Tag: arbritration

I have often been asked what the qualifications of a good mediator are. My answer is self serving but true. I have worked hard to make sure that I am the best qualified to mediate a case. Remember it is not bragging if true. So as to not bore you with all of the qualifications of a good mediator and how I fulfill those qualifications, I will space them out over time.

Good Mediators are attorneys. I have been a full time practicing California attorney since 2001. I am authorized to appear before the California Supreme Court, Northern District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Therefore I am able to approach a problem looking at the legal issues besides working the parties and their attorneys to resolve those issues.

Good Mediators realize that mediation is much more complex than litigation. In litigation you can just follow the law and ignore personalities and their problems. Many times, there is only one dispute initially presented in mediation, but once mediation there are many legal and non-legal issues that need to be resolved before a global solution can be reached.

Good Mediators have acquired excellent mediation skills. I have hundreds of hours of direct mediation training. I have taught 40-hour and 25-hour mediation classes. Members of the classes have included bench officers (Judges). I have mentored other mediators. I have made many California MCLE presentations on mediation. MCLE is continuing education for attorneys. I have conducted over a thousand mediations with a very high success rate. These have included appellant mediations as well. These are cases where one party has already ‘won’ and they were sent out to mediation by the Court of Appeal.

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

© 2020 Ken Strongman. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or repost without permission.

What is the format of a mediation?

What is the format of a mediation? The process is entirely flexible and will depend on the mediator and the parties’ preferences. In general terms, it is preferable that position papers are exchanged in advance. Depending on what stage in the dispute the mediation takes place, it may be appropriate for the parties to agree to exchange relevant documents in advance. If possible, the parties and their legal representatives should meet the mediator themselves prior to the scheduled date of the mediation in order to assist the mediator identify the disputed key issues in advance.

On the day of the mediation usually there is a joint session at the beginning when the mediator brings the parties together in order to emphasize the ground rules and if agreed, to have opening presentations by each party. Often this can provide an opportunity for either party to articulate their own perspective of a dispute in their own terms and equally importantly, to hear the other party articulate their perspective. This presentation can be made by the party themselves and/or by their legal representative.

Thereafter, a mediator will usually meet privately with the parties in order to explore issues and possible areas of agreement and engage in a form of shuttle diplomacy. The mediator may propose further joint sessions or meetings between principals either with or without legal representatives. Ultimately, the objective is that the form of a resolution will come from the parties themselves to be formalized in a settlement agreement.

If it is not possible to resolve the issue at mediation, the mediator will typically offer their services to the parties for a period thereafter to facilitate any further discussions. This can be particularly useful if the parties have reached agreement on all but a few outstanding issues.

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

© 2020 Ken Strongman. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or repost without permission.

A Judge may recommend that the parties consider mediation or, more commonly, one party may simply propose, through their legal representatives to the other party and their legal representative, that the dispute be mediated. A proposal to mediate should not be seen as a weakness but merely as a willingness to explore the possibility of a resolution outside the procedural confines of litigation.

Many contracts contain mediation clauses.  The purpose of the mediation clause is to require a good faith attempt at resolving any contractual disputes before litigation is initiated.  If there is no mediation clause, the parties can still attempt to resolve their contractual dispute before commencing litigation.

If no contract exists or it is as dispute arising out of a tort such as a personal injury, there is no reason not to suggest mediation.

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

© 2020 Ken Strongman. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or repost without permission.

How to Propose Mediation – Options

A Judge may recommend that the parties consider mediation or, more commonly, one party may simply propose, through their legal representatives to the other party and their legal representative, that the dispute be mediated. A proposal to mediate should not be seen as a weakness but merely as a willingness to explore the possibility of a resolution outside the procedural confines of litigation.

Many contracts contain mediation clauses.  The purpose of the mediation clause is to require a good faith attempt at resolving any contractual disputes before litigation is initiated.  If there is no mediation clause, the parties can still attempt to resolve their contractual dispute before commencing litigation.

If no contract exists or it is as dispute arising out of a tort such as a personal injury, there is no reason not to suggest mediation.

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

© 2020 Ken Strongman. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or repost without permission.

To Mediate or Not?

The key issue is whether a party is ready to seriously attempt a negotiated settlement. If a party is insisting on pre-conditions to a mediation or sees the mediation as an opportunity to “send a message” rather than an opportunity to resolve, then there may be little prospect that a successful resolution can be reached. However, once the parties are engaged in the process, even an apparently unwilling or reluctant participant may see the benefit of reaching a resolution.

There are very few types of disputes that cannot be mediated. An often cited example is judicial review where the issue is whether a public body or authority exceeded its powers. However, that does not mean that all judicial reviews are incapable of being resolved through mediation.

If one party or the Court proposes mediation, the other party is entitled to refuse to mediate or at least to state that they are not ready to mediate yet. Once mediation is proposed, there is no obligation to agree. However, a party who refuses to mediate should not take this decision lightly as this may have cost implications.

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

© 2020 Ken Strongman. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or repost without permission.

FAQ: When is mediation appropriate?

