Mediation Process - What to Expect at Mediation

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Virtual Mediation--Alternative Dispute Resolution has moved (kicking and screaming) into the virtual world.  My firm has handled over a dozen virtual mediations and arbitrations in the past few weeks and here is what we have learned: -Virtual mediation can work.  During lockdown, with the courts out of commission, attorneys have time to mediate.  You can prep your clients, remotely of course, and write up pre-mediation statements to submit to the Mediator.  One obstacle to mediation is just scheduling the darn thing.  We spend valuable time trying to juggle the crazed schedules many attorneys and parties keep (or at least used to keep pre-pandemic.)  So that obstacle is now gone; we can actually get the mediation on the calendar. -The Process is the same, but different.  Zoom allows for private breakout rooms so we can separate out and have confidential conversations.  It’s not flawless and take...
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MED-ARB BASEBALL STYLE As a follow up to my last post on Med-Arb, I want to describe a new type of Med-Arb gaining popularity:  Med-Arb Baseball Style.  (Okay, I made up that name but it aptly describes this process.) In Major League Baseball (MLB) if the team and player cannot agree on a contract price, the case goes to a neutral arbitrator and each side presents the Arbitrator with a dollar amount they believe represents a fair, final price and their justification for the price.  (Seems strange to speak of a price for a person, even if he is an awesome baseball player!)  The Arbitrator chooses one of the numbers presented and has no discretion to choose or do anything else.  Both sides have an incentive to be reasonable and give their best number. Because this is St. Louis and we love our baseball, (and hockey too) this process has spilled over into contract disputes, particularly in the construction arena when dis...
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MEDIATING HOME DISPUTES

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Working from home presents some brand-new challenges:  your spouse is with you 24-7; your kids are home and attending school online; and you cannot leave the confines of your home.  So, this creates an opportunity to mediate some home-bound issues. 1.         What do we watch on TV?  Imagine a lovely evening with your family sharing the experience of watching a film; this is a fantasy of mine because we cannot agree on a movie.  I struggle with the violent films the men here like and they dislike the lighter rom-coms or Jane Austen-ish movies I watch.  The easy mediated solution is to separate and choose to watch your own film on your own device, but let’s seek a deeper different solution.  What about sharing control?  What if each person chooses one film and we all watch and stay open to the story without critical comment , at least while it is playing? ...
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