Skilled Mediator Florida

I graduated cum laude from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and received a Juris Doctorate at Duke University School of Law.  I became a lawyer and litigator to assist people in resolving their disputes in a civil manner, however, over the years I saw that litigation was not an efficient and effective way of accomplishing that goal.  Too often serious efforts to negotiate a case were left to attorneys meeting on courthouse steps or prompted to settlement talks by the trial judge just before picking a jury.  At that point, many of the costs of litigation had already been incurred in depositions and expert witnesses.

Mediation by a skilled mediator can guide the talks down a more productive pathway.  Even as a litigator, I served as the conduit for resolution of the cases I handled, talking to both my client and the opposing side in an effort to get the parties to a point of agreement.  In effect, I was acting as a mediator even before I got the formal training I now have.

I have been a litigation attorney for 35 years and mediator for 15, trying or arbitrating cases in personal injury, products liability, and construction.   My peer review rating by Martindale Hubbell is AV Preeminent.  I have published or lectured on issues of premises liability, school liability and products liability.   I am a member of the Dade County Bar Association, Florida Bar, American Bar Association and numerous specialty lawyer bars.  I was selected by the Florida Bar to serve on the Statewide Judicial Nominating Commission for Judges of Workers Compensation Claims.   I am an active member of Leadership Florida, a diverse statewide community of leaders actively engaged in understanding and serving Florida, having acted as the Southeast Regional Chair and Chair of the Leadership Florida Institute.

Expanding my role as a mediator, I honed my skills by extensive and continuing training in listening, motivating, calming, understanding and communicating.  Living in the wide array of cultures in Miami has sensitized me to how our diversity can lead to misunderstandings and in turn, legal disputes.  As your mediator I will work with both sides to bridge gaps in understanding and reach a solution that works for both sides without the added costs of litigation.