Happy Thanksgiving: A Message to Lawyers Young and Not So Young
Recently I spoke to the Young Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar and the presentation was "Ten Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me 30 Years Ago." This article flows from that presentation. Balancing work, family, personal interests, fitness, and other...
Special Problems in Settling Professional Liability Claims
In the context of mediation and settlement, professional liability claims present some challenges that warrant special consideration. Most professional liability policies contain settlement control clauses. Such clauses require the consent of the insured to settle,...
The Next Big Thing: Improving Civil Mediation Practice and the Case for Mediation Optimization Orders
Regardless of your civil litigation practice area, your clients face difficulty getting the case to trial. Administrative orders are abundant in efforts to address the COVID-related backlog. Mediation is an obvious exit ramp on the crowed interstate of civil...
Improving the Bottom Line Through Mediation Advocacy
This month’s article is an introduction to a larger seminar to be offered in the fall on the topic of promoting mediation advocacy to attract and retain clients, and to strengthen attorney-client relationships. How so, you ask? Consider this question: How does an...
Revisiting Mediation Provisions Within Federal Court Case Management Scheduling Orders
The extent to which federal courts are expected to follow state law has always been one of my intellectual interests. In federal court, the case management scheduling order will include directives related to mediation. There are differences between state courts and...
Giving to the Givers: A Word About Not-for-Profit Charitable Organizations
I want to discuss non-profits in the context of mediation, and also stress the need to donate now to charitable organizations. They were crushed by COVID-19. Not-for-profits frequently gather a significant portion of the operating budget from sponsored events and...
Henry’s Ten Dirty Words You Can’t Say During Mediation
As stated in my engagement letter for mediation, I encourage parties to share position statements or letters before mediation begins. These are not intended for me, but more so for the disputants. The premediation letters should be written for the eyes of the “other”...
Surveys Can Prove Anything, Even the Truth: A Review of Online Mediation
I conducted an informal survey of mediators who belong to the Executive Council of the ADR Section of the Florida Bar asking them two questions. What percentage of mediations are you conducting remotely, and as a percentage of effectiveness how would you rate online...
The Price of Poker Just Went Down: How Smart Defendants Leverage Good Settlements in Catastrophic Cases.
This is the second part of a two-piece article. Last month, we focused on ways claimants can maximize recovery in catastrophic damage cases. This month, we focus on defense strategies for leveraging a good settlement at mediation. Whether you are defending a business,...
Maximizing Value: A Mediator’s Message to Claimant’s Counsel
This is the first of a two-part article on litigating and settling large exposure cases. As a litigator, I defended several products, premises, and aviation accidents resulting in death or catastrophic personal injury. Later I litigated trademark, construction, and...
The Uniqueness of Litigators and the Light Born of Mediation
I was thinking about my mediation clients, meaning the lawyers, and how the litigator’s role differs from other professions. Litigators are in conflict every day, every moment, for their entire careers. Can you identify another job that at its core involves conflict?...
The Mediator’s Wish List
Now that the holiday season is in full swing, you are probably seeking holiday gift-giving lists. Most mediator wish lists are similar. Here is what most mediators would like to receive in case you are still shopping for the holidays. Mediators would like to receive...
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