A special episode of the Class Re-Action podcast to close out the year

/

Episode 8 of the Class Re-Action Podcast is now live, and it is a special one.  For the final show of the year we have assembled a mediator trifecta that would be hard for anyone to top.  We are proud to bring you the Hon. Peter D. Lichtman (Ret.) of JAMS, Mark Rudy of Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe, LLP, and Jeffrey Krivis of First Mediation Corporation.  Mediate that!

We are honored to have such a distinguished panel as the bookend to our inaugural year.  Schedules permitting, the Class Re-Action podcast will be back in January 2014.

Mediation advice from a mediator's perspective

/
Adrianos Facchetti is an Internet Defamation Attorney in Los Angeles and authors the California Defamation Law Blog. Today he interviews mediator Victoria Pynchon regarding her mediation philosophy and the ways in which attorney strategy and tactics affect the outcome of a mediation. Victoria is a mediator with ADR Services, Inc. in Century City, California, and an arbitrator on the AAA’s Expedited Commercial Panel. Victoria blogs on negotiation at http://negotiationlawblog.com and on IP ADR at http://ipadrblog.com . Before commencing her mediation practice, Victoria litigated and tried commercial disputes for 25 years. What is you philosophy on mediation? I’m a “roll your sleeves up and work it anyway that works” mediator. I am, by turns, facilitative (assisting the parties negotiate); evaluative (kicking the tires of each side’s case; looking under the hood; and, trying to reach a fair value for the thing); and “transformative” (assisting the parties in coming to terms with the emotional aspects present in every litigation). I don’t give speeches about how expensive and protracted litigation is. Nor do I talk in generalities about the uncertainties of trial. The lawyers and the parties already know these facts all too well. I generally commence mediations in joint session for the sole purpose of introducing myself briefly to the parties and explaining confidentiality, as well as providing a forecast of what the day will likely look like. Then we break into separate caucus where I begin by asking counsel (and sometimes the parties) diagnostic questions.
Read More