Mediation Week 2021

October 17-23 is officially Mediation Week in Florida and elsewhere, marking the importance of dispute resolution as an effective substitute to litigation and the fact that mediation has continued virtually during the pandemic, allowing parties to resolve disputes without resorting to litigation in a system of very backed-up court dockets. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has been used by Florida courts for more than 30 years. I have been mediating lawsuits for over 20 years now and this past year and a half was the most seismic shift in our profession and the legal profession in general. Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) will now continue as an option following the pandemic through confidential sessions conducted remotely with widely available commerical off-the-shelf technology. More than 5,500 mediators are currently certified by the Florida Dispute Resolution Center. These professionals meet specific standards set by the Florida Supreme Court in the areas of county, family, circuit, dependency, and appellate mediation. In most cases, discerning counsel and their client parties select the mediator. However, a mediator may be appointed by the court when litigants are unable to select their own. Mediation week brings annual focus on ADR work and highlights how individuals, administrative agencies, and businesses can use mediation to develop efficient and customized solutions to conflicts. See more here-- https://bit.ly/3AU5XUt

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!

Join me for 8/31 CLE Mediation Webinar!

Please join me later this month for our UWWM webinar series, presented in conjunction with the University of Florida Levin College of Law's Institute for Dispute Resolution, entitled "Why it is Almost Always Better to Mediate." I'll be joined by my colleague and moderator, Michelle Jernigan, as we explore the advantages of avoiding litigation through the use of mediation in this hour-long Webinar set for noon August 31, 2016. We'll endeavor to explain how non-judicial solutions can be achieved faster, at lower cost. Of course, confidentiality is a key component of the process, and one which can be misconstrued as uniquely part of lawyer-to-lawyer communications on settlement, which are merely excluded from evidence. We will also consider how a third party in a negotiation gains the advantage of insight into positions and information that might otherwise not be available to the lawyers talking alone. As mediators, we are also able to test assumptions about the value of a case and be frank in a way that may not be possible for another lawyer. The content of this Webinar is designed for Florida trial attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants. Our Florida mediation firm, Upchurch Watson White & Max, is happy to provide legal professional colleagues with free continuing legal education opportunities on a variety of ADR issues. Our accredited Mediation Webinars are presented live monthly and you may view them later via links on our website, if unable to attend via GoToWebinar at the time of broadcast. As always, attending our complimentary Mediation Webinar will entitle you to 1.0 hour continuing legal education (CLE) credit already approved through The Florida Bar. Mediators tuning in might also claim continuing mediation education (CME) credit for certified mediators by printing the registration for your records and reporting accordingly with the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) upon renewal. Register here-- https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5191450080155769092 and read more information here-- http://www.uww-adr.com/Why-It-s-Almost-Always-Better-to-Mediate-7-1.html