By Hon. Angela C. Robinson
Every trial attorney has been there. Your case is proceeding as expected. You’ve lined everything up for a satisfactory resolution and then – bam – your client becomes difficult, unreasonable and resistant to your counsel. Often, this is because of outside parties, but sometimes it is simply because of some temporary, illogical reason. You need to maintain your cordial professional relationship, but you are at an impasse. In such cases, a mediator can be your best friend.
Even the most seasoned attorneys will encounter an immovable client. Once you have exhausted your efforts – or ideally – before you have done so, consider mediation. It will provide you and your client with a neutral venue, before an impartial person to bridge the divide and unite your front.
Or perhaps it is not the difficult client that you are encountering, but an irascible adversary.
As trained facilitators and negotiators, mediators can play an important role in intra-dispute and inter-dispute conflicts. Unlike judges, who are actually stakeholders in the litigation process, a mediator is able to adopt a less self-interested perspective. After all, mediators are not worried about docket or case management, and the size of the trial list does not affect our day-to-day livelihood.
Rather than see client control or adversarial challenges as levers to pull to force or coerce a settlement, mediators provide the means to productively resolve these challenges in a way that can help you maintain professional relationships and reputations.
My preferred method of conducting mediation is a style commonly referred to as “facilitative,” which allows the parties (with their counsel) to come up with the resolution. I have found myself frequently called upon in matters that involve interpersonal or relational challenges (the things that cannot always be adequately expressed in Mediation filings).
As a Black woman mediator and a retired judge – I am often brought challenging issues revolving around identity or perceived equity-imbalances. The expertise I gained managing these potentially explosive and emotionally sensitive topics is able to apply to other inter- and intra-dispute challenges.
Mediators are not only “neutrals” who engage in the process without bias or favor, we are also active allies – a friend in the process who can smooth turbulence among participants in order to resolve disputes. Mediators can often be a lawyer’s best friend.
If you are interested in reserving time with me for pre-suit or post-suit mediations, you may use the link below to book time on my calendar. Or, if you are simply interested in learning more about pre-suit mediation, you may reach me at robinsona@halloransage.com.
Booking link for Mediations with Judge Robinson: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/MediationswithJudgeRobinson@QuinnipiacUniversity.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/