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Contact Michael Hawash

Practicing as a trial attorney since 1994, Mr. Hawash uses his vast experience to assist parties in finding creative and satisfactory resolutions to their disputes outside the courthouse. As the costs of litigation soar, Mr. Hawash advocates the use of mediation as a more economical, less time consuming, and generally less stressful method of resolving disputes. Mediation allows for greater creativity, problem solving and confidentiality than is most often found in traditional litigation.

As a professional neutral, Mr. Hawash serves all parties to a dispute in an effort to resolve the matter in a impartial, unbiased and satisfactory manner. Mr. Hawash is committed to ensuring that all parties to a dispute have a fair opportunity to present ‘their side’ and be heard.

Mr. Hawash is especially skilled at working with difficult personalities and contentious situations, while being respectful of confidential circumstances and matters.

Mr. Hawash’s decades of experience as a litigator and trial attorney places him an ideal position to bring the parties to a mutually agreeable consensus that avoids the win-lose mentality of the courthouse.

• The University of Houston, Doctor of Jurisprudence, 1994;
• The University of Texas at Austin, B.A. in Government, 1991;
• The University of Texas at Austin, B.A. in History, 1991

Litigation tends to be about one party asserting power, morality or legal right dependent on their own view of the facts and law.

Rather than focusing on the above (which in Mr. Hawash's opinion leads to entrenchment), Mr. Hawash attempts to focus on each party's real interests. In other words, what are the core concerns, needs, desires, goals and fears that underlie each party's position?

Once appropriate motivations and interests have been identified, the process of mediation allows a mediator to probe each other's underlying core concerns, find common interests, search for creative solutions, and create value by making trade-offs of opposing and common interests, thereby arriving at a satisfactory consensus.

Fees depend on the nature of the matter (i.e. complexity and amount in dispute) as well as the length of the engagement. Mediations are typically scheduled for a full-day or minimum half-day. Arbitrations are typically billed on a per hour basis.