HARRISBURG (May 8, 2014) — The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee will present its Sir Francis Bacon Alternative Dispute Resolution Award to Sally Griffith Cimini, a partner at the law firm of Leech Tishman, Pittsburgh. The award will be presented on May 15 during the association’s Annual Meeting at the Hershey Lodge, Hershey.
The Sir Francis Bacon Award recognizes an individual who has made a significant impact in bringing mediation and other forms of dispute resolution to Pennsylvania. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was a Renaissance writer who served British monarchs in a legal capacity as knight, attorney general and solicitor. He authored the essay, “Of Negotiating,” which featured the frequently-quoted line, "It is generally better to deal by speech than by letter, and by the mediation of a third than by a man’s self."
Cimini is active in the field of employment discrimination litigation and alternative dispute resolution. She regularly serves as a mediator, arbitrator and early neutral evaluator for the alternative dispute resolution program of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. She is a contract mediator for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a panel mediator on the UPMC Intermediation Panel. She is a mediator and arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and provides services as a private mediator.
Cimini is a member of the International Institute of Conflict Prevention and Resolution Panel of Distinguished Neutrals.
She is the president of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania and is a member of the Allegheny County Personnel Board, Association of Conflict Resolution, Pennsylvania Council of Mediators, Pittsburgh Human Resources Association, Society of Human Resource Management and Tri-State Society for Human Resources Management.
Active in the organized bar, Cimini is the past chair of the PBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section and the Commission on Women in the Profession. She also is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and Women in the Law Division Model Policy Committee.
She is a member of the Legal Committee of the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force.
Cimini has published numerous articles about employment law and has served on the faculty for professional education programs of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, including its Employment Law Institute.
Prior to joining Leech Tishman, Cimini served in a variety of capacities for the law firms of Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir PC, Polito & Smock PC, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC and Baskin, Flaherty, Elliott & Mannino PC. She also was in-house employment and labor counsel for Duquesne Light Company.
She earned degrees from Duquesne University and the Duquesne University School of Law. She also holds a certificate in personnel and industrial relations from the University of Pittsburgh.
Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 27,000 lawyers who are members of the association.