A Decade of Orlando Mediator

Today marks 10 years since I began writing this blog to help keep the legal community abreast of the latest goings-on in mediation, arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution. In the interim, this blog has been recognized as an official ABA "Blawg" by the American Bar Association, voted as a finalist for The Expert Institute Best Legal Blog in the Legal News category and a current Top 10 Dispute Resolution Blog and Website to Follow on Feedspot.com. My first entry had to do with arbitration as a process being under attack and that remains true today. Some things that have changed are the remote nature of these processes, especially since the pandemic began. These changes have advanced the use of state of the art technology like Zoom, now comfortably utilized by professionals, parties and their counsel alike. My alternative dispute resolution practice has continually evolved since becoming certified in 2001 in Circuit-Civil mediation by the Florida Supreme Court and serving as a full-time neutral since 2010. In the last decade, I have handled resolutions of multi-party complex cases in state and federal trial courts. I also facilitated post-trial settlements with cases pending in the Fifth District Court of Appeal, where I was a member of the pilot program for appellate mediation that endured with the creation of an Appellate mediation certification, for which I was grandfathered. Since litigation costs have gone up, courts are extremely backlogged due to Covid and the economy remains tentative, early settlements continue to be favored in most matters. Pre-suit mediation is popular and can be effective if the parties have just enough information to evaluate their positions in the potential litigation. All in all mediation has never been more popular in Florida and other docket-culling measures like mandatory non-binding arbitration are on the rise. Thanks for your readership and paying attention to my musings about all things in modern-day peacemaking. Be well and stay healthy!

ADR Arbitration Advocacy Institute 11/13!

Please join me this month at the ADR Section of The Florida Bar's inaugural Arbitration Advocacy Institute. This innovative program is a one-day, online workshop for attorney-arbitrators that will provide coaching on mechanics, technology and professionalism to help Florida attorneys boost their arbitration advocacy skills. Attendees will increase their knowledge of the arbitration process from beginning to end-- distinct from mediation and litigation-- and participate in virtual clinics for diverse arbitration practice areas. A prestigious faculty of over 30 presenters will demonstrate effective and ethical techniques that will enable participants to reach the highest levels of advocacy in arbitration. Login on Friday, November 13, 2020 from 8:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. with an optional virtual networking hour on November 12 at 5:30 p.m. This course has been approved for 8.5 General CLE credits in Florida 1.0 of which may be applied toward Professionalism, and 1.0 Technology credit. Participants earn 1.5 additional General CLE credits for participation in a Virtual Clinic. Section members $185, non-section members $230 and law students just $60 (includes ADR Section membership). See more information and registration details here-- https://flabaradr.com/arbitration-advocacy-institute and https://bit.ly/3kRtgaz