Founder, Onward Mediation

During my nearly 20 years of litigation and transactional practice both in law firms and within legal departments of Fortune 500 companies, I have seen time, money, and people resources consumed by litigation. Trial can be appropriate for some cases, but most cases should—and do—resolve well before trial. Mediation offers a way to resolve conflict with confidentiality, creativity, mutual respect, and a much higher level of control over the process and the outcome versus litigation, and at far less cost.

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I believe strongly in the self-determination of parties, since they are each ultimately best suited to know best both how to work through their dispute and what they might be agreeable to. From the outset, I work to earn trust and to create an atmosphere conducive to agreement. I work diligently to facilitate enhanced communication between the parties by exploring and probing issues, clarifying and narrowing details, and reality testing outcomes desired or proposed by the parties. I take a pragmatic, flexible approach designed to meet the needs of the parties. Although I may give feedback on particular discrete issues of a case, I generally avoid giving an evaluation of a party’s claim or defense and do not attempt to project outcomes if a dispute were to proceed to trial.