Kimberly Stamatelos, Attorney and Mediator Katie Ranes, Attorney

Education:

Drake University Law School, Des Moines, Iowa Doctor of Jurisprudence, 1981
Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, 1978

Bar Admissions:

Iowa, 1982 Texas, 1983

Professional Associations and Memberships:

Polk County Bar Association
Member, Family Law Committee
Iowa State Bar Association
Member, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
Member, Family and Juvenile Law Committee
Iowa Organization of Women Attomeys
Women in Public Policy
Women In Mediation
Founding Member
Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution
Past President, Chicago Chapter

Honors and Awards:

Award for Outstanding Contribution to ADR in Arizona, Arizona Dispute
Resolution Association
Americans with Disabilities Act Mediation Panel, Department of Justice/Keybridge Foundation

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Drake University Law School
Adjunct Professor of Mediation and Negotiation
Coach, Negotiations Team
Arizona State University Law School, Mediation Clinic
Former Adjunct Professor of Mediation
University of Phoenix
Former Adjunct Professor of Business Law and Business Ethics
Judicial Workshops in Iowa, California, Illinois and
Arizona (Mediation Training - Sponsored by State Justice Institute)

Public Service:

Polk County Bar Association
Volunteer Lawyers Project, Volunteer Attorney and Mediator
Des Moines Public Schools Success Program
Mentor to At-Risk Student
Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, Scottsdale, Arizona
Former Vice President, Parish Counsel
Drake University Law School
Former Member, Board of Governors
Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, Des Moines, Iowa
Member, Endowment Board

Published Works:

"A Total Quality Approach to Alternative Dispute Resolution,"
41 Drake Law Review 711 (1992)

More about Kimberly Stamatelos
Kimberly Stamatelos was born and raised in West Des Moines, and attended Valley High School. Her grandparents owned Johnny's Vets Club, a familiar restaurant near 63rd and Railroad in West Des Moines that was lost in the flood of 1993. Kim grew up working in the restaurant in various capacities and eventually graduated from Drake University with a degree in Sociology and then from Drake Law School with a Juris Doctorate. She was admitted to the Iowa Bar in 1982. During law school she worked for her father, Dan Stamatelos, a lifelong West Des Moines attorney.

Deciding to spread her wings and become the first of her immediate family to leave Des Moines, she moved to Dallas, Texas shortly after graduating from law school. She was admitted to the Texas Bar and became General Counsel for Rodeway Inns International, Inc. the hotel chain, focusing on franchise and business legal issues. Later she became corporate counsel for Chili's (Restaurants) Inc. during their growth years and negotiated many of the contracts for their restaurants and handled legal issues related to the construction and management of the restaurants.

After the birth of her first child Kim moved back to Iowa in 1987 where she entered the law practice of Stamatelos & Kenyon with her father and Greg Kenyon. Kim had a general practice of law but began to practice in mediation and alternative dispute resolution finding that she enjoyed helping parties negotiate settlements and coming up with settlements that they felt they controlled and could live with. A mediator assists parties and their lawyers in looking at all their legal options, dealing with solutions outside the traditional remedies available in court and working to help parties understand each others' positions. In about 90% of the cases mediated, parties find an acceptable solution and can avoid the cost and stress of going to court.

Enthused by the concept of mediation, in 1987 Kim founded a private mediation firm in West Des Moines, U.S. Arbitration & Mediation of Iowa. Eventually she expanded the company to cover five states in the Midwest providing mediation services to insurance carriers and lawyers. She was a pioneer in spreading the word about this process and back in the mid to late 80's making presentations around the state to businesses and lawyers on topics related to conflict resolution.

Kim has taught mediation, negotiation and related topics at Drake University Law School and also Arizona State Law School. She was the Director of the Drake Law School Legal Clinic Dispute Resolution Resource Center. Through a grant from the State Justice Institute in Alexandria, Virginia, she went around the state of Iowa educating courts and judges in effective settlement techniques and mediation. She conducted two statewide trainings for Iowa Judges in settlement techniques and also led similar judicial workshops in Arizona and California.

Kim lived in Scottsdale, Arizona for ten years and while there she commuted to Irvine, California as Vice President of Training and Business Development for JAMS/Endispute, the nation's largest private mediation firm with offices in 30 states. Kim is in the solo general practice of law, but most enjoys legal matters that deal with family issues that benefit from compassionate lawyering and negotiation or mediation. These including divorce, problems with children, and issues pertaining to elderly parents. Her first love is of course mediation, and she finds her skills as a problem solver serve her well as an attorney and as a mediator. She mediates cases in all types of areas including family, civil, business, and employment and she is one of the only attorneys in the Midwest to be a member of the Department of Justice Americans With Disabilities Act.

   ©2008 Kimberly Stamatelos, all rights reserved