Mediation can take place at any stage from before legal proceedings are issued up until trial and even after trial. Obviously, the earlier mediation takes place, the better chance of saving costs, avoiding publicity and possibly preserving future relations between the parties. However, at a later stage in proceedings mediation may have a better chance of success as the issues in dispute are more clearly defined, the parties are clearer on their strengths and weaknesses and the parties are more focused on the possible benefits and risks in terms of outcomes and costs.

I have successfully mediated disputes before legal proceeding were initiated.  Often times these are business disputes or intellectual property/high technology disputes.  The parties were quite aware that if they took their disputes to court, it would be years before there was a resolution.  By that time, new technology innovations would make their dispute seem old and tired though legally valid.

I have also successfully mediated disputes after trial.  In these cases, one party does have a judgment from a court, but both parties want to completely end the litigation and stop any appeals that might negate the judgment.  

Naturally, mediation is appropriate and anytime.  Often a party has to file the lawsuit to preserve their legal rights and to put on notice to the other parties that there really is a dispute. 

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

© 2020 Ken Strongman. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or repost without permission.

Role of the Mediator

The role of the mediator is not set in stone. Typically the mediator acts as a neutral third party and facilitates rather than directs the process. At all times, the parties and not the mediator control the outcome of the process.

Establish a Process

A good mediator is somebody who is able to establish a process, keep that process moving and build on any momentum that may develop during the course of the mediation. A good mediator will quickly identify and understand the key issues and may challenge the parties to consider their respective strengths and their weaknesses as well as the future implications if the parties fail to reach a negotiated settlement.

In the mediations I conduct, I work hard to keep the parties working towards solutions.  I firmly believe that we are not done until we have a solution or solutions to all disputes between the parties.  The key skill I use is to keep listening to the parties concerns, hopes and desires for a good outcome.

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

© 2020 Ken Strongman. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or repost without permission.

FAQ: What are the potential benefits of mediation?

It is:

• A voluntary and confidential process where participants determine the outcome for themselves rather than it being determined by a Judge, jury or an Arbitrator.
• Offers a wider range of possible outcomes than can ever be determined by a Court.
  Provides an opportunity for the parties to fully participate in the process and therefore, to feel very much part of a successful outcome.
• Avoids the potential risk of the significant costs in litigation.
• The mediator can act as an impartial facilitator to a resolution.
• Ideally suited to multi-party litigation or otherwise complex disputes.
• Mediation is also appropriate as a method of resolving interpersonal disputes such as those that arise in the workplace, in clubs, in an educational context, etc.
• Even an unsuccessful mediation can educate the parties on the strengths and weaknesses of their case and the risks involved which may facilitate resolution in due course.
• Can allow disputes to be resolved in circumstances where a necessary on-going relationship between the parties can be maintained.
• It provides a timely resolution where as going to trial can take several years.

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

© 2020 Ken Strongman. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or repost without permission.

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), which can be used as a way of resolving a dispute between two or more parties with the assistance of a mediator who acts as a neutral third party and facilitates the process with a view to the parties voluntarily negotiating a settlement of their dispute.  In all of the mediations in which I served as a mediator, I have never dictated the solution to the dispute to the parties.  I have offered suggestions and ideas that they may not have considered. 

Mediation usually has a structure, timetable and process established and agreed by the parties with the mediator which can help it to be a more effective dispute resolution process than a traditional settlement meeting. The process is private, confidential, without prejudice and non-binding, although the objective is to reach a resolution of the dispute by agreeing to binding settlement agreement.

It cannot be stressed enough that mediation is a completely voluntary process where the parties with the assistance and guidance of the mediator reach a solution to a dispute that is satisfactory to all parties.  The parties are in complete control of the solution. 

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

© 2020 Ken Strongman. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or repost without permission.

Do I have to have a lawyer at my mediation?

No, it is not necessary to have a lawyer representing you at mediation. If you have a lawyer already representing your interests in the dispute you would need to discuss this with him or her.  If you feel you need legal advice or that you are unqualified or uncomfortable dealing with the issues on your own, then you should consult a lawyer and perhaps hire someone on an hourly basis solely for the purpose of representing you at the mediation.

If, on the other hand, you are involved in a dispute that you feel comfortable resolving without a lawyer, keeping in mind that your mediator will not give you legal advice or advocate on your behalf, by all means, make an attempt to resolve it on your own first.

Do remember that the other party has a right to hire an attorney and to bring them to the mediation to help represent them.  If that scenario occurs, there will be no one to advocate your interests. You will not have a right to delay the mediation to hire your own attorney.

Mediation is a voluntary process that centers on discussions and decision-making, rather than judgment. It is focused on resolving disputes based on the factual circumstances, the needs of the parties and practicality, and not solely on the legal rights of the parties (sometimes, despite those rights). Often, the mere presence of an attorney creates an antagonistic and adversarial atmosphere that impedes resolution rather than assisting it.

It has been my experience that when the parties have attorneys and those attorneys are actively helping to resolve the issues, the mediation is more successful.  This does not mean that representing yourself in mediation is a no-win situation.  I have conducted many mediations where one or more parties were self represented.

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

© 2020 Ken Strongman. All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or repost without permission.