Litigation

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

An experienced commercial mediator told me about a recent mediation in which there was a great deal of animosity among the parties, so much so that they refused to be in the same room at any point in the mediation. During the course of the mediation, my colleague served several platters of homemade cookies. Not having enough arms to distribute the platters herself, she asked one of the participants to bring a platter of cookies to the conference room occupied by “the other side.” Much to the mediator’s surprise, not only were the cookies accepted gratefully, but the person delivering the cookies was invited into the room and dialogue ensued. Before long, the parties were fully engaged and this seemingly irresolvable conflict proceeded to an amicable resolution. Could it be that cookies resolved the controversy?

In fact, there is a good neuroscientific explanation for what may have happened. The ingestion of food produces a hormone called oxytocin, which has been shown to increase trust and empathy while reducing fear. And eating together is a well recognized trust- builder. So, the mediator’s cookies may well have contributed to the sudden onset of civility among the parties. The moral of this story: the next time you are embroiled in a controversy, break out the Tastykakes.

For more information, contact Stephen P. Lagoy

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

Investment losses? Here’s an article that explains how you may be able to use arbitration to recover.

http://www.usnews.com/money/blogs/Fund-Observer/2009/09/23/could-arbitration-help-you-recover-investment-losses.html

For more information on how arbitration, mediation and alternate dispute resolution can help you and your business, contact our office.

by: Stephen P. Lagoy

Here is an article from the Dallas Morning News on arbitrators that you may find interesting.  For more information on how alternative dispute resolution, mediation or arbitration could help you, please contact our office.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

Stephen P. Lagoy

It has been estimated that, if all costs are included, Fortune 500 Companies’ total litigation costs average about one-third of their after-tax profits!  This fact has led large corporations to increasingly utilize creative non-traditional approaches to dispute resolution.  One advantage of private dispute resolution is that the parties can customize the process by which the dispute will be resolved rather than having the process imposed by the Federal or State Rules of Civil Procedure.  This can result in substantial savings.  For example, some corporations submit claims to mediation early in the process – in some cases, before suit is filed — before full-blown (translation: expensive) discovery has taken place.  Parties agree to narrow the scope of discovery to a limited amount of information seen as critical to the resolution of the dispute.   For disputes settled at this stage, the discovery cost savings can be substantial.

For more information on how ADR can help you, please contact our office.

By: Stephen P.  Lagoy

You may find interesting retired Justice O’Connor’s view on arbitration in this excerpt from the August 10, 2009 on line edition of the Wall Street Journal:

WSJ: Has your circuit service affected your views of mediation, arbitration and other alternatives to litigation?

Justice O’Connor: Well, I have been a strong advocate for alternative dispute resolution ever since I was a state court judge. I found a need for alternative dispute resolution and I found it more satisfactory in many cases for the litigants than going to court. For instance, the mediation of a case means that each side gets to meet separately with the mediator and tell him just what they think without objections and interruptions from counsel. They get to tell their story as they want to tell it. And that is so therapeutic for them. The mediator had to get to the nub of it and eliminate the stuff they shouldn’t consider. But in terms of the litigants themselves, we know that very often it is more satisfactory to them to have gone through that process than through an ordinary trial court process. And depending on the circumstances it might be much less expensive. But it depends on the state and the system and the whole ball of wax. It could be just as expensive and just as frustrating. But I think in general terms it’s provided a welcome alternative to litigation.

Read the full article here.

For more information on how arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution could help you, please contact our office.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

If you are interested in how the arbitration process works, read this article from a recent edition of Forbes Magazine.

For more information on types of alternate dispute resolution, please contact our office.

Stephen P. Lagoy

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

As reported in the National Catholic Reporter Online Edition, several sex abuse cases in the Chicago Archdiocese were recently settled through the use of a Comprehensive Mediation Process. To view the article in the National Catholic Reporter about their successful use of arbitration and mediation, click here.

For more information on how alternative dispute resolution could benefit you, contact our office.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

One approach to alternative dispute resolution is called “baseball arbitration.” It is patterned after major league baseball’s salary arbitration rule. This is the rule that was saved by then U.S. District Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, when she issued an injunction ending a long player strike in 1995. Under the rule, certain players are eligible for salary arbitration if they and their team owners cannot agree on a contract. Here’s how it works. Each side submits an offer and the arbitrator chooses the one that he or she considers the most fair. There is no middle ground. The arbitrator cannot “split the loaf.” Therefore, baseball arbitration encourages both parties to submit reasonable offers and may be an excellent approach to resolving your dispute. If you would like to learn more about baseball arbitration or any other aspect of alternative dispute resolution, please contact Steve Lagoy.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

If you are considering arbitration, here’s an article that may be of interest to you.
Please contact Stephen Lagoy to discuss whether arbitration might be beneficial to resolve disputes for you or your company.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

Mediation may be defined most simply as facilitated negotiation.  Unlike litigation and arbitration, mediation does NOT involve a decision maker nor are there formal proofs or arguments.  Its goals include avoiding or breaking impasses, diffusing controversy, and encouraging parties to generate settlement options.  These goals are foreign to the adversarial environment in which many lawyers live their professional lives.  The mediator, who is usually selected by the parties, functions as a catalyst, rather than adjudicator.  The mediator focuses on the parties’ interests rather than the conflict and the positions they have taken.  Often, the mediator’s most critical function is to assist the parties in determining their real values and interests.

Mediation has many advantages over litigation.  Mediation can reduce the time and expense of dispute resolution.  It can also reduce the emotional toll of litigation because the parties have more control over the process.  In contrast to that uncomfortable feeling that comes from placing your fate in the hands of total strangers (typically a judge or jury), the parties in mediation are in control.  They typically choose the mediator, when and where the mediation will take place, and how long the mediation will last.  The parties also have control over the outcome.  There is no settlement unless all parties agree, thereby reducing outcome uncertainty.  Mediation also helps to improve communications between and among the parties.  The process may also mitigate tensions, build understanding and trust, and avoid the bitterness often associated with adjudication.  Mediation provides an opportunity to deal with the underlying interests in a dispute.

Skilled mediators employ numerous strategies to encourage the disputing parties to look behind the issues and their positions.  The mediator addresses the expectations of the parties, both reasonable and unreasonable, and can help to control unreasonable expectations in ways the party’s attorney often cannot.  Once the underlying interests of the parties have been determined, there are usually more settlement options to consider.  As a result, mediation can achieve more creative outcomes than other dispute resolution processes.  For more information, please contact the office.