Mediation Settlement Agreements – Nail Down Your Essential Terms
As promised in my last article, this piece will focus on the essentiality of essential terms to a mediated settlement agreement. This proposition would seem to need no discussion, yet two recent appellate decisions highlight otherwise.
As with any contract, a settlement agreement must be based on…
Cancellation Fees – the Mediator perspective
My original plan for this article was to write about some exciting caselaw about essential terms in a mediation settlement agreement. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that topic will have to wait. Instead, I want to publicly respond to a letter that I received from a Miami attorney, as I believe …
Mediation Agreements – Haste brings Absurdity
If you could pick one thing that is most important in a Mediation settlement, what would it be: the sense of accomplishment, praise from your client, a warm handshake with opposing counsel, getting everything you demanded, or an enforceable, accurate settlement agreement?
In two of my prior artic…
Dissecting the Standard Mediation Order
True or False – mattress tags are not to be removed? I ask the question to prove the point that many of us think we know the content of writings when, in reality, we don’t. When was the last time you actually read every word in the Mediation Orders you receive from the Court? If you are like most…
Mediation – Eliminate the Impact of Remorse
“The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinion.” James Russell Lowell.
We encounter it almost daily – in ourselves, our families, and our clients. Second-guessing is the impulse of everyone with a pulse.
In the business environment, it is termed “seller’s remorse” or “buyer’s remorse”…
Voluntary Mediations – Confidentiality Now Comes Standard
Last year, I wrote an article alerting you to some key distinctions with voluntary Mediation. The article highlighted that the sanctions, enforcement, and confidentiality provisions of Florida Statute Chapter 44 apply only to court-ordered Mediations. Recent caselaw confirmed that parties could i…
Mediator’s Tip – State your Case, As Ordered
You are probably like me. You hold few things more inviolate than Court Orders. The caselaw regarding sanctions for ignoring them floor you. How could attorneys thumb their noses at the judiciary and thereafter have the gall to appeal the consequences for doing so. It’s the stuff that gives lawye…
Mediation Expenses – Are they Taxable?
As Spring approaches, the minds of most Americans turn to one of life’s two inevitabilities. April 15th is a deadline that lives in infamy. And while the IRS is kinder and gentler, income taxation is not.
Thankfully, cost taxation is improved. Recent developments have expanded the list of taxable…
Mediation Agreements – Don’t Let Your Growling Stomach Distract
Most Mediations are scheduled around meal times; end before lunch, start after lunch, finish in time to make dinner with the family. Our culture is consumed with food. The Super Bowl intermissions highlighted just how important the business of food is to the American economy. Will a $2.3 million,…
Mediation/Negotiation Tactic – Hardball
Baseball has earned the moniker of America’s pastime. It is a game of risk-taking, especially for the batter. When the baseball is pitched, the batter must instantly evaluate whether it will be a strike or a ball. The pitcher’s deception makes that split-second decision much more difficult. A str…
