Milhaupt Dispute Resolution Services

Mediation Briefs and Sharing of Information

To help Tom best prepare for your mediation, please provide a concise brief (with separate confidential and non-confidential portions as appropriate) at least five (5) days before the mediation.

Ideally, the brief should address a) the significant underlying disputed/undisputed facts, b) a procedural status summary including description of completed and contemplated discovery as well as scheduled and anticipated dispositive motions, c) a history of settlement demands and offers including CCP 998 offers, d) a discussion of issues and hurdles expected to arise at trial and potential methods of dealing with them, and, if applicable, e) an explanation of any significant or unusual communication or other personal/interpersonal issues present in this particular case that could be addressed in caucus or in discussion between counsel at some point during the session.

All parties should also, as appropriate, designate part or all of the information submitted in their brief(s) as non-confidential, and share that information with all other participants as soon as possible before the mediation begins. Timely sharing of that information can benefit you in a variety of ways, such as helping the parties reach informal agreement as to damage calculation issues, identification and possible resolution of some key factual and legal areas of disagreement. Often, providing such information informally before the mediation will help all parties more quickly narrow or resolve such issues during the mediation session by (for example) correcting inaccurate assumptions.

All Participants Can Profit From an Empathetic Mindset

In addition to preparing thorough, concise briefs and sharing as much of the contents as possible with all parties prior to the mediation, Tom encourages all parties and counsel to arrive at the mediation ready to engage positively with the other participants, and to remain on the lookout for opportunities to increase their understanding of, and appreciation for, other viewpoint(s) in the dispute. Although mediators, counsel and parties arrive at a mediation with some preliminary thoughts and expectations, and tentative contingency plans for certain specifically anticipated impediments to reaching agreement at the mediation, remaining attentive throughout the mediation keeps the parties and mediator better prepared and ready to respond effectively when the mediation takes an unexpected difficult turn which requires the parties (often with mediator assistance) to address a particular issue before progress can resume. Also, remaining attentive and courteous throughout the mediation improves overall communication between parties and counsel for the remainder of the case if it does not resolve at mediation.

• Loyola Law School Center for Conflict Resolution Mediation Training Program (DRPA California Mediator Certification)
• Pepperdine Law School (Straus Institute) – Systematic Approach to Mediation Strategies STAR Workshop (2017)

Tom’s work experience as a civil litigator and mediator enables him to bring a great deal of practical, direct, hands-on familiarity with numerous types of litigated matters including wage and hour (individual and class/FLSA collective actions), wrongful termination, discrimination and other employment-related disputes, real estate (sales transactions, nondisclosure, commercial lease disputes), partition, adjoining landowner issues and HOA litigation), partnership dissolution and business evaluation, business contract and other commercial disputes, questioned documents issues, personal injury (auto, premises liability, negligence, intentional tort, product liability, professional negligence and governmental tort liability issues), and other civil litigation matters.