Calling All Litigators!

 

While most mediation programs target mediators, this program is designed especially for litigators. You will learn how to best use the mediation process to achieve better results for your clients by properly preparing yourself and your clients to participate in the mediation process. Mr.

Murray will introduce you to interest-based bargaining, cover preparation of a mediation plan, review ethical issues in negotiation and mediation, outline alternative methods of dispute resolution, discuss the concept of “settlement counsel,” and teach strategies for overcoming impasse in settlement talks.

 

This full-day program includes a copy of the book by O. Russel Murray, “The Mediation Handbook: Effective Strategies for Litigators,” making this program an excellent value.

Learn how to shift gears from litigation mode to mediation mode – and enhance your

understanding and use of mediation.

 

Mark your calendar today!

 

 

Join mediator and former business litigator O. Russel Murray as he explains how to:

 

-  Shift gears from litigation mode to mediation mode.

-  Use an interest-based, problem-solving approach to negotiation and mediation.

-  Prepare yourself, your client, and the mediator for the mediation session – and prepare a mediation plan.

-  Resolve disputes optimally and efficiently.

-  Add value to the mediation process and to your clients' bottom line.

-  Address and resolve impasse.

-  Identify ethical issues and comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct in negotiation and mediation.

-  Choose among other ADR options, work with settlement counsel, and select a mediator.

-  Understand the difference between a typical settlement conference and the mediation

conference.

 

 

8:30 – 9:00 am

 

9:00 – 10:15 am

More than 90% of civil cases settle before judgment is entered, perhaps more than 95%. The question is: “Did they settle well?” More often than not, the answer is, “No.” In the typical settlement conference, an optimal solution is not possible—it is not even the goal. This session introduces interest-based bargaining in a problem-solving approach to settlement, explains the difference between mediation and a settlement conferences, and teaches the stages in an effective mediation process.

 

10:15 – 10:30 am

 

10:30 – 11:45 am

Preparing for an effective mediation session requires more than drafting a settlement letter to the mediator and sending it along with a few pleadings. The litigator must shift gears from litigation mode to mediation mode and prepare a mediation plan that fits well with the mediator’s problem-solving approach to dispute resolution. Preparing for mediation is not the same as preparing for trial, and the different skills and different types of information needed for mediation are explained.

 

11:45 – 1:00 pm

 

1:00 – 2:15 pm

A discussion of ethical issues that litigators face in mediation and negotiation. Colorado Rule of Professional Conduct 4.1 governs attorney conduct in mediation and prohibits making a “false and misleading statement of fact or law,” but the Comment to the Rule and generally accepted conventions exempt many forms of lying in negotiations. Litigators also must zealously represent their clients, obtain the client’s informed consent in settling, and balance other ethical duties in doing so. Mediators, too, have ethical obligations in the mediation process. All of these will be explored and argued.

 

2:15 – 2:30 pm

 

2:30 – 3:45 pm

 This session explores a variety of topics, including how to address impasse in mediation, selecting or designing an appropriate ADR process when mediation may not be the best option, the use of “Settlement Counsel” in resolving disputes, and different mediator styles—including

how to select the right mediator for an effective mediation session.

 

3:45 pm

 

 

Denver - CBA-CLE Classroom, 1900 Grant Street, Ste. 300

Colorado Springs - 421 South Tejon Street, Ste 100

Grand Junction - 1250 E. Sherwood Drive