About

Ms. Amato mediates in the areas of civil rights, employment, professional negligence, real estate, business, and estate/probate.  She is skilled and nimble at working in highly emotional and intense matters.  She brings tenacity and focus, and discerning interpersonal skills to every mediation.  She excels with challenging personalities.

Ms. Amato approaches each mediation with an emphasis on transparency, thoughtful evaluation, and curiosity to explore, appreciate and evaluate the parties’ nuanced and inherent concerns and objectives.  She understands that a path forward involves difficult decisions and compromises, and values the parties’ intelligence and experience.

Ms. Amato has been named Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” for Mediation in Portland, OR two years, and has been nominated to Best Lawyers in America since 2015.  She has been selected as a Super Lawyer in Mediation.  She is a Fellow in the International Academy of Mediators and a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.  Ms. Amato is a lecturer on mediation and negotiation skills and is an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law.

Prior to Ms. Amato’s career as a full time mediator, she maintained a civil trial practice since 1992 and tried cases to verdict in state and federal courts in Oregon and Washington.  She earned a B.S. from the University of Portland and a J.D. from Willamette University College of Law.