Distasio Law - August 2020

Distasio Law - August 2020

ISTASIO PERSONAL INJURY LAW

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AUG 2020

LIFE & THE LAW

(813) 259-0022 | www.distasiofirm.com

The Truth About Mediation Don’t Be Afraid to Walk Away and Head to Trial

Up until the early ‘90s, the process of mediation largely didn’t exist in the world of law. Most cases were settled through conversations between lawyers and judges who listened to facts and told people how they should settle. But mediation has made it so that before this step, opposing sides are required to meet with a third party who is an unbiased mediator to hear arguments and evidence in an effort to settle before they need to go to court. The common thought is that mediation is great because it’s a way to avoid trial, which many people are fearful of. But this fear is the exact thing that mediation feeds on, and it’s the exact reason we approach it with heightened resolve. The state of Florida requires that all cases go through mediation before they move on to a trial by jury, and in that way, about 95% of all cases are settled before they reach court. Our team members are no strangers to the process of mediation, but we’re also no strangers to the true intent behind it: instilling unreasonable fear. We understand why our clients might be fearful of going to court to fight their case. The process is full of risk, stress, and unknown variables. Sometimes the defense offers a reasonable settlement and it makes sense to resolve a case. When they do not offer a reasonable settlement during mediation, it can often feel much easier to just agree to the menial

monetary compensation offered rather than go through the entire process of preparing for trial and sitting through it day after day until a verdict is reached. But that’s not what justice is about, and that’s why, although we’re experts at it, mediation is far from the last resort we’re willing to use for our clients. When the defense does not offer a fair settlement at mediation, they use it as a tool to devalue a case and skirt the risks they face if they go to court. Insurance companies and their defense teams would rather stay out of court, and they know most plaintiffs would too. So they essentially scare the plaintiff into staying away from court by feeding them reasons to be fearful of it during the mediation process. This often results in the plaintiff agreeing to settlements massively lacking the justice they deserve. The remedy to this that we’ve spent years building is simple but effective: When the offer is not reasonable, show the defense that you are not afraid to go to court. In the right case, there’s incredible value in walking away from a mediation and preparing for trial. We’ve positioned ourselves as expert mediators simply because we’re never bullied into taking settlement deals that aren’t reasonable for our clients. Unlike many lawyers who thrive off the chump-change monetary gains of lowball mediation offers, we’re willing to put in the time, money, and effort to take

the right case to court so justice can prevail rightfