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
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