“Managing Client Expectations in Mediation”

As one who mediates a fair number of family- and closely-owned business disputes, I found this article by American Arbitration Association mediator Jim Purcell to be especially insightful. For attorneys and their clients who want a head’s up on what to expect, this is a good read. Mediator Purcell sets the stage with this all-too-common reality: “During pre-mediation ex parte calls, it became clear that the parties’ expectations were wildly misaligned. Each believed the other was acting in bad faith, and their lawyers were preparing them for a prolonged fight.”