Dispute Resolution
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
PRIORITIZING YOUR BEST INTEREST
Ethical counsel for your dispute resolution
Nobody likes attorneys, in part, because attorneys are expensive. The longer a dispute drags on, the more attorneys bill for their time, oftentimes resulting in thousands of dollars in legal fees and costs.
But ethical attorneys will do everything they can to resolve disputes for their clients earlier rather than later. To do this, various Alternative Dispute Resolution tools, the most common of which is mediation, can be helpful.
Not to be confused with arbitration (which is a trial in a private setting), mediation is a process by which the parties hire a neutral third party trained in the law (e.g., retired judge) known as a mediator to try to broker a settlement between the parties. A few days ahead of the day set for mediation, the attorneys for the parties deliver mediation briefs to the mediator, who then formulates a plan as to how s/he will try to resolve the dispute on the day of mediation. The parties and attorneys then spend many hours on the day of mediation negotiating the terms of settlement, and hopefully reaching agreement. A settlement cannot be imposed on the parties, and unless all parties agree to a settlement, the dispute/case will continue (e.g., if litigation has bene filed, the litigation will proceed). In my experience, more often than not mediation is successful to resolve disputes.
Many people assume that mediation cannot take place until a lawsuit has been filed. This simply is not true. Mediating disputes before filing lawsuits makes sense because if the mediation is successful, the lawsuit can be avoided, and the attorneys’ fees and costs that would have been spent by filing a lawsuit can be avoided.
Be aware, however, that not all attorneys will work to resolve disputes as quickly as possible, because by doing so, attorneys lose money. It is therefore important to carefully select your attorney, and to ask questions of any attorney you are considering hiring so as to ensure that attorney will act in your best interest instead of trying to line his/her own pockets.
"As your attorney, I commit to learning everything I can about your situation and work with you to craft the best strategy to resolve your specific problem. Because I have learned through the years that knowing and understanding my clients helps me to be a better attorney, I invest in relationships with my clients, many of whom have become friends. Let me know how I can be of service to you."
Harold L. Rollin, APLC
ADVICE
REPRESENTATION
Harold L. RollinA Professional Law Corporation
(559) 732-3600
815 West Center Avenue
Visalia, CA 93291
Office Hours:
Monday through Friday
8:30 am to 5:00 pm