The Easy Ones

The easy ones are when the attorneys are prepared, they have a good idea of the value of their case, they are comfortable with their clients active participation in the process, and they work to get the case resolved. In these situations, the mediator's job is to help the parties find common ground. This requires the mediator to be a good listener, to ask questions in the private sessions to get the party and her attorney to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their side of the case, to get them to be realistic, and to see the value of resolving the claim rather than continuing with the time and expense of litigation.

Even these mediations are a process. In some ways, they are like a baseball game. One cannot simply skip to the ninth inning for the final plays of the game. Instead, each inning has to be played to get you to the final inning.

In a mediation, the interim steps have to be built as the attorneys seek to guide the final outcome to their desired goal. In this manner, they can feel comfortable that they got as much as they good if they are the plaintiff or paid as little as they could if they are the defendant. And, that's the goal only when money is the sole criterion. Often, other factors figure into the settlement equation. More on that in a future post.

By: Ken Wooten, Mediator, Ken Wooten Dispute Resolutions (252) 229-2235; ken@kenwootenmediation.com