| Thomas Valenti, P.C. |
April 2009 |
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| April Mediation News
From Thomas Valenti, P.C. |
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What is Mediation?
Mediation is a process in which a neutral and impartial third party (the mediator) facilitates communication between negotiating parties which may enable them to reach an agreement. Mediation is an efficient and cost effective method for the resolution of both simple and complex cases.
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"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people."
- William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939) |
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More than Meets the Eye: Civil Case Mediation Usage in the 17th Judicial Circuit of Illinois
The 17th Judicial Circuit, based in Rockford, Illinois, had been reporting steadily declining numbers of mediations in its court-annexed program for large civil case mediation over the years. This was true for other court-annexed civil mediation programs in the state as well. The 17th Circuit, having seen a reported decline from 165 mediations per year to 17, decided to see if this was because the cases being reported to the court were just the tip of the iceberg, and some larger number were being mediated without a court order.
To determine this, the court collaborated with Resolution Systems Institute to collect data from judges, lawyers and mediators on settlements and mediations. Judges noted each case in which a settlement was stipulated. The lawyers for those cases were then contacted to find out which processes were used to settle the case - direct negotiation, mediation, judicial settlement or arbitration. Mediators on the court's referral list were also contacted to find out which cases they mediated, including those conducted pre-filing. The 2008 study, More than Meets the Eye: Civil Case Mediation Usage in the 17th Judicial Circuit of Illinois, found that five to six times more mediations took place than had been reported to the court.
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Partner Won't Have to Arbitrate Bias Claim against Law Firm, 3rd Circuit Rules
A federal appeals court has ruled a female partner doesn't have to arbitrate her sexual discrimination claim against Dickie McCamey & Chilcote, despite an arbitration clause in the firm's bylaws.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Philadelphia refused to require arbitration of the suit by partner Alyson Kirleis because she never signed an arbitration agreement incorporating the bylaw providing for arbitration, the Legal Intelligencer reports. "Under Pennsylvania law, explicit agreement is essential to the formation of an enforceable arbitration contract," the appeals court said in its opinion (PDF).
Kirleis claims the Pittsburgh law firm pays women less than men and has a separate and lower employment track for female lawyers with children, according to the story. She alleges that one male partner told her that clients only wanted "gray-haired guys" trying their cases, and the role of women lawyers was to ready the suits for trial. And she says another partner criticized her for not spending enough time with her children and husband.
Kirleis also says the firm's annual holiday party is essentially off-limits for women because of the sexually explicit nature of skits, songs and props. | |
Click Below to Learn More About Mr. Valenti
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From Our Blog...
Catch Me If You Can
Natasha Caron admits she has a "rotten kid."
Actually her son, Peter Noe, isn't really a kid but a 32-year-old federal felon serving time for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamines and marijuana. Faced with the thought of him spending the rest of his life in jail, Caron last year paid $25,000-with savings, credit cards and personal loans-to appeal her son's 40-year sentence.
The money went to Howard O. Kieffer, who was recommended to Caron as a talented criminal defense lawyer with federal sentencing expertise.
Caron, who was working at the time as a waitress at a Florida country club, says she started to get a bad feeling about Kieffer last summer after he asked her to pay him an extra $5,000 on top of the $20,000 fee she had already paid.
When she complained, Caron says Kieffer told her he usually charged $40,000 for similar work.
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"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice."
- Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) speech in Washington D.C., 1865
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Suburban Chicago Lawyer Accused of Asking Priest to Help Cover Stolen Firm Cash
A suburban Chicago lawyer has been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his former law firm and asking a priest to use church funds to cover some of the missing cash.
The lawyer, Steven Gustafson of Naperville, Ill., was charged with theft up to $500,000, forgery, financial institution fraud and continuing a financial crimes enterprise, the Daily Herald reports.
Gustafson's law firm, James, Gustafson & Thompson, dissolved in 2006. He is accused of stealing firm trust account money beginning in 2001 and using it to pay his own business and personal expenses, according to the story.
A pending disciplinary complaint against Gustafson alleges misuse of more than $1 million in funds, the story says. The complaint by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission says Gustafson urged a client's parish priest to use $577,000 of church treasury money to cover an account with money that may have been looted by the lawyer. The priest refused, but persuaded a parishioner to offer $77,000, according to the ARDC.
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Rexnord Industries, LLC v. Rhi Holdings, Inc.
Trial court's confirmation of arbitration award between parties to spin off agreement, determining that 90% of environmental damages, which spin off company was required to pay was caused before date of agreement, and requiring that its predecessor indemnify it, is not error. Arbitrator did not exceed his authority when he explicitly refused to adjudicate liability of third party with whom one of the parties had an agreement.
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American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force Recommends Use of ADR
A report recently released by the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery includes a recommendation that courts should "raise the possibility" of pre-trial mediation and other ADR processes, and in some cases should order its use. The report, conducted in association with the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, was based on a survey of ACTL members to identify perceived problems with the discovery process in the civil justice system.
In that survey, 82% of respondents said court-related ADR was a "positive development," and 72% said it led to settlements without trial. The majority of respondents also said ADR decreased their clients' costs and led to a shorter time to disposition. These results led to the task force's recommendation. However, the task force also noted that it hoped its other recommendations for decreasing the cost of discovery would help to increase the use of judicial trials, as opposed to ADR.
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"Sometimes the mind, for reasons we don't necessarily understand, just decides to go to the store for a quart of milk."
- Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Three Doctors, 1993 | |
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Family Law, Family Business Disputes, Employment Disputes, Probate Disputes |
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