Still at 100%!

Today I settled one more dispute – in this case, my estimate that the matter could be settled in less than a full day (based on the information that I had reviewed ahead of time in the intake forms) turned out to be accurate – we started at 9:30 am and we were done around 2:30 pm – and we might have been done earlier if it had not been for some technical difficulty with my computer.

This time the equation was the opposite of the mediation that I had reported on prior to this one.  The woman had an attorney and the man was pro se (did not have an attorney).  And it was the man who did not want to be in the same room with the woman during the mediation unlike in the previous one where it was the other way around.  My conclusion – this was not a gender based reaction but more to do with the fact that the party who did not have an attorney preferred not to confront the other party.

It is my sense, having an initial joint session (and additional joint sessions, as needed) may speed up the process but if things go off track and get heated during a joint session, it might be harder to bring sanity back to the process.  So if the parties don’t want to be in the same room (or even see each other), that is fine with me!

Again, like previously, the pro se party (who happened to be the petitioner in court on this matter) was well prepared with all details regarding the case – which also simplified matters for me.  In my opinion, if everyone can agree on the facts, then we are already halfway to a solution.  And as I tell my daughters, “You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are NOT entitled to your own facts!”.

Of course, the process was not without some hiccups with some disputes arising on who would be responsible for some tax liability to who would get a particular painting – but all those hurdles could be overcome because both parties were keen to reach a settlement – and as I have said before, that is all I need to be confident that a solution can be found to any dispute (“my mantra”!).

In the end, we reached a resolution with which everyone was happy and more importantly to me, the attorney and the parties conveyed their satisfaction (see feedback) – thus, some more people who would not be going at each other in court (and ruining their relationship and expending their funds and energies) because of my efforts.

And I managed to maintain my 100% track record in facilitating settlements – I know that record will end one day (when I encounter parties who have no intention of settling) but till then I will enjoy it!