Category: Alternative Dispute Resolution

Strategic legal leverage for your most critical assets.

Using arbitration to keep your private life out of the news

Using arbitration to keep your private life out of the news

The fine print nightmare in high-asset litigation I recently spent 14 hours deconstructing a contract that was designed to be unreadable, only to find the one clause that changed everything for a client whose entire reputation hung by a thread. This client, a prominent figure in the local business community, was facing a divorce that…
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Why court-ordered mediation is different than private sessions

Why court-ordered mediation is different than private sessions

The forced march toward a compromise you hate Court ordered mediation is a mandatory legal procedure where a judge requires parties to meet with a mediator before proceeding to trial. Unlike private sessions, the court system dictates the timeline, location, and often the mediator selection, forcing a settlement discussion regardless of litigant readiness for litigation…
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Why mediation is faster than waiting for a trial date

Why mediation is faster than waiting for a trial date

Your case is failing. You do not know it yet, but the moment you filed that complaint without a strategy for an early exit, you stepped into a meat grinder. I see it every morning. I sit across from clients who believe their day in court will bring some grand moral reckoning. It will not.…
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Why your mediator isn't your therapist and why it matters for your settlement

Why your mediator isn’t your therapist and why it matters for your settlement

The high cost of confusing mediation with therapy I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. They thought the opposing counsel was a sympathetic listener who cared about their personal history. That room smelled like strong black coffee and…
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The danger of letting your lawyer do all the talking in mediation

The danger of letting your lawyer do all the talking in mediation

The air in the conference room was thick with the scent of burnt coffee and the metallic tang of old radiator heat. I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence, and I have seen that same failure destroy mediation…
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How to use mediation to avoid a public courtroom battle completely

How to use mediation to avoid a public courtroom battle completely

Your case is likely a disaster waiting to happen. I say this because I have sat across from hundreds of plaintiffs and defendants who believed their ‘truth’ would carry the day, only to watch them get dismantled by a clerk with a stamp and a judge who has three hundred other files on her desk.…
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The secret to a successful mediation when communication has failed

The secret to a successful mediation when communication has failed

Sit down and drink your coffee. You think because your spouse refuses to speak to you that your case is dead. You are wrong. Communication is not the goal. Results are the goal. I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule…
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Why arbitration is faster than traditional family court

Why arbitration is faster than traditional family court

I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. They felt the need to fill the void. They started explaining their motives when they should have stopped at a simple yes or no answer. This same desperate need to be…
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Why mediation fails when there is a power imbalance

Why mediation fails when there is a power imbalance

The myth of the level playing field Mediation fails because power imbalances in family law and litigation create an environment where neutrality acts as a weapon for the stronger party. When one side controls the financial assets or possesses superior legal counsel, the voluntary settlement process becomes a forced capitulation rather than a fair consultation…
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The truth about mediation: When it's better to just go to trial

The truth about mediation: When it’s better to just go to trial

The brutal reality of the compromise machine I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. We were sitting in a sterile conference room that smelled of burnt coffee and industrial carpet cleaner. The defense attorney, a man who had…
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