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5 strategies that will help you reach a good outcome in mediation
Lawyers can create good outcomes for their clients in mediation when they employ strategies that underscore the importance of leverage, contact with participants on other side, and clear communication. Information is the real currency of negotiation. Everything matters and even the most benign thing may signal what the other side is thinking and valuing. For […]
Mediators can help bridge gaps in communication
In some instances, managing a client’s expectations may be more difficult than negotiating with the other side. Litigation is stressful and clients respond to stress differently. Most have not been cross-examined before. Feelings of loss and frustration are common – especially in serious injury and death cases. To help clients cope, lawyers should listen and […]
Online mediation: The wheels of justice keep turning
Many lawyers have expressed concerns to me about mediating online, worrying that it’s not as effective as mediating face to face. Although I was inclined to agree, I was willing to learn more about the technology. I spent time studying different platforms, practicing on them and talking to others who use them. But I maintained […]
Responsive strategies that help parties save face in mediation
The techniques discussed here rely on the participants’ trust in the mediator, which must be established fairly quickly in mediation. If the parties and counsel do not trust the mediator, they will not follow her suggestions regarding process, concessions, bargaining, communication, etc. Generate options and resources Mediators ought to help the parties focus on the […]
‘Saving face’ in employment mediation
Employment law disputes can be tough to settle. These disputes center not only on employment practices, but also on deeply held personal views of worth, honor and status. Parties draw lines in the sand over their take on the law and swear that they will not move, creating the need to “save face” when they […]
Early mediation: How to maximize efficiency
The success and efficiency of mediation depends, to large degree, on timing. If it occurs too soon, critical facts may not be found and counsel may not be able to determine the scope of the claim or the risk of exposure. In addition, defense counsel will miss the opportunity to bill some number of hours […]
Jeff Trueman: Mediators in the culture of litigation
More than 10 years have passed since Randall Kiser and his colleagues documented how often and at what cost attorneys obtain a result worse than what could have been achieved by accepting their opponents’ pre-trial settlement proposal. Generally speaking, Kiser found that plaintiffs’ attorneys obtained a worse result at trial than they could have received […]
Jeff Trueman: What happened to the problem-solving lawyer?
Why do so many litigators grasp defeat from the hands of victory at the mediation table? In other words, why do some lawyers revert to trial arguments or bicker with each other during settlement discussions, even when the parties are making progress toward resolution? During a recent mediation, in joint session where the parties […]
