About Lori

ARBITRATOR
  • Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service - Labor Panel, 2012
  • State of Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Division, 2012
  • American Arbitration Association - Labor Panel, 2010
  • Better Business Bureau - AutoLine, 2010
  • United States Postal Service and American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, 2007-2009 
MEDIATOR 
  • Over 15 years conflict resolution experience negotiating and mediating hundreds of cases
  • ADR Vantage, Mediator
  • EEOC, Mediatior
  • Better Business Bureau, Mediator
  • "Top 100 Mediator", Harris County Dispute Resolution Center (2009-2012)
ADR TRAINER
  • Advanced Family Mediation - South Texas College of Law, 2012
  • Basic 40-HR Mediation - Harris County Dispute Resolution Center, 2011
  • Arbitration, Advanced Family, and Basic 40-HR Mediation - Manousso Mediation, 2009 - Present​
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
University of Houston Clear Lake, Houston, TX, 2010-Present
  • Human Resource Management
  • Employee Planning and Staffing
  • Labor Relations 
ADR/HR CONSULTANT
Employment Practices Solutions, Inc., Houston, TX, 2009 - 2011
  • Provide ADR and neutral, fact-finding investigative services for EPS clients nationwide
  • Mediation, Facilitation, and Binding Arbitration
  • Integrated Conflict Management Systems
  • Management and Staff Training for HR, Employment Law, and ADR Programs
UNIVERSITY TEACHING ASSISTANT
Prof. Mark R. Sherman, PhD, University of Houston Clear Lake, Houston, TX, 2005-Present
  • Employment ADR/Negotiations 
  • Public and Private Sector Labor Relations
  • Legal Environment of Human ResourceManagement (Employment Law)
LICENSED ATTORNEY
Corporate / In-House Counsel
Allstate Staff Counsel, Houston, TX, 2001-2003
Progressive Casualty Insurance Co., Houston, TX , 2004-2005
Associate / Litigation Attorney
Barker & Lyman, P.C., Houston, TX, 2003-2004
O’Quinn, Laminack, & Pirtle, L.L.P., Houston, TX,  2005-2006
Helm, Pletcher, Bowen & Saunders, L.L.P., Houston, TX
Assistant Attorney General
State of Texas, Houston, TX, 1999-2001
Family law attorney for Texas Attorney General’s Office 

EDUCATION
MBA   Human Resource Management Concentration
            University of Houston Clear Lake, Houston, TX,  2009
JD       Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law, Dallas, TX, 1998
BS      Communications, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 1995

ADR TRAINING AND CERTIFICATIONS
  • Labor Arbitrator Training II, American Arbitration Association, 2012
  • Labor Arbitrator Training I, American Arbitration Association, 2010
  • Annual Labor Arbitrator Training, National Academy of Arbitrators, Southwest Conference, 2007-2011
  • Becoming a Labor Arbitrator - Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, 2009
  • Child Protective Services Mediation -  Harris County Dispute Resolution Center, 2009
  • Labor Arbitrator Training - National Academy of Arbitrators, Southwest Conference, 2009
  • Family Mediation - Harris County DRC, 2007
  • Transformative Mediation -  Institute for Study of Conflict Transformation, 2007
  • Basic Mediation - Harris County Dispute Resolution Center, 2002

MEMBERSHIPS
State Bar of Texas - ADR, Labor & Employment, Family Law Sections, since 1999
U.S. DIstrict Court, Southern District of Texas, 2004
Texas Mediator Credentialing Association, Credentialed Distinguished Mediator,  2008
Association for Conflict Resolution,  2005
  • Past-President, Houston Chapter, 2012
  • President, Houston Chapter, 2011
  • President-Elect, Houston Chapter, 2009 - 2010
  • Director, Houston Chapter, 2007-2009
  • Workplace Conflict, Ombuds, ODR Section

Labor & Employment Relations Association, 2006
  • President, Houston Chapter, 2012
  • Second Vice President, Houston, Chapter, 2010-2011

Texas Association of Mediators, since 2009
American Bar Association - Advisory Panel, ADR Section, 2002
Houston Bar Association - ADR, Labor & Employment, Family Law Sections, since 2008

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS
  • A Texas Roundup: Organizational Ombuds’ Place in ADR in the Lone Star State, Panelist with Sean Banks, Shell Ombudsman and John Kenyon, Mediator to discuss the similarities and disparities in arbitration, mediation, and ombuds processes for resolving workplace disputes, International Ombudsman Assn. Annual Conference, Houston, TX, 2012
  • Workplace Dispute Resolution Processes and Applications, Panelist with Sean Banks, Shell Ombudsman, and John Kelly, Arbitrator-Mediator, for Chinese Human Resource Business Leaders’ Delegation to Houston, 2012
  • Exploring Mediation Styles and Applications, South Texas College of Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution Advocates (STCL student organization), 2011
  • ADR Processes for Resolving Workplace Conflicts, ACR Houston and EEOC Houston at Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Houston, TX, 2011
  • Interactional Justice: Moving Away from the "Judge Judy Executioner" Approach toLabor Arbitration, National Academy of Arbitrators, Southwest Region and Labor & Employment Relations Association Conference, Houston, Texas, 2010
  • ADR History and Processes, Mediator Skills, Mediator Ethics, High Conflict Divorce, Arbitration Overview, Arbitrator Ethics, Manousso Mediation and ADR Services, 2009-Present
  • ADR Training Course, Univ. of Houston – Clear Lake, 2006
  • ADR Systems for Resolving Employment Disputes, Univ. of Houston - Clear Lake, 2005
  • Various Topics, Private and Public Sector Labor Relations, Employment Law, Employment ADR, Teaching Assistant to Prof. Mark R. Sherman, PhD,Univ. of Houston - Clear Lake 2005- Present