HCBA Lawyer Magazine No. 34, Issue 4 | Page 40

effeCtIvemedIatIonInemPLoymentLaWCases labor & Employment law Section Chairs : ­Amanda­Biondolino­ – Sass­Law­Firm­ & ­LaKisha­Kinsey-Sallis­ – Fisher­ & ­Phillips­LLP
theskillsweuseinthe courtroomarevery differentfromtheskills weuseinmediation , or atleasttheyshouldbe .

Mediation is a major part of a labor and employment practice — most of our cases end in settlement , and many of those settlements are reached at mediation . But the skills we use in the courtroom are very different from the skills we use in mediation , or at least they should be .

While making the transition from litigator to mediator , I have seen a number of cases involving race and disability discrimination — both of which are the type of cases that lend themselves to a more evolved type of mediation . If you have reviewed the Florida Mediation Best Practices Handbook , you may have learned that mediation has transformed a great deal over the years .
For example , in the past , litigators selected mediators who pushed their clients toward settlement . They wanted “ tough ” mediators . Now , litigators are more often looking for mediators that understand people and that listen to the parties . Empathy is most important in cases where emotions run high , and we know that
Continuedonpage39
3 8 M A R - A P R 2 0 2 4 | H C B A L A W Y E R