Stephanie Blondell

Biography

Professor Blondell is an Associate Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. Professor Blondell also directs the Straus Mediation Clinic. Professor Blondell teaches Mediation Theory and Practice, Psychology of Conflict, and Ethical Lawyering. Professor Blondell also is a lead faculty for the Women's Negotiation Academy and teaches Mediating the Litigated Case in Washington, D.C., domestically, and internationally.

Prior to joining the Pepperdine community, Professor Blondell served as the Manager of the King County Alternative Dispute Resolution Program and Interlocal Conflict Resolution Group, a labor-management and public policy mediation program serving a tri-county region in Seattle. Professor Blondell also served as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for the City of Seattle where she designed and implemented an employment mediation program for the City government in a joint labor-management context. Professor Blondell was also the Court and Program Manager for the Dispute Resolution Center of King County, managing the mediation activities of twelve divisions of the district court. In these capacities, Professor Blondell trained and supervised the mediation practicum of over a hundred law students, attorneys, and non-attorneys. It is here she developed a passion for teaching the practical skills needed at the mediation table and instilling rigorous and ethical professionalism to new lawyers in a classroom and clinical setting.

Professor Blondell has also served as an adjunct faculty at Seattle University School of Law and as an affiliate associate professor at the University of Washington, Evans School Masters in Public Administration, teaching Strategic Negotiations.  Prior to entering the field of mediation, Professor Blondell practiced criminal defense and was a research attorney for the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Washington. She is the 2021 recipient of the Southern California Mediation Association President's Award. 

Education

• J.D., University of Washington, 1996
• B.A., Brown University, 1992, with honors