Reputation (Mediator’s Version)
I have a standard question during pre-mediation calls: Have you dealt with the other side and what do you think? I ask about reputation.
Recently, a lawyer openly gave me the scouting report on the other side’s reputation.
(Good storytelling requires specifics, but anonymity requires vagueness. Both attorneys were total pros: nothing negative described or observed. We all have our own preferences, approaches, and tactics. That’s what was described.)
I kept that report in the back of my mind. I probed its veracity during my call that counsel. On mediation day, the counsel lived up to their reputation. I calibrated my approach. I allowed counsel to work through their process and handle tough conversations with their client. I stepped back, gently questioned and suggested, instead of providing aggressive guidance.
Before all light left the sky, the parties resolved their matter. No mediator’s proposal required.
In 2024, 274,740 licensed attorneys made California their home. Despite that number, your bar is smaller than you think. If you practice employment law or handle business litigation, you’ll run into the same firms, multiple times. Although big firms have grown so large that partners may never see each other face to face, anyone can send an all-hands email.
I’m not here to repeat the axiom: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and seconds to destroy it”. In litigation, that’s not how it works. Some enjoy being untrustworthy assholes. Some wear “bad reputation” like a badge of honor.
I’m here to say: Talk that sh*t.
Tell me what you think. Give me your unvarnished opinion. I’m seasoned enough to form my own opinion. But your impressions help me map the minefield before I step into the room.
What I’m Listening To:
· Joni Mitchell – Blue
I like my holidays with a side of sorrow.
Last post for the year. Wishing you all a prosperous new year (and maybe, if we’re lucky, a less “interesting” one, too).
Field Notes x Morello Mediation
None of this is legal advice. YMMV.