HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Every year around this time I cannot help myself, but to remember a pro-bono mediation I had at the Santa Monica City Attorney's Office. Two neighbours were fighting over the fate of an innocent rooster who just happened to live in the the heart of Santa Monica. Not to make a long story, the plaintiff, who did not like being woken up by the rooster every morning suggested that it would be served for the next Thanksgiving. Needless to say this did not make it into the settlement agreement. However, an agreement has been reached and no rooster have been harmed during that mediation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

RANDOM THOUGHTS

For the past few months I have been in desperate need of a reliable and professional court researcher. Good help is hard to find. I am really loosing my respect for humanity. People who are supposed to run professional and respectable businesses are extremely unreliable. It even goes beyond that, most of them simply lack courtesy. I am not talking about something extreme, nor am I being picky. It is not as if though I am getting upset because the researcher used a green highlighter instead of a yellow one -nothing like that. Allow me to explain:

I have interviewed a person for the job who sounded great! Knew what I was talking about, seemed to be very professional and was willing to start work immediately. We finished our conversation with me telling him to keep me posted and even though there was no deadline on my research I requested to be updated on weekly basis. Three weeks - no calls, no emails, no responses to my emails or calls. In the epic words of Donald Trump, "You're fired!"

Since then I had similar and worse experiences with three other people; I think it's evident that people in this town don't want to work. Not even for good money. As a mediator, who should be able to find common ground with anyone, I am stumped.

* * *

So the SWG strike is still going on - for the 13th day! Okay, I get it it's nothing, since last time it lasted for about six months. In any event I support the writers and can't wait until they reach an amicable resolution with the studios. Curiously enough though, I have not heard anything about the Federal mediator who has been chosen assist in resolving this issue. (Feel free to comment if you got any new info.) Let's get new shows on the road!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The Daily Record, a Maryland publication has posted an interesting article about mediation in business conflicts. At the risk of being redundant, instead of giving you my opinion and review, I will simply give you the link to the article. It's full of mediation goodness:

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=3370&type=UTTM

Feel free to comment and of course view all of the Services available to you through Right Triangle Mediation.

WRITERS GUILD - MEDIATED

A federal mediator has been brought in to mediate the Writer's Guild Strike. Sadly, it wasn't me. This dispute is a very common medium for a mediation. Unions have used federal mediators for years to help them settle strikes. Of course, Jimmy Hoffa wasn't that lucky.

From a mediator's standpoint, I must say that the task for the neutral in this dispute could workout in two ways. Either very easy or very tough. The dispute is mostly over revenue sharing generated from Internet downloads and sales. The demand is not an unreasonable one if you take into consideration the age we live in. but the amount in question is a mystery. The bottom line is going to direct the settlement of this dispute. Meanwhile, I am missing all the new episodes of my favorite shows. Are you?

IN WHO DO WE TRUST?

A couple of minutes ago I got off a phone call with a new client, or what I hope is going to be the new client. This Mr. X was extremely sceptical of me, mediation and how I can help him resolve his $10,000 debt. In fact, he was so reluctant to share information with me that he did not event want to give me his name in the beginning. Of course, initially I thought, well here's another wacko, but then I realized that because of all of these charlatan companies out there it is getting harder than ever for an honest Joe to provide legitimate services.

How does one establish trust? Who do we trust these days? Is a website address enough to make people trust you? I think that if I was in his place, I too, would not trust me. Assistance is only helpful when it is trusted. Wearing a white coat or a twelve-hundred dollar suit maybe an image, but is it legitimate enough? So many questions, so little time.

NOTE: I will post an update as soon as I gain or lose the trust of Mr. X.

HAPPY SAFE HALLOWEEN!

Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title. ~From Scooby-Doo

Scooby-Doo is right, we really try not to go in anywhere where it is scary, spooky or forbidden, but then why do we always like to bring our matters into court? When asked, the majority of people is terrified of standing in front of the judge - terrified. And even so, we still end our major arguments with the simple phrase of , "I'll sue you!" Why not change that to, "Let's mediate?" I admit, it does not sound as cool or as threatening, but is being threatening to someone really our goal in a dispute. The goal is to settle our differences in a civilized and understanding manor. So if for one night of Halloween the dead and alive alike can roam in harmony, why can't we as humans resolve our everyday conflicts in a non-adversarial manner?

Happy Halloween everyone!

BLAZING FIRES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES

My heart goes out to everyone who was effected by the recent California fires.

It happened before, the '94 earthquakes, '03 fire, Catrina and other unfortunate disasters, which caused us millions in dollars and moral devastation. There is no question in my mind that after all the fires are put out in Sand Diego, Malibu, Riverside, Antelope Valley and everywhere and anywhere else the scorcher took place, the insurance companies will be very busy.

Let me get one thing out of the way, insurance companies are not evil. However, they are not going to throw their money away either. They will fight for every cent and they will fight hard. Solution? Mediation.

Insurance company mediation is one of the most common mediation around and for a good reason. It works. Give the insurance company a chance to make it right and I promise that with the right neutral [mediator] in the middle you will be pleasantly surprised. Don't be shy to offer mediation to your insurance company, before you hire an attorney.

Next time you deal with an insurance company, remember the mediator.

Gov. Racicot & CA Insurance Commissioner Discuss CA Fires


For more information, check out http://www.rtmediation.com/

THE START OF IT ALL

Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
~ Benjamin Franklin

This quote was true then and it is true now; however, I think that it may use, as so many of our things today, an upgrade. In this world nothing is certain but death, taxes and debt. In the Menshealth.com article titled, "Is Your City a Debt Trap?" The writer grades the cities of the USA depending on their indebtedness status, from F to A. This is no surprise, start up credit card consolidation companies and debt management companies are on the rise, ironically so is fraud. Many of these companies do not deliver on their promise, well at least not to the consumer.

The process of debt consolidation and management woks something like this: the consumer contacts the debt management company and explains to them their situation of how much they owe and to whom. The company in turn tells the consumer to stop making minimum payments (if they were making them at all) and to make a one lump sum monthly payment to the debt management company, which will negotiate a resolution for a reduced amount with each of the creditors. Six month later, the consumer is sued by his creditors. The problem is that there is no guarantee that the debt management company will be able to negotiate with the creditor and even though they warn the consumers of the possibility of a lawsuit the consumers are not savvy enough to see that rather than a possibility it is more of a certainty. Meanwhile the debt management company makes its profit and moves on. I do want to say that there are a few consolidation and management companies out there that are very good and legit - do your homework.

By now you must be asking your self for an alternative. Well, there is and was. That alternative is mediation. Mediation is a process in which a neutral third-party is asked to help and negotiate a resolution to a dispute, in this case debt collection. It is proven that by using a non-biased third-party person to manage the negotiation conflict in a confidential and private manner allows both parties to the dispute to find resolution through mutual understanding. To put it simply, the mediator is able to convey each side's point in a more understandable and acceptable way thus resulting in a mutually acceptable agreement.

American Mediation was started in 1993 by Patrick Kienel. Patrick started the company in San Diego, CA, but later moved it to St. Augustine, FL. After I accidentally discovered American Mediation I knew that I had to make it a part of the Right Triangle Mediation arsenal. Ever since the implementation of debt resolution mediation services I have resolved numerous cases and maintained the firms average of 97% success rate. Right Triangle Mediation still performs all other types of mediation services, but the use of the virtual debt mediation and default prevention has given the company what it needed - a true way to help consumers.