Although mediation resolves most disputes, some mediations end in impasse. Such disappointments can usually be avoided, and positive resolutions achieved, when advocates are armed with knowledge of common mediation pitfalls...more
Is there dialogue from a film more apropos to our current wants and desires than the following? Doc Brown: Marty, you gotta come back with me! Marty McFly: Where? Doc Brown: Back to the future! Back to the Future –...more
The experience gained from a crisis can often prove meaningful – and even transformative – as adaptive changes, which otherwise may have evolved at a lesser pace, are accelerated.
In response to the coronavirus, there has,...more
The benefits of a successful early mediation are obvious: Disputes can be resolved in a private, expeditious and economical fashion. Flexibility is another valued benefit mediation affords counsel—in selecting a neutral,...more
Mediation is serious business.
But, nonetheless, a process which has room for – and, indeed, a need for – humor at the right moments. Mediation is often the culmination of years of hard-fought and costly litigation where...more
Parties should take advantage of the opportunity to speak with their Mediator in advance of an upcoming Mediation session. Although admittedly not routine, nothing precludes counsel from initiating such communications....more
One of the challenges a Mediator faces is multi-defendant litigation where the defendants are consumed with the issues among and between each other and are drawn more to in-fighting than in addressing the claims of the...more
The approach of Mediation is often marked with the advent of emotion for clients, even if they are hard-shelled professionals. The dispute in question may be long-running, contentious, expensive and even personal, and now it...more
Many practitioners have an ingrained fear of bringing their experts to Mediation. They are concerned that the expert will be subject to challenge and exposed, in effect, to cross-examination. The alternative, however, is...more
During the course of negotiations, it is very common for one or more of the parties to ask a Mediator, “So, what do you think the case is worth?” This Mediator has a consistent response to that often-heard inquiry, “The case...more
Generally speaking, human nature is such that none of us will readily acknowledge our weaknesses, particularly in a public setting. This trait is especially pronounced and amplified in attorneys advancing the cause of a...more
Some practitioners look to bypass opening statements in a Mediation session – operating under the belief that they have heard it all before and, therefore, the parties are better served by getting “right down to business.”...more
While the majority of disputes resolve at Mediation, there nonetheless remain those that impasse. At times, the lack of success stems from individual issues unique to the matter at hand. Often, however, the failure to achieve...more