediator.”
In business disputes, parties often set up models to calculate their risks in deriving a value for their case (or their opponent’s case). A good mediator understands the limits and potential problems with such probabilistic calculations. Most lawyers hate math. In fact, there is a small niche in academia that debates the use of mathematics in the court room because it is frequently misused. See e.g. “Trial by Mathematics: Precision and Ritual in the Legal Process” (84 Harvard Law Review 1329 [1970-71]). Probability problems often appear to be simple, but can be more complex than people understand, which can adversely impact their settlement expectations. Want to play an interactive game that illustrates the problem and possibly win a discount on your next mediation?
