Speaker 1: What should you expect at a mediation? I'm Tom Friedman. I'm a lawyer in Nevada. I've been to many, many mediations and today we'll go over a few of the things you're going to encounter when you attend a mediation. So a mediation is this. There's usually a party bringing claim. For example, somebody's been injured in an accident and there's usually another party who's being sued and that's the person that caused the injury. Both generally have lawyers. The person who was injured will probably be there with his or her lawyer. The person who is being sued is generally going to be there with a lawyer and then also possibly the insurance carrier that provides insurance for the claim. Then there's a person in the middle called a mediator. The mediator is a neutral party that has no interest in either side and the mediator's job is to bring the sides together so they can come to a number that is satisfactory enough where the defendant will pay the plaintiff an amount of money to make the case go away. So what really happens when you go to mediation? Well generally the mediators will have their own office building, something like that, and before COVID people always did mediations. Never say never, never. We'll not say always. Generally people did mediations in person and so the person bringing the claim, the injured party, would walk into the office generally with their lawyer they would be greeted by a reception area staff and they would be put into their own office. Then the defendant and his or her lawyer, possibly insurance adjuster, would come in and they would be put into a separate office. And what would happen is the mediator comes in and generally will say hi to both parties but then spend the most time with the plaintiff or the claimant who's bringing the claim. And the reason the mediator works with the plaintiff or the claimant first is because the mediator wants to learn about the case, what the important parts are, what the big issues are, and try to also get a feeling for the plaintiff. If the mediator sees the plaintiff, the person bringing the claim, as a really genuine, warm, honest person, the mediator is going to know, ah a jury's gonna love this person, might give this person a lot of money, I better tell that to the defendants. On the flip side, if the plaintiff is very evasive, really obnoxious, someone who's not likable, they'll let the other side know that too, say hey you know what a jury's probably not gonna like this person and juries tend to give money to people they like and they tend to give money to not give money to people they don't like. So anyway, first the mediator goes in, meets with the plaintiff and the plaintiff's attorney, they talk, they discuss the issues of the case, and generally after that, they're going to come to a number called a demand. And a demand is not something you yell, it just means it is the opening number to start the negotiation process. So if you want a hundred thousand dollars in your case, you do not start with a hundred thousand dollars because you only go down from there, you don't go up. So the demand is going to be a number that's too high to settle the case, but it's going to start the conversation and it's not going to frighten away the other side. If you're in an average auto accident and you make a demand of a trillion dollars, the other side may just pack up their things and go home. So the mediator goes in, meets with the plaintiff, they come to a number that's going to be the demand, the mediator leaves that room, closes the door, and goes over to see the defense room. And in the defense room, they're going to see the defendant, probably the person being sued, they're definitely going to see the attorney for the defendant, and presumably the insurance adjuster will be there too, assuming the defendant has insurance. So then the mediator is going to tell them, hey look, I met with a plaintiff, the plaintiff's really great, jury's going to love the plaintiff, they're going to get money, so you guys got to get to work today. Or they may say the opposite. The defendants are going to say, hey look, sure there was an accident, there was an injury, but it's not our fault for all of these reasons. And therefore, this demand made by the plaintiff is way out of line and we're going to make a counteroffer that's not up here, but it's down here. It's going to be an offer that's way too low, and they know it, so don't take it. So what happens is they know, the plaintiff knows their demand is too high and no one's going to take it. And then when the defendant makes an offer, they know that number's too low and the plaintiffs aren't going to take it. So it's this little dance. And the way it works is after the counteroffer is made from the defendant, the mediator walks back to the office for the plaintiff and says, hey look plaintiff, this is the counter to it, don't get upset, this is just the beginning of the dance, and here's the reasons why they think your case is not worth this much money. And then of course the plaintiff and the plaintiff's attorney will say, well look, here's the reasons our case is worth more money, da-da-da-da-da. And then the mediator will go walk over to the defendants and this process just goes back and forth and back and forth with the two parties and their lawyers not talking to each other, but the media are going from office to office to office to office. If everything goes as planned at the end of the day, the demand that's out of sight has come down, the offer which is way too low has come up, and the parties reach a number. And if they reach a number they can both agree on, we have a settlement. And what happens with the settlement is the case is done. The defendant will put together a settlement agreement, which is a contract that basically say we will pay you X dollars in exchange you will dismiss your lawsuit. And the plaintiff will say, hey here's my here's my information you need to write a check and here's any liens that might be involved. And the process is put together where one side will order a check, the other side will sign documents, the check will be exchanged for the documents, the lawsuit will be dismissed, and the plaintiff and the plaintiff's attorney will get paid. If you have any questions about how mediation works, please feel free to give me a call, drop me an email, and thanks very much for watching.