Opening Doors to Resolution: A Mediation Podcast

The Supreme Court has only had seventeen men serve as Chief Justice. Chicago attorney Dan Cotter writes about all of them in The Chief Justices: The Seventeen Men of the Center Seat, Their Courts, and Their Times. While legal theory instructs lawyers to analyze the law and not the circumstances surrounding its creation, Cotter embraces an overall historical approach. Many Supreme Court justices have been defined by the landmark rulings they delivered. Cotter shows how some rulings, like Dre…

Steve discusses all aspects of mediation with fellow mediator, Winter Wheeler. The two discuss their transitions from experienced litigators to full-time mediators, including their mediation philosophies and building their practices. The two discuss mediation via Zoom, anti-bias standards for mediators and the importance of language and its impact on the legal system, focusing on the African-American vernacular. 

A bedrock principle for mediation is its confidentiality. Arguments made at mediation are typically not admissible in court. Nationally renowed mediator, Jeff Kichaven, has been virtually touring the country presenting a provocative theme: your mediation might not be confidential. Jeff tells Steve that whether a mediation is confidential is determined by the court hearing an attack on confidentiality and if it is a different forum from where the mediation took place, which Restatement that…

Old school football fans often complain about celebrations after touchdowns grumbling “act like you have been there before.” The COVID-19 pandemic has altered how the legal system administers justice. Seasoned trial attorneys who are poised and confident in front of judges and jurors are learning how to present evidence via Zoom. Lawyers are forced to act like they have been there before while navigating unchartered waters. As more and more arguments and trials are conducted via Zoom, t…

Steve talks with the Honorable Bryan Chapman, 18th Judicial Circuit Dupage County, Illinois. Judge Chapman is one of the few judges nationally who has rendered a decision in an insurance coverage case for COVID-19 business losses and he discusses the urgency, significance and his approach for overseeing such a nationally prominent case. Judge Chapman discusses why he finds being a judge a fascinating and rewarding job and what he misses from his private practice days. Judge Chapman pro…

In order to survive the deluge of data and myriad of decisions we make every day, humans adopt short-cuts, or heuristics. Unfortunately, we often rely on flawed biases and stereotypes resulting in poor decisions. In an effort to make sense of it all Steve sits down with Shari Belitz, founder of Shari Belitz Communications. The two discuss how psychology impacts litigation and settlement. As a mediator, Steve discusses how it is important to encourage parties to slow down their thought proce…

Mediator Steve Schulwolf continues to delve into COVID-19's impact on the legal profession. Episode 7 featured professor Julia Simon-Kerr who discussed how COVID-19 presents opportunities for the legal system to improve its assumptions about credibility and demeanor. Episode 8 looks at what courts around the country are actually doing as Steve talks with a national trial attorney, Matt Fischer, about the pandemic's impact. Mr. Fischer suggests that trial lawyers need to throw out their old…

Episode 7: The Legend of Zorro – Can We Really Trust the Masked Man?Mediator Steve Schulwolf and University of Connecticut School of Law professor Julia Simon-Kerr discuss the challenges and opportunities that COVID-19 presents the American legal system. As courts are preparing to reopen and conduct trials with COVID-19 protocols there is the need to balance safety and truth ascertaining considerations. Along these lines, Mr. Schulwolf asks the question of whether a masked witness can…

COVID-19 continues to try to ruin the fun. Steve discusses the recent negotiations between MLB and the player's union with sportswriter, Jim Margolis. Jim outlines the points of contention between the two sides while Steve discusses how mediators try to resolve disputes, like attempting to create a win-win scenario.  The two discuss whether there will even be a season and how baseball and legal negotiations have been impacted by behavioral economics.  Play ball. 

Steve Schulwolf continues his discussions about insurance coverage for COVID-19 claims with Seth Lamden and Dan Litchfield. Mr. Lamden is a partner at the Chicago office of Neal Gerber Eisenberg and represents policyholders. Mr. Litchfield is a founding partner of the Litchfield Cavo in Chicago and has a national practice representing insurers. Messrs. Litchfield and Lamden were appearing in their personal capacity and not on behalf of their respective clients. Mr. Lamden suggested that…

With the economy grinding down to a crawl due to COVID-19 the issue of whether there is insurance coverage is hotly debated and businesses have already filed lawsuits asking their insurers to cover lost income due to the virus and stay at home orders. Steve conducts a round table from his (rectangular) kitchen table in Austin, Texas. Joining him are two outstanding attorneys, Marc Shrake of Freeman Mathis & Gary out of Los Angeles, California and Frank Weiss of Tonkon Torp out of Portland, Oregon. Mr. Shrake typically represents insurance companies while Mr. Weiss represents policyholders. The three of them discuss recently filed suits, disputed issues and the potential mediation of COVID-19 insurance related disputes.  While these lawyers provide great insights can Mark and Frank win the Monty Hall game?  Tune in to find out.  

Steve literally meets his guest, Caryn Carson, half-way in Waco, Texas. Ms. Carson is a lawyer by day, comedian by night and Steve and Ms. Carson discuss the use of humor in the courtroom and at mediation. The two discuss how different eras have handled and defined “inappropriate” attempts at humor and how difficult and contextual it is to draw the line. Steve notes that humor, when used correctly, can be a powerful tool for a mediator, but it can also alienate certain parties. That said, the law and mediation doesn’t always need to be so serious, so lighten up because Ms. Carson ensures that this episode is entertaining and maybe, just maybe, a little informative.

Steve travels to Houston to discuss complex litigation with an environmental scientist, John Loper. They discuss the role of experts, whether Indian curry is a pollutant and the difficulties of evaluating, settling and negotiating environmental insurance coverage actions.