Key Mediation Goals

My goal in mediation, or when helping Companies as Settlement Counsel, is to work to increase the effectiveness of dispute resolution and negotiation for the participants.  I do so by approaching dispute resolution to:

• Make it a real alternative to litigation (not just a softening of litigation)
• Help clarify the choices that the parties face
• To keep the power of resolution with the parties, not the mediator
• Discourage the customary "settlement culture" that impedes effective resolution
• Improve communications and the exchange of necessary information
• Enhance the development of resolution options
• Help the parties better understand how to improve settlement decisions
• Assist the parties, as mediator, in identifying and avoiding likely decision-making errors
• Recognize the implications of difficult conversations in settlement negotiations
• Encourage thoughtful and thorough preparation