What’s Holding You Back from Mediating Early in the Case?

10/18/2015 // Dallas, Texas, United States // Attorney Keith Clouse // Keith Clouse // (press release)

Dallas employment law mediator Keith Clouse encourages clients and others to attempt to resolve disputes early on without slogging through drawn-out litigation measures. Here, he addresses concerns commonly cited by litigants who are opposed to early mediation.

• Appearing weak. A litigant may worry that suggesting mediation early on will make the party appear weak and encourage the opponent to take advantage of the situation.
• Undermining the value of the litigant’s own case. A litigant may not want to give the other side any indication that the other side’s position is stronger than it really is or that the litigant is not confident in its own position.
• Too many unknowns. A litigant may fear that an opponent will not deal fairly with the litigant until all the facts are exposed.
• Unable to read the other side. A litigant may be unsure how strongly the other side feels about its position. So, instead of offering a reasonable concession at mediation, the litigant reverts to taking an extreme position to counteract the opposing side’s position. This can lead to an escalating cycle of fear and adversarial advances.

Despite these concerns, most litigants have little to lose by suggesting early case resolution; in most instances, even a “failed” mediation results in some positive gain for a party.

This article is presented by the Dallas employment mediators at Clouse Dunn LLP. To speak to an employment law mediator about mediation, send an email to [email protected] or call (214) 239-2705.

Media Information:

Address: 1201 Elm Street Suite 5200 Dallas, Texas 75270 – 2142
Phone: 214.220.2722
Url: http://dallasemploymentlawyer.cdklawyers.com/whats-holding-you-back-from-mediating-early-in-the-case_13712.html