Last week, I was honored between morning and afternoon mediations, to present via Zoom, to 50 plus lawyers, “Negotiation Tactics in Mediation”. It was a fun time for me to help folks better represent their clients in mediations. Lawyers like telling war stories from cases and there was a great group of stories with follow up questions. Thanks to Jefferson County executive director Bonnie Dean Boykin.
Growing up in a medical family, I knew very few lawyers. My dad had a CPA that was also a lawyer that I met named S. L. Greenburg. He was a true gentleman. I wanted to be a lawyer because I admired him. He called me this week and congratulated me on my speech and reminded me that my parents would be proud. Thank you S.L. You influenced me more than you you know.
This last week, we finished our 655th Zoom mediation since the pandemic started. Zoom is here to stay irrespective of the pandemic. For me, it’s great because I can be in Beaumont, Austin, Houston or anywhere to appear virtually. I can do more mediations because I don’t have 150 miles to drive every day. I mediate cases from all over Texas and in the case of toxic torts, nationwide. The same is true for the lawyers and clients. Decision makers can easily show up and participate. The success rate is even higher for me than in person mediations because decision makers are there.
In the last month we mediated a complex med mal case, three cancer cases involving a myriad of legal and scientific issues, Dram shop case, a case involving many hundreds of Plaintiffs with complex issues of primary and excess insurance, car and truck wreck cases with serious injuries and throw in a disputed life insurance case. I also continue to resolve hurricane Laura and Delta cases along with windstorm cases from all parts of Texas.
In one case that I was proud to mediate we resolved a family dispute over an estate. This was important to me because I knew the folks. We not only resolved it, I think and hope we started down the road toward reconciliation. That makes everything worthwhile. I love my job because if you find what you have a passion for, you never have to work a day in your life. Thanks to all those lawyers and clients that trust me with trying to get their legal dispute resolved. Thanks to Andrea Boudreaux who works tirelessly to make the process easy on our clients. Thanks to my wife Jennifer and my family who support me in this lifelong passion for mediation every day. I work to earn your trust every mediation.