By Mediator Lee Wallace © 2018 Schedule Mediation with Lee Wallace Back in the 90’s, our firm got a $104 million dollar verdict — counting punitive damages — for the family of a 17-year-old who burned alive in a fuel-fed truck fire. Shortly after the verdict hit the papers, we were preparing another client for […]
How to Mediate When You Hate the Other Side – Part 2: Take These Six Steps
By Mediator Lee Wallace © 2018 Schedule mediation with Lee Wallace You can probably picture that lawyer right now. The one who wrote that brief filled with lies about your client (or you), insulted you in front of your client, sent offensive letters, refused to return your phone calls, and promised discovery responses that never […]
How to Mediate When You Hate the Other Side – Part 1: Radically Change Your Mindset — for One Day
By Mediator Lee Wallace © 2018 Schedule mediation with Lee Wallace If you cannot think of a single time you have been shocked and infuriated by the conduct of the opposing lawyer — well, you are probably still in your first year of practice. Litigation, by its nature, is contentious, and older lawyers will tell […]
Blindsided at Mediation? Here’s What to Do – Part 2: When It Happens to You
Schedule mediation with Lee Wallace © 2018 By the time mediation rolls around, the parties are typically fairly far into the case. So it is rare when a true surprise gets uncorked at mediation. But what do you do when it happens to you? I had the situation come up in a recent mediation. The […]
Blindsided at Mediation? Here’s What to Do – Part 1: The Blindsider
By Mediator Lee Wallace © 2018 Schedule mediation with Lee Wallace At a recent mediation, the two parties were really far apart on their numbers. After I caucused with both sides, I realized that the defendant knew critical information that the plaintiff did not know. It was no wonder they were so far apart on […]
Should You Make an Opening Statement at Mediation?
By Mediator Lee Wallace © 2018 Schedule mediation with Lee Wallace When I speak at CLE events, the most frequent question is: Should I make an opening statement at mediation? The answer is almost always an emphatic yes. This blog is the first of a two-part series on how to decide, and covers some of […]