MEDIATION SERVICES

Mediation is a voluntary, consensual process that uses a neutral third party to facilitate the negotiation of a dispute with the goal of the parties reaching a settlement. Mediation offers an effective, confidential alternative to litigation that is both time and cost efficient. Mediation allows people who are actually involved in the dispute to have control over how it gets resolved.

My approach to mediation is more facilitative than evaluative so that the parties have the best chance of coming to self-determined agreements based on shared information and an understanding of the parties' interests and needs. In serving as a neutral, I often draw upon my 30 years of litigation experience and my same amount of experience as a consumer of ADR services.

I prepare intensively in advance of each mediation. I conduct pre-mediation calls with all counsel and/or the parties to ensure that the case is ready for mediation and to arm myself with as much information as possible to give mediation the best chance of success.

In the unlikely event that mediation is not successful, the case is not over for me. If permitted, I will follow up with counsel and/or the parties, at no charge, to see if there is still a possibility for resolution. Some cases settle as a result of these extra efforts--by counsel, the parties and/or the mediator, or through the use of a second mediation session.