Pathway to Resolution
Preparation, Patience and Persistence
You brought, and employed, all the needed tools to this mediation. By that I mean you provided appropriate measures of both constructive criticism of thin legal theories and related positions and validation of the emotions in the room. Most mediators (too many in fact that fancy themselves top shelf mediators) lack your command of these vitally important, related skills. To me, an effective mediator will tell a party (and the attorney) when he thinks a position or strategy is attenuated or worse, and do it deftly, in a way that doesn’t cut anyone off at the knees. At the same time – and this is the more delicate and too often overlooked skill, in my opinion – the foregoing valuable critique must be balanced by appropriate validation of some other aspect of a party’s overall position, especially if that party’s overall position entails a strong emotional reaction to being accused of doing something horrible as was the case with my clients. You did this masterfully. - Michael Villa, Esq. - Law offices of Michael Villa
After prior efforts to resolve our elder abuse case had failed, we were fortunate when the Court assigned Eric assigned to serve as our mediator. Eric’s wisdom, patience, logic, and quiet skills of persuasion helped both parties reach a resolution of a challenging case. - Robert F. Epstein & Robyn Christo - Epstein Holtzapple Christo LLP
“Mr. Sternberger went above and beyond the call of duty to settle a personal injury case . His knowledge of the factual and legal issues, his appreciation of the emotional undercurrents, and his determination to keep working, long after others would have quit - - brought the parties to common ground. He did an excellent job and I will recommend Mr. Sternberger’s mediation services at my next opportunity. - Howard R. Weber, Esq. - Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP (formally of Lewis Brisbois)
