Final Offer Arbitration Challenge

 In the September 2016 issue of the Harvard Business Review an article entitled “How to Make the Other Side Play Fair” has an interesting take on negotiation and mediation. They discuss a process to make both sides to a dispute play fair and be reasonable in negotiations. This process is the Fair Offer Arbitration […]

Settlement Agreements

 Increasingly, when parties to a lawsuit agree to confidentiality in a settlement agreement, the lawyers are also asked to agree to confidentiality. Parties may not want to see their settlement plastered on an opposing lawyer’s website or even on a lawyer’s facebook page. However, having a lawyer independently obligated to a settlement term creates […]

The Benefits of Mediation in the Employment Law Context

Mediation, in the formal legal sense, has been with us now since the 1970s though it became universally accepted as a means to lawsuit resolution in the 1990s. We now find most legal disputes are ending in mediation rather than trial. In Employment Law disputes however, the conflicts between the parties generate a great deal […]

When is a Good Time to Mediate your Employment Law Case?

 The short answer is, of course, as soon as you can make it effective. Employment disputes are often more emotional for the parties because the employer believes that it has taken all necessary action to protect all of its employees and that it has been unjustly accused. The employee has often been emotionally injured […]

The Successful FLSA – Wage and Hour Mediation

The FLSA Mediation can be difficult because of the many issues involved, the strict liability nature of the law, technical aspects of exemptions, and various traps and pitfalls in the law.  The effective FLSA mediation requires a great deal of work on the part of the lawyers and the mediator. Preparation for the mediation […]

The Role of the Mediator

Let’s talk about the role of a mediator. First, let’s begin with what a mediator is not. A mediator is not a judge, jury or arbitrator. The mediator’s role instead is to help the parties to litigation resolve the case through a process that gets each side to: air disputes identify the strengths and weaknesses […]

What to Bring to the Mediation?

What do you bring to a mediation to get your case settled? The mediator’s role instead is to help the parties to litigation resolve the case through a process that gets each side to: air disputes identify the strengths and weaknesses of their case and making a good risk/benefit analysis understand that this is a […]

Tricks for the Litigator in Effective Negotiation in Mediation

These tricks, learned over years of litigation and mediation, can help you as a litigator and negotiator in mediation. Let your client tell their story.  It is important for the client to have some catharsis, to get matters of their chest and to be heard.  It is important for the other side too. Look for […]

Steps to a Successful Mediation

Many people think that mediation involves a friendly mediator who talks with the parties until they suddenly hit a kumbaya moment and shake hands and walk away friends. While that would be wonderful, it does not usually happen that way.  Mediation is a step-by-step process, that given time to work, gets results. What are […]