Mediation & Arbitration

Clients often assume that a courtroom represents the only forum for adjudication and resolution of a claim. The judicial forum, however, is not always the best and most expedient forum to bring a dispute to a final result. There are alternatives in the form of compulsory or voluntary arbitration and in the form of a mediation. These forms of alternative dispute resolution usually are referred to as ADR.

The firm’s litigators frequently engage in ADR in two contexts. First, the litigators frequently represent clients in the context of an actual arbitration or mediation.  The litigator makes the presentation and arguments in favor of the client much like the litigator would do in a courtroom.

Second, the firm’s litigators often are appointed by a court or by the parties to serve as the mediator or arbitrator.  Such appointments represent great credit to the firm’s litigators because the appointments signify the respect for the firm’s litigators held by the members of the bar and the judiciary.

The firm’s litigators are in the unique position to be able to educate clients on the advantages and disadvantages of the mediation and arbitration processes.  The litigators are able to make reasonable recommendations to clients for when a mediation or arbitration might be a more favorable option than the courtroom.

Representative Matters:

• The firm’s litigators have represented hundreds of clients at mediations in a variety of disputes including, without limitation, personal injury cases, intra-enterprise disputes and business to business disputes.  Personal injury claimants have left mediations with mediated settlements ranging from five figures to $5,000,000 in the case of a disabled motorcyclist.
• The firm’s litigators have represented personal injury clients in arbitrations with a neutral experienced arbitrator serving in place of a jury.  One claimant obtained an Award from an arbitrator following a hearing on a motor vehicle accident that exceeded the highest settlement offer by more than $100,000.
• The firm represented an accounting firm in an arbitration against an accountant who had sold her practice to the firm’s client.  The accountant then cheated on her non-competition covenant.  The firm obtained an Award in excess of $600,000 for revenues that were lost due to the wrongful conduct by the seller.
• The firm’s litigators have served as mediators and facilitated settlements in a wide scope of disputes.  Settlements have been realized in personal injury claims, shareholder disputes, disputes between partners and disputes between employers and employees.  These settlements were made possible by the experience and analysis rendered by the firm’s litigator serving as mediator.
• The firm’s litigators have served as arbitrators and rendered binding decisions on a host of matters.  The most common matters have been disputes between professionals over the division of fees, and personal injury disputes.  Again, the firm’s litigator would not be the arbitrator but for the confidence of the parties that the litigator would be impartial, fair and empathetic.