As the mediation process has evolved, one of the most significant changes is the trend in many jurisdictions, and among many lawyers and mediators, to dispense with the initial joint session. Perhaps because most of today’s litigators did not have experience with the pre-mediation settlement process, some of the fundamental factors and dynamics that make the joint session important in the settlement process are not evident.
A novel Indiana study finds judges, lawyers and mediators broadly agree that mediation is likelier than trial proceedings to provide fair and satisfactory results for couples in family law cases. Researchers also suggest that mediators may be able to further improve outcomes by tailoring their styles to fit litigants’ circumstances.
The phenomenon known as the “vanishing trial” has been a topic of serious discussion, and in some quarters, serious concern, since statistics showing a marked decline in the number of criminal and civil trials were first reported in 2004.
Preparation is the key to success. As lawyers and advocates for our clients, this is not a foreign concept to any of us. However, when it comes to mediation, attorneys sometimes forget this key advice.
Coming to the negotiating table can be stressful, not only for the parties but also for the lawyers involved. Here are some tips based on my experiences for what both sides can do to have a successful mediation.
The rustling of papers and the sight of attorneys sifting through documents to find information has led Vanessa Lopez Aguilera to conclude attorneys increasingly are arriving unprepared for mediation.
A deputy attorney general argued the state may discriminate in providing certain court services as Indiana appealed a ruling that a deaf man was discriminated against when Marion Superior Court denied him an interpreter for a mandatory mediation.
The tendency for decision-makers to respond first with an intuitive (and often wrong) response has significant implications for both mediators and advocates.
The preamble to the mediation rule could have easily provided, as do the rules of golf, that the mediation rules are guided by the historical principles of the legal profession and the importance that mediation be conducted with integrity and in accordance with these principles.
For those of us in the dispute resolution business, “desired effects” — justice — must remain an important component of the outcome if the system is to be perceived as fair and useful.
Whether experience will show one “model” prevailing or whether we have an environment where mediation is an amalgam of each type driven by the circumstances of the case, one thing is beyond dispute: Mediation is here to stay.
A deaf Indianapolis man who was denied a sign language interpreter at his court-ordered mediation of a child-custody dispute will receive $10,380 in damages, a federal judge ruled.
A federal court ruling that a Marion County court discriminated against a deaf man who was denied an interpreter for his court-ordered mediation is being appealed by the state, which argues he lacked standing to bring the suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act and state courts should be immune from such judgments.
A deaf Indianapolis man was discriminated against when a court denied providing him an interpreter during a mediation session ordered in his child custody case. A federal judge ruled Friday that Marion Superior Court’s decision to deny the interpreter in a court-funded mediation program violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The recent Indiana Court of Appeals decision Jonas v. State Farm Life Ins. Co., ____N.E. 3d ______, 2016 WL 1248589 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016) highlights several issues concerning mediation and settlement in both state and federal courts.
The Indiana Supreme Court is seeking comments on proposed rule changes that include appellate e-filing and CLE exemptions for judges and attorneys in the military.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana is seeking comment on its proposed expansion of a mortgage loss mitigation mediation program currently used in the New Albany division.
A recent Indiana Court of Appeals opinion reaffirmed prior Indiana cases holding that settlement agreements, whether reached with or without mediation, are governed by the general principle of contract law and generally not required to be in writing.
Saying “it’s time,” Indianapolis attorney Samuel “Chic” Born is retiring from the practice of law at year’s end.
It is the concept of the peacemaker that so clearly expresses the role of the mediator.