Mediation Tournament a Great Learning Experience

Two weeks ago I had to opportunity to compete in a mediation tournament. This tournament involved three rounds where each student rotated from round to round playing an attorney, a client, and a mediator. Being a participant and working with my fellow teammates has increased my understanding and skills as an attorney and a mediator.   In preparation for the tournament each of the competitors underwent a training session on effective mediation. Not only were we there to represent our schools in competition, but the session before the tournament provided us with an additional teaching element.

Round One: Attorney in a landlord-tenant action My client was involved in eviction proceedings against an intimidating ex-hockey player who refused to pay rent.  

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Foreclosure Mediation Take 2?

I am grateful to Paul Kirgis (in this post) for restarting the discussion on foreclosure mediation—it is useful to keep revisiting what is working and what is not.

The New York Times article he cites is interesting in a number of ways. First, as Paul notes, it confuses the process of mediation with the underlying applicable law. Mediation—voluntary as in our program or mandatory as in Nevada—occurs in the shadow of HAMP and other regulations and financial realities governing the ability of the parties to make loan modifications.

Second, the article highlights some of the issues with mandatory mediation where, it appears, there are a whole bunch of lenders showing up with little interest, or even ability, to modify the mortgages.  

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A View of ADR as Part of the Process Instead of an Alternative to the Process

In law school I had the impression that Alternative Dispute Resolution was a practice area separate from litigation. Seemingly, there was a Chinese wall between the trial advocacy classes and ADR classes. After all, my ADR classes never discussed the techniques for cross-examinations, and my trial advocacy classes never discussed mediation or arbitration strategies.

The ABA Young Lawyer Division’s latest newsletter perpetuates that myth in an article entitled “Top Ten Mistakes Litigators Make in Arbitration.” Certainly, the article gives good advice in telling us what to avoid — serving excessive document requests, using delay tactics, not cooperating, not being prepared, introducing redundant testimony, and filing untimely submissions. However, that advice is equally applicable to litigation as it is to arbitration.

In my experience, the differences between litigation and arbitration are cosmetic. 

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