CBA Record March-April 2025

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

Private Mediator By Katie Konlon

I took my first 20-hour mediation skills training while attend ing law school in 2006 because I was drawn to understand ing different ways of resolving conflicts outside of the legal system. After passing the bar, I became an employment lawyer, litigating cases involving unemployment benefits, unpaid wages, and discrimination. I will always remember the mixed emotions I felt one night as I handed over a $10,000 check to a client in a dark parking lot in New Jersey. She had been sexually harassed at length by her direct supervisor, who eventually fired her for refusing his advances. It was a lot of money for her, even though I knew the calculation of suffering was based, in part, on her worth in the market as an undocumented factory worker. If she had suffered the same wrongs as a vice president of marketing, a pediatrician, or a soft ware engineer, her payout would have been significantly more. Despite my success in “winning” cases, I felt that the system for calculating monetary damages was unfair. Moreover, I knew that monetary compensation alone could not fully address the wrongs my clients suffered. I recognized that people also needed acknowledgement, understanding, emotional validation, and accountability—things for which the legal system is not set up to provide. In 2010, I moved to Chicago for a grant-funded position at a nonprofit. When the grant ended later that year, I found myself unemployed amid a recession and in a city where I had not yet built a network. I started to explore other career paths outside of private practice. These circumstances led me to take the Center for Conflict Resolution’s (CCR) 40-hour mediation training in 2011. I became a certified mediator in 2012 after completing the three-month Mediation Mentorship Program. At the time, I dreamed of starting a mediation business but lacked the know how and resources to make it happen. In the following years, I explored various career paths, includ ing teaching, research, and additional legal roles. Eventually, I found an opportunity with Cook County’s Information Security Office, which marked my entry into the world of cybersecurity. From there, I transitioned to customer success and operations roles at SaaS cybersecurity startups. Throughout this journey, I continued volunteering as a mediator and mediation coach, taking additional training, and attending CCR’s continuing edu cation events. By 2023, I was working for Cisco Security when I learned the entire customer enablement team, including my position, would be eliminated. Fortunately, at the time, I was participating in a three-month Cisco-sponsored leadership development program, which Cisco allowed me to complete despite being laid off. The program focused on identifying our skills and dreams, which reignited my desire to pursue a career in conflict resolution. I did

not realize how quickly that dream would take shape. If the leadership training was the spark, the challenging job market I encountered as a newly unemployed mid-career pro fessional was the fuel. After pouring my time and energy into pursuing jobs with high expectations and low pay, I felt demoral ized. I began to think: What if I invested this effort into building something of my own? I realized I already had the experience and savings to create an opportunity, and I turned my focus to build ing a business. Inspired by my background as an employment attorney and my experiences in a variety of challenging workplace environ ments, I founded Mutual Ground Mediation, LLC, in 2024. Starting my own business, especially as a solopreneur, has been exhilarating but also incredibly difficult. I have had to learn and manage my own web development, product development, mar keting, sales, continuing education, and networking. The boundaries between work and life can blur as I pursue this path deeply aligned with my personal passion and goals. Manag ing time and energy is critical. Equally vital is finding a support system that reminds you to celebrate small wins, as it is easy to lose sight of your accomplishments amidst the daily hustle. Opportunities like mentoring and writing this piece help me reflect on my journey and appreciate my progress. CCR has also been a great resource and continues to be a place where I can learn from and with others through challenges and collaboration. If you are considering becoming a mediator or making a career change, please reach out. My career path has been anything but linear, but it has given me a deep understanding of navigating change, which is something I bring to my business as well.

Katie Konlon, founder of Mutual Ground Mediation, LLC, is a certified mediator and mediation coach who provides workplace conflict resolution services for businesses and employees.

30 March/April 2025