Friday, August 28, 2009

Educators Alameda County Bar Association


Educators
Originally uploaded by JimHildreth
Jim W Hildreth Mediator completed continued education at the Alameda County Bar Association on the topic of Mandatory Fee Arbitration, the Attorney instructors were Judith Cohen & Michael Fish.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Personal Injury Mediation

Today I put on my mediation hat as I had been appointed by the Amador County Superior Court as a Mediator.

What was different, is that it was not a real estate case. I do speak real estate.

It was a personal injury case, where the plaintiff had been hit head on in a auto accident in Amador County in 2005.

The case involved major injuries.

When I went into the mediation the two sides were at two extremes.

I prepared and recieved sound advise from a retired judge in the mediation process.

After 2.5 hours we are now $10,000 apart from a settlement.

We will regroup for a 2nd mediation in October.

I'm confident that we will reach a settment prior to a 2010 trial.

What worked were the parties themselves, including the victim, the attorneys.

If and when settlement occurs, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) worked vs litigation.

Many courts are adopting alternatives in the litigation process.

Today, I gained a valuable education, experience and once again saw first hand the value of mediation vs litigation in the judicial process that is both time consuming, expensive and with the outcome having many unkowns.

Presently I serve on 4 Superior Courts as a Mediator, Amador, Calaveras, Merced & Alameda and conduct private mediation with real property being my main focus.

Jim W Hildreth Mediator