AND SO IT GOES!

Welcome to 2015 and Zacks Resolution, LLC. After a career as a litigator, I am now focused on serving as a peacemaker! Although my background involves personal injury, business disputes, healthcare and not-for-profit conflicts, I am pleased to report that our most recent cases involved labor law, and matters were swiftly resolved.  

I appreciate all of the support and encouragement given to me by colleagues and friends in this new venture.  I have used and honed my mediation skills throughout my career and found that most cases can be resolved through mediation and arbitration. My plan is to move full-time into mediation and dispute resolution in 2015 so I hope those of you who know me as a litigator and colleague will consider me as your peacemaker.

Thanks to many of you in 2014, Zacks Resolution successfully mediated or arbitrated cases involving claims of traditional business disputes, personal injury, bankruptcy and claims of discrimination.  As an active mediator, it gives me personal satisfaction to see the process work. We also did case evaluation for law firms, and I was honored to serve as a Special Master to a Superior Court judge in a high profile case.  

I plan to deliver more of these e-notes throughout the year and want them to be as effective as possible. Your feedback is welcomed. My intention is to offer tips and insights into mediation and dispute resolution that will help with your cases, and in the end, benefit all concerned.   

Here’s to a prosperous and successful New Year – I look forward to working with you!    

ON THE “QT”

Quote: “Justice without wisdom is impossible.” * This applies to mediation just as it applies to a case in court. Often the wisdom behind the result makes the result the right one.

Tip: Remember it is always more important to seek to understand before trying to be understood.

* James Anthony Froude, Short Studies on Great Subjects

WORTH READING

A contemporary of mine from North Carolina has written an excellent book, Making Money Talk, by J. Anderson Little.

Andy Little is a colleague in the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.  Even though he went to UNC Law School, this Demon Deacon considers this a worthwhile read!

GOING FROM BETTER TO BEST  

Play golf? Here are two takes on that game!

One: I’ve often thought about how people compare golf to our interactions in life.  If I were considering hiring a new lawyer, I would want to play golf with him or her before making a decision. You learn a lot of things about a person: 

•  Do they cheat and move the ball?
•  Are they a good conversationalist?
•  Do they appear to have character?
•  Can they walk and talk at the same time?!

These same traits should be considered as you approach mediation.  How are you being received by others in the room?  Do you pass the golf test?

Two: Rabbi Harold Kushner has decided that golf is a religious game.  Not only because it is often played on the Sabbath or because the sacrifices people make for it rank high in importance.  It is also religious, as Rabbi Kushner says, because the basic idea of the game is a spiritually sublime one: “In golf, the object is not so much to defeat the other player as to improve yourself, to do better today than you did last time.”  Each time you analyze what you’re doing wrong and you try to correct the little faults that ruined your score.  We should also apply these same principles to the art of resolving disputes.  All of us should try and improve our performance for our clients each time we enter the room of settlement.

THE LAST WORD

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The future depends on what you did today.”  As you enter a mediation, give careful thought to the impact you have on your client, and all connected to the process.  Your actions affect those who have a stake in the process.