How Can I Get My Mediator To Be Evaluative?
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From Michael P. Carbone’s Mediation Strategies Blog October 2009 |
I continue to hear similar expressions of frustration about mediators, with or without judicial backgrounds, who refuse to give evaluations. Why should this be so? While I did write recently about the importance of being effective as opposed to just evaluative, parties ought to be able to get evaluations when they want them.
If what parties really want is an evaluation, the answer is simple. Ask for it up front when hiring the neutral. There are processes variously known as neutral evaluation, non-binding arbitration, or early case assessment which are designed specifically for this purpose. These processes can be used on their own, or they can be combined with mediation if the parties so choose.
Early this year I was hired to give a neutral evaluation in a commercial real estate dispute. In talking with the parties beforehand I learned that while they were interested in exploring settlement options their real objective at the time was to obtain my opinion on the merits of their positions. To satisfy their needs, we combined two processes. We conducted a mediation that included a neutral evaluation. The advantage of this approach was that the evaluation could be given in a setting that was confidential under California law and could not be used as evidence if the matter did not settle.
The point here is that both parties to this case wanted the process to be primarily evaluative. It was not like a situation where one party is expecting the mediator to be evaluative and the other party wants the mediator to refrain.
When parties hire a mediator, they need to be of the same mind about the process. Otherwise the result will be like splitting a steak with your partner when one of you likes it rare and the other likes it well done. Somebody is going to get indigestion!
Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.
George Washington’s 1st Rule of Civility
Biography
Michael Carbone is a full time neutral whose practice focuses primarily on construction claims and defects, real estate, business disputes and complex litigation. He has mediated and arbitrated for approximately ten years. He has served as a court-appointed referee in real estate and business matters.
He is a past president of The Mediation Society, a member of the State Bar Standing Committee on ADR, the ADR Committee of the State Bar Business Law Section, and the Board of Directors of the California Dispute Resolution Council.
He practiced law for more than thirty-five years. His practice emphasized commercial real estate and general business matters, including litigation of construction, real property, land use, and business cases.
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