Web 2.0: A brief digression from mediation

Are you a technophobe afraid to plug in your hairdryer? Do you scream out for your assistant to rush in to your aid each time your word document simply “disappears” from your screen? Are you the black thumb of death to any computer you touch?

Unfortunately for you it is now terribly chic to efficiently maneuver through your computer’s PowerPoint application. And today it is cool to carry an extra flash drive on your key chain. Blogging has become a way of life. And Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter? If you’re not there – well fuggetaboutit!!!

If you are still leery of the web and its social networking capacity, I provide you with the following must-do social networking steps you can take to dip your toe into these uncharted waters.

1) Establish your internet presence with a webpage for your firm. Profile the members of your firm. Identify your areas of specialty. Include location and contact information.

2) Read blogs on topics of interest to you and your practice. Comment on others’ blogs. Subscribe to blogs to keep updated and current.

3) Write a blog at least once/week. Write about matters of interest to you and your potential clients. Link your blog to your website, other websites and other blogs. Give readers a glimpse into your personality with your writing style.

4) Create a Linkedin account. Use it to refer readers to your blog, your website and your profile. Slowly begin accumulating connections. Establish meaningful connections not just numbers.

5) Create a Facebook page. I suggest keeping a professional page separate from a family and friends page. Link it to your website, blog and Linkedin and Twitter accounts. Collect meaningful friends not just numbers of friends.

6) Establish a Twitter account and tweet at least several times each week. This is just flat out fun! Join Twibes of interest to you and your practice area. Retweet things of interest to you. Follow people in fields of interest to you and relevant to your practice area.

7) Become proficient with PowerPoint or hire someone who is. OK this is not really social networking but an important practice tip. Use this for your mediation opening statements and at trial. Just do it!!

These are just the basics and believe me there are many additional ways to supplement your Web 2.0 efforts such as webinars, podcasts, site engine optimization consultants and the like but take baby steps first. Come on in – the water is fine.

Sandra C. Upchurch

Mediation Counsel

Upchurch Watson White and Max Mediation Group

Blog: http://uwwm.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @scupchurch

Website: http://uww-adr.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sandra.c.upchurch

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sandracupchurch

Mediators declared “Florida Super Lawyers”

Mediators John Upchurch, Larry Watson, Terry White and Rod Max have once again been named to the list of Florida “Super Lawyers” which is no surpise to those attorneys relying on these gentlemen each and every day to assist in resolving their most significant cases.

Joseph B. Stulberg, associate dean and professor of law at The Ohio State University Mortiz College of Law, in a congratulatory note writes:

"Bravo. What a wonderful acknowledgement of your skills, stature in the
field, and your contributions to the profession. I certainly am proud to
know that the people I learn from regularly are so highly regarded by their
colleagues. Heartiest congratulations, super lawyers!"

We at the firm are proud of our “super lawyers.” Thank you John, Larry, Terry and Rod for your mentorship, guidance, leadership and vision and congratulations on your accomplishment!

- Sandra C. Upchurch

Privacy Matters

When public figures and personal tragedies collide it does not take long for the voyeurs of the world to attempt to gain access to photos of grim crime scenes or autopsies. In fact, in this world of instant news the tragedy need not be of public nature but rather just grisly enough to spike interest in whatever photos may be accessible.

Well, although in our country we do hold close to our hearts the freedom of the press, that freedom does have some limitations as Jon Mills tells us in Privacy: The Lost Right. Jon was consulted regarding the issue of privacy in the face of public tragedy for a blog at AmericanLawyer.com.

Jon Mills is a highly respected member of the Upchurch Watson White and Max Mediation Group. He served as Founding Director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility at the University of Florida College of Law from 1973 - 80 and from 1988 to present and was Dean from 1999-2003. He was elected to the Florida Legislature in 1980, serving as Speaker of the House from 1987 - 88.

Mills has advised families such as the Versaces and the Earnhardts in their efforts to keep private those graphic photos that would have been so heart wrenching to see coldy displayed by the media.

- Sandra C. Upchurch

Mediating Government Disputes – Confederate Flag Controversy

The Miami Herald recently wrote about a controversy brewing in Homestead concerning the flying of a confederate flag at an upcoming Veterans Day parade. The City Council and Chamber of Commerce are just two of the parties to the upcoming mediation.

Mediation is being used more and more in pre-suit situations in the government sector and with community disputes as it is cost effective and allows the parties to constructively share their perspectives.

- Sandra C. Upchurch

The Family Road Trip - AKA: “Where Is A Mediator When You Need One?”

Reading the Family Road Trip article by Brandy Ford brought me back to those days of yesteryear when we packed up for the summer RV trip in our handy dandy Winnebego. Living in Florida the disputes did not usually begin until the Georgia line but begin they did and with a ferocity that was unimaginable. I wanted lobster for dinner and my bratty brother wanted McDonalds. I wanted to stay in a hotel with a comfy bed and 500 thread count sheets and he wanted to sleep in the puny top bunk. I yearned for a hotel tiled shower that did not require sitting on a toilet and showering at the same time (all the Winnebego had to offer) and he loved the shower-shoes trek to the campground nasty, spider-infested, cold-water-only shower.

Our parents allowed me to win some and my brother to be the victor at times. Maybe my career choice is a direct result of those vacations. It was a constant lesson in mediation and negotiation skills for three long weeks every summer. The trips ended abruptly the year we had a family vote allowing us to choose between putting in a pool or going on another three-week- long RV Trip. If I could go back in time, I would pick the RV trip every time!!

- Sandra C. Upchurch

Mediation: My recipe for success

I tend to be a “half-empty” kind of gal henceforth my most popular blog entry to date…Top 10 Ways to Botch a Mediation. In hindsight, I feel bad about that blog. Did it need to be so negative, so sarcastic? Is that what subscribers, readers and fellow bloggers really want and find entertaining? Isn’t there enough negative in the world right now? Why not put a more positive spin on what I have happily chosen for a career? Well, here is my best effort…my recipe for a successful mediation.

1 part: The right mediator
Don’t just blindly schedule your “go-to” person. Spend some time thinking about your client and your case. What type of personality and mediation style will best fit?

1 part: Preparation of the mediator
Brief the mediator in detail (in confidence of course) regarding your case. This can happen over the phone or with a written case summary. By whatever method, just do it. Many litigators are skipping this step in the current economic climate to avoid “wasting” the client’s money. I submit to you that preparing your neutral is far from a waste. Preparing your mediator allows him or her to hit the ground running on mediation day and serves to significantly reduce the time he or she must spend getting “up to speed.”

1 part: Preparation of your client
Schedule a pre-mediation meeting with your client and for all you procrastinators out there, this does not mean on the morning of the mediation. Bring your client into your office several days before the mediation. Explain what the typical mediation looks like and that it is not a formal affair. Calm their nerves. Settle them in for a long, trying day. Take them through your expenditures to date. Take them through the costs of discovery and trial yet to be incurred. Seek their input and their motivating factors. Discuss numbers with them; discuss possible resolutions with them; and, discuss reality with them. Give them your best judgment of success at trial based upon your experience.

2 parts: Preparation of your case
Go to the effort to prepare a power point presentation. Like it or not – it certainly is impressive. It may not make an impact on the opposing counsel who has seen the dog and pony show a zillion times but it will have a significant effect on the client who in many cases has never seen a power point presentation at all. Please don’t just drone on and read from your notes. Look the other party in the eye – this is the time for the impassioned you , the opening-statement you to make an appearance. Be present and be impressive. This is why they pay you the big bucks.

A splash of: Planning ahead
Inevitably mediations run longer than anticipated even when or perhaps especially when things are going well. This means that the parties are still talking and are still bringing new ideas to the table. Don’t plan on picking your child up at school at noon. Don’t tell your client they will be able to make that afternoon doctor’s appointment. You and your client should make plans to stay the day to give the mediation process a fighting chance.

A dash: Compassion
I tell my children to “use your listening ears and your gentle hands.” The same advice is appropriate at a mediation. Don’t come to mediation on a mission to hunt and destroy. Try to do no damage to the relationships at the mediation which may come back to bite you at trial.

A heaping tablespoon: Humor
I never leave home without this.

Bon Appetit!!

- Sandra C. Upchurch

High Fives to...

the 16 finalists for the 2009 Innovations in American Government Award from the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Mass, including Orange County, Florida for its Primary Care Access Network, Kingsport, Tennessee for its Higher Education Initiative and Chula Vista, California for its Residential Abandoned Property Program, just to name a few.

These governments set out to solve a problem that was unique to their community or that other governments thought too big to overcome and solve it they did and in a big way.

For a full listing of all nominees click here.

Just goes to show you that government can be innovative too. I will keep you posted regarding who the big winners are!! And, if you would please forgive my Florida roots - go Orange County!!!

- Sandra C. Upchurch