Pre-Litigation Mediation

“Contain if necessary, resolve if possible, best of all prevent.”

William Ury
The Third Side

Judith Rubenstein and Lol Sorensen firmly believe that alternative forms of dispute resolution are under-utilized in society. As stated by former Chief Justice Warren Burger:

“Traditional litigation is a mistake that must be corrected. . . . For some disputes trials will be the only means, but for many claims trial by adversarial contest must in time go the way of the ancient trial by battle. Our system is too costly, too painful, too destructive, too inefficient for really civilized people.”

Litigation is destructive to relationships and to the individuals involved, even if they win. It is never too early to mediate any type of dispute in which ongoing relationships are jeopardized. These include probate, trust and conservatorship matters, family business and partnership disputes, workplace disputes, supply and service contracts, homeowner’s association issues and neighborhood disputes. In such disputes, the mere filing of litigation can result in anger, pain, anguish and the severance of valuable relationships, not to mention enormous financial cost.

Given their multi-disciplinary training and expertise, Judith Rubenstein and Lol Sorensen specialize in working with parties – with or without lawyers – to resolve disputes and restore relationships before litigation is filed.