Mediating a workplace dispute has a number of advantages over litigating it. Perhaps most importantly, mediation gives the parties closest to the dispute ultimate control over the outcome of the dispute.  It is also more private, saves time and money and more professional and respectful of all parties.

In addition to having over 25 years of employment law experience, I am probably one of the few mediators in the country who has literally sat at every seat at the proverbial workplace mediation table.

Over the course of my career, I have been

• outside counsel for employers;
• in-house counsel at the General Electric Company (including General Counsel of the GE Transportation business);
• the client representative for GE;
• plaintiff’s counsel representing executives; and
• a named plaintiff in a gender discrimination class action.

As a mediator, I now draw on those experiences to help me more quickly be able to establish the type of rapport and trust that are essential to successfully resolving workplace disputes.

I also enjoying helping parties resolve conflict through mediation or facilitated discussions. In addition to working as a mediator after a lawsuit has been filed, I also assist organizations, including in the higher education sector as well as public and private employers, to address conflict before it becomes a lawsuit.  Common situations I’ve helped address include conflict between faculty and administration, co-workers, managers and their direct reports.  I also enjoy assisting individuals in developing what I call “conscious conflict choices.”  This involves a series of one-on-one coaching sessions.

To gain more insight into how I think about mediation and the mediation process, you may also want to read my article “The Continuum of Dispute Resolution in the Workplace.”