Put a Rush on It!

Couple of days ago I had a client who was very worried that he did not have enough time to mediate his case and wanted to settle immediately. The terms were simple, the dispute was pretty straightforward and he did not care much about meeting the other side in person. So, I decided to do a virtual mediation and get things done via phone, fax and email. The client (defendant) was very sure about how he wanted to settle and what he wanted to accomplish, so after a short discussion I called the plaintiffs. Please, keep in mind that the defendant was very concerned about the time.

Upon speaking with the plaintiff attorney I was asked to hold on the phone while he would get in touch with his client. Five minutes later we had a settlement. Good news, right? Wrong. Excited about the quick resolution and thinking of how happy the defendant would be I phoned him immediately and informed him that his terms were accepted and the case was as good as settled. To my surprise all I head on the other line was a long silent pause.

We all had that pause, it is the pause when you start doubting your self and your decision of making an offer which got immediately accepted. Should I have gone lower? Did I do the right thing? That little voice inside of us taunting us and saying that you gave up too easy.

The case settled a few days later for the exact same amount as was first discussed; however, I will always remember that no matter how much rush someone is in - timing is everything.

What if you cannot get in touch with them?

First and foremost, since my last post was on Thanksgiving, please allow me to say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and a Happy New Year! - I hope I did not forget anyone.

Over the holidays I found my self in a very interesting dilemma. I was following up on a few cases I had mediated, but not yet settled and ran into a problem. It appeared that I had absolutely no problem of getting to one side, but not the other side of the disputants. When the defense was available, the plaintiffs were not and vice versa. It seemed that one side would accept the terms, but I was unable to get the okay from the other side in order to close the deal. This got me thinking, "Am I able to accept the terms temporarily without the other sides approval?"

Of course not! However, it did give me another challenge as a mediator - stretching time in order to create a resolution. Please not, that at not time during any of these proceeding did I lie about the reason for buying more time. On the contrary, I was very honest and used all the finesse I could muster. Without going into much detail out of respect to the confidentiality between me and parties, I do want to say one thing. When you have a lot of money (or any amount of money) riding on something and a pretty strict deadline, keep you cell phone on and check your voice and email messages as often as possible.