Focus of Practice
Labor and Employment Law with a special emphasis on discrimination and wrongful discharge. I have represented both managers and individual employees as well as worked with unions.
Legal Experience
MEDIATION AND ADR Accord & Collaboration Dispute Resolution Services 2007 to present Owner and founder of firm providing labor and empoyment mediation, training and ADR systems design for workplace disputes. ADR Options, Inc. 1997-2007 Vice-President , mediator, consultant, trainer, Seattle University School of Law 2008 to present Distinguished Practitioner in Residence, Mediation Clinic and Skills class LITIGATION Federal Aviation Administration 1990-2007 Attorney, Employment Law & Environmental Litigation Specialist. Handled dozens of EEO and MSPB cases. As lead attorney, successfully defended the agency in a whistleblower case spanning 10 years involving thousands of documents and dozens of witnesses. Led the agency through the complicated mixed case rules, successfully defended the agency through years of litigation at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Took and defended dozens of depositions, submitted and answered hundreds of interrogatories and tried cases before administrative judges and in Federal District Court. Law Office of Denise Dee Knapp 1988-1990 Sole practitioner emphasizing plaintiff side employment law and criminal defense. Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons 1984-1988
Court Admissions
Washington State 1984; U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington 1988
Education
J.D. University of Washington School of Law, 1984 B.A. University of Colorado, 1976, Psychology, Phi Beta Kappa
Professional Associations
WSBA ADR Section, elected to Executive Committee 2018-2021 and 2021-2024 terms; KCBA ADR Section, Washington Mediation Association, Mediators Beyond Borders International, U.N. Working Group.
ADR Training
Northwest Dispute Resolution Conference annually since 1998; Online Dispute Resolution 2020; White Fragility and How Mediators Handle Racial Issues 2019; New Approaches to Prevent Evictions and Homelessness 2019; Winning Arguments and Persuasion Strategies 2018, Psychology and Mediation 2017; Multi-Party Restorative Facilitation 2017; Ethics in Civil Litigation 2016; Alhadeff & Associates Advanced Mediation Training 1999; US Postal Service Transformative Mediation Training 1998; Large Group Mediation Training Snohomish County Dispute Resolution Center 1995; Basic Mediation Training and Practicum 1988 Snohomish County Dispute Resolution Center
ADR Experience
I have been a private practice mediator since 1997 and have mediated hundreds, if not thousands of cases, many of them discrimination, EEO and workplace issues, others are homeowners association issues, conflicts between parents and school districts under IDEA and foreclosure issues under the Foreclosure Fairness Act. I have been on the U.S. Postal Service REDRESS mediator panel since 1998, have mediated cases for the E.E.O.C. since 2007, hold a contract with the State of Washington as a pre-approved mediator, and hold a contract with Sound Transit, the U.S. Postal Service and Sound Options to provide mediation services. Directed the Mediation Clinic at Seattle University School of Law from 2011-2017 resolving discrimination cases as assigned from the E.E.O.C.
ADR Practice Areas
Civil Rights, Employment, Land Use, Professional Negligence, Real Property