The courts are at a standstill.They have been this way for some time and COVID-19 has exacerbated the issue. You have decided to mediate the case to bring some resolution for your clients. As the case progresses, your client has become more vested in the view that they are right, and they feel confident they will win at trial. As an experienced attorney, you know that few cases are so black and white. In the best of circumstances, the result is somewhere in the middle, or worst case scenario, you and your client will leave the courtroom with nothing.
Assuming all parties have decided to mediate the case, you feel assured that your client has the opportunity to eliminate the worst case scenario and will get a result that will be somewhere between the bitter ends of the dispute. If all sides of the dispute leave the mediation not truly ecstatic about the result, you have probably reached the right determination.
Mediation is not about winning or losing. It's about compromise. Your goal is to help your clients understand that concept and follow some essential guidelines. If you don't, you are probably doomed to a failed mediation and unhappy clients.
Unlike the courtroom where you can control the process, your clients will probably be invited to make a statement in the joint and closed sessions. Don’t leave what they say to chance. Prepare for the mediation just as you would for a deposition or trial. They should come across as spontaneous and believable but should not stray into what they believe rather than what is.
Clients have an expectation, most likely from watching TV shows, of how their attorneys should act. They perceive you as their warrior, but as you know, that forceful demeanor will probably only insure one thing, a failed mediation and wasting money. Don’t let the tail wag the dog. Make sure your clients understand before you go to the mediation that the battle attitude is for the courtroom, and while it might make them feel good, it will doom the proceeding. A good mediator will reinforce that concept in his preliminary statement.
Comentarios