As a trial attorney for over 30 years, I have been in hundreds of mediations as an advocate. I have had the good fortune to work with excellent mediators and, frankly, with excellent adversaries.  I have always worked hard to fully understand my clients’ emotional, financial, and professional investment in their cases.  I also do my best to understand the same investment my adversary has in the case.  

I have an excellent command of federal, state and local laws that govern the workplace.  I have seen that in most cases the parties have to live with stubborn facts that do not fit the law like a glove. Some facts are great, some not so much.  Sometimes the law is foursquare on your side, sometimes it almost supports your argument but not quite and, sometimes, not at all.   It is your lawyer’s job to put the law and the facts in the best light for you.  However, that is not my role – I am a neutral, not an advocate, so my job is quite different.

When both parties agree to mediate in good faith, my job is to guide you to resolution even when each party appears to have taken diametrically opposed positions on the issues at hand. I follow a relatively straight forward process that has, to date, been successful.  

First, I invite the parties to share as much or as little with me as they believe is helpful to allow me to understand the facts of the case from their view.  If, for example, the issue is termination from employment, then I will want to know all about the employment circumstances of the Employee and I will want to know as much as I can about what the Employer does for a living and how the shop is run.  When I know both perspectives, I can identify the “hot button” issues to help find common ground to lead to resolution.

In order to get to resolution, the parties will need to accept that compromise is part of the process.  In my view, compromise is not weakness. It is a is a mark of leadership and strength.  When both sides are willing to realistically assess and reassess their positions, the likelihood of success is that much greater.

Please be assured that no matter the nature of the dispute or the passion of the participants, as a mediator, I have no dog in the fight.   If I am critical of a party’s position, that party can rest assured I have been no less critical of the adversary’s position in some respect.  As I mentioned, I will review any information you have to share with me and will be honest and transparent in my assessment of what you share.  I am never unkind, but I am not reticent to share my observations.  Of course, since mediation is entirely voluntary, you are free to take those observations with how ever many grains of salt you wish!

This leads me to my final point:  The mediation belongs to the parties, not to me.  I will listen to what you say and share only that which each party authorizes me to share with the other.   I will keep my word to you, no matter the circumstance and will work hard and devote the time and energy needed to help you get the job done.  With that, I invite you to consider allowing me to help you resolve your conflicts.