I have had a series of mediations in which I have wondered who was actually in authority? The attorney or the client? As we have all learned somewhere along the line, when it comes to attorneys representing clients, it is the client’s case, not the attorney’s, and so it should [Read More]
Lawsuits are products. I know this sounds strange particularly to lawyers who after four years of college, three years of law school and then one or more bar examinations, do not want to consider themselves mere sales people (like the used car sales person?) but that is what we are: [Read More]
In December 2001, my husband and I acquired Argus- an English Springer Spaniel that we rescued from a shelter. As we both work, I immediately went about finding a dog walker and did so within a day. I will call the dog walker- Jane. Up until last June, Jane has [Read More]
An article last month in the New York Times got me thinking that perhaps in my mediations, I should warn people that their memories and perceptions may be unreliable, especially where the situation involves parties of different ethnicities. In To Curb Bad Verdicts, Court Adds Lesson on Racial Bias for [Read More]
On January 5, 2018, The California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) published it Pre-Print Recommendation on its Study K-402- Relationship Between Mediation Confidentiality and Attorney Malpractice and Other Misconduct. The Note at the bottom of the page cautions that that the CLRC has approved the substance of the report; minor editorial [Read More]
As I have mentioned quite a few times in my blogs, I mediate a lot of lemon law cases or cases filed under California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Civ. Code section 1790 et seq. (“Act”). In many of my mediations, once the defendant vehicle manufacturer agrees to repurchase the vehicle, [Read More]
Time tends to pass, and we do not even realize it. In October, I received an invitation to attend my 40th law school reunion and did a double take; had it been THAT long? WOW! I decided to attend. During the weekend of festivities, Tulane put on two continuing legal [Read More]
Many mediations end in settlement at which point the parties draft a settlement agreement. California law provides a summary procedure by which the parties can enforce the settlement agreement if the spirit of compromise does not continue after the mediation. Code of Civil Procedure Section 664.6 provides: 664.6. If parties [Read More]
