Join me at Lawyer/Mediator Forum at Florida Bar President’s Showcase!

In order to improve the mediation process, The Florida Bar’s Trial Lawyers and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections are engaging in a unique collaboration to co-host the first “Litigator-Mediator Forum” at the President's Showcase during our Annual Convention in Orlando on June 23, 2022 from 1-4 pm. This two-part CLE presentation will provide trial lawyers and mediators a direct platform to discuss how to make mediation more effective and efficient. The purpose of the Forum is not just to provide continuing legal education to trial lawyers and mediators on ethical rules and mediation advocacy skills, but to exchange ideas for improving the mediation process in all areas. Mediation has never been a more critical and timely topic in Florida due to the over one million case backlog created by the pandemic that continues challenging our courts and delaying access to justice for Florida litigants. As nearly all cases are now settled before trial, and most cases are settled at mediation, effective mediation advocacy and negotiating skills are essential to achieving justice. This topic is also timely because the Florida Supreme Court is presently considering several significant changes to the ethical rules governing mediation as well as case management restructuring and these rule changes will be discussed during the Forum. I am honored to have been selected as one of the Table Leaders who will facilitate discussion between trial lawyers and mediators regarding three topics designed to encourage recommendations by the audience on how trial lawyers and mediators can partner better together to improve mediation within the ethical rules governing dispute resolution. See more about this exciting program here-- https://tinyurl.com/w54a3je9

Celebrating 20 years as Mediator!

This month marks my 20th year as a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator, an Appellate mediator (since the 2001 pilot program with our 5th DCA) and a federal district court mediator. Back in the day, you had to be a Florida lawyer for five years before even becoming certified (much like a judge). I fondly recall my training with former judge David Strawn, a pioneer in the field of mediation. I am still in touch with my mediation training classmates, some of whom are also mediating full-time and even one who took the bench and now serves our business court division in Orange County. Through the years, this field of law has evolved and some rules have changed, but by and large the basics are the same, proving that a 3,000 year-old tradition of dispute resolution has a place as a means of diposing of cases in the modern court system. This year in particular has been a seismic shift in our technique due to the immediate need for a solution to continue mediating lawsuits during a pandemic. Zoom and other existing commercial online platforms became a lifesaver for most practicing lawyers and mediators. Courts seem destined to continue using technology for online hearings and my colleagues anticipate scheduling of virtual mediations well beyond the Covid-19 crisis. A massive backlog of cases has ensued requiring even more dispute resolution. Our profession as attorney-mediators has never been more strongly represented than by the Florida Bar ADR Section which is now over a decade old. At the time of section formation in 2010, I also founded the Orange County Bar Association ADR Committee to deal with local issues in dispute resolution. The discourse among the members of both organizations has never been higher with committed practitioners engaged in changing the role of neutrals for the better. While I look forward to continued advances in online dispute resolution-- which does enjoy a high success rate in producing settlements-- I also long for a return of good old-fashioned face-to-face negotiation! Schedule with me here-- https://www.uww-adr.com/biography/lawrence-h-kolin

Orlando Foreclosures

In 2010, Orlando continued to rank among the top 10 U.S. metro areas for foreclosures during the first half of the year — outpacing even Miami.

When the Supreme Court of Florida ordered mediation programs to be managed by agencies outside of the court system, the Orange County Bar Association became one of the neutral managers maintain a rotating list of Certified Circuit-Civil Mediators, each of whom has completed extensive additional foreclosure training.

When filing foreclosure actions on owner-occupied or Homestead property and the homeowner elects to participate in the mediation program, both sides are required to attend the mediation, including the lender's representative with full settlement authority (though this is often done on the telephone).

Thus far, I was pleasantly surprised to have been able to successfully explore work-out style resolutions in my assigned cases as Mediator.

What has been your experience to date as a neutral or counsel to a party in this process?

Arbitration in the crosshairs

I attended an arbitration seminar at my Inns of Court tonight that was put on in conjunction with the AAA. Arbitration is controversial in that no appellate rights really exist in the absence of fraud or mistake. Further, despite the reported cost savings over protracted civil litigation, administrative and panel neutral fees can be expensive.

Suffice it to say that arbitration is becoming unpopular at least in the consumer side of law, with unconscionable agreements and clauses being attacked and litigated.

As the recent oral argument in the case of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion has raised the question whether the federal act permitting arbitration forbids states from overriding contractual waivers of the right to bring class action lawsuits. AT&T’s practice of drafting contracts with the clause blocking class-action filings in favor of arbitration is not unique, with many such companies adopting that language.

Of course, large companies favor negotiations handled in a confidential setting. That is one of the benefits touted of arbitration, versus a public court file and trial.

The ultimate outcome in that U.S. Supreme Court matter will certainly have important nationwide ramifications for consumers and businesses alike.

Welcome to Orlando Mediator

This blog was created by Orlando Mediator Lawrence H. Kolin, Esquire to explore issues and trends in dispute resolution.

My alternative dispute resolution practice has continually evolved since becoming certified in 2001 in Circuit-Civil and County mediation by the Florida Supreme Court. I have handled complex cases in state and federal trial courts, as well as the Fifth District Court of Appeal, where I was a member of the pilot program for appellate mediation.

Since litigation costs have gone up and the economy is still sour, early settlements are on the rise. Pre-suit mediation is popular and can be effective if the parties have enough information to evaluate their positions in the potential litigation.

Another recent development has been the advent of electronic discovery and the struggle by courts and lawyers to get a handle on the necessity and expense of producing and exchanging data in proportion to the amount in controversy. Early mediation of these e-discovery issues can actually help narrow the scope and return the focus of the parties to the merits of the case.