Dispute Settlement Counsel

Posts Tagged ‘Conflict partnering process’

Mediation is frequently used to resolve disputes of all kinds – business, employment, negligence, medical error, probate, divorces – and the trend toward mediation is growing. Even litigators will tell you that they often end up calling in a mediator before going to trial to get the case resolved. It’s often a better alternative than going to trial, incurring additional costs for the client and risking an uncertain result that is out of the control of the parties and lawyers. Statistically, 98% of the cases filed with the courts settle, and many of those utilize mediation to settle it.

The critical distinction here is when the mediation occurs. The problem with utilizing mediation is not the process of mediation, but rather that the parties wait too long before they turn to the mediator. Read the rest of this entry »

What do Abraham Lincoln, Mark McCormack and Jesus have in common?

They were all respected counselors in their time and pointed out the advantages resolving disputes quickly and efficiently.

Today, I happened to check back with a book I hadn’t read for years: The Terrible Truth About Lawyers, by Mark H. McCormack, a lawyer who is better known as the founder, CEO and Chairman of the International Management Group.  Written in 1987, it was given to me by a relative while I was in law school in 1988.  I read it eagerly then, and hadn’t gone back to it since.

In the interim, my legal career began prosecuting child abuse cases in Westchester County, NY, then litigating all kinds of cases in New York and Massachusetts for the better part of the next two decades. In the process, I crossed paths with processes like Collaborative Law, mediation and ombuds services, getting trained and gathering experience in each and developing an part of my practice in Preventive Law.  As I got on in counseling and representing clients, I’ve come to know that they are best served when we help them prevent disputes from ever arising.  When conflicts do arise, we provide value when we help them work through and resolve disputes effectively using methods best suited to their situations and interests and that are cost, time and resource efficient.  Read the rest of this entry »

(last in this series of seven)

Last week, in discussing the value of confidentiality in dispute resolution, we noted that companies, organizations and individuals in disputes are not often motivated or focused on things like respect, civility, empathy, equity, fairness or just being gracious in our dealing with the other party to the dispute. In fact, some lawyers and some clients view the consideration of these notions as a sign of weakness and urge clients to just stick to the facts and the law.

The truth is, these elements go a long way toward creating a better environment for negotiation, establishing some trust, and ultimately reaching a more complete and lasting resolution.  Further, they are often at the core of those interests that are important to parties involved in sexual harassment, discrimination, medical error or family business disputes, along with the need for their views to be heard and considered, and the need to change a flawed workplace culture.   Read the rest of this entry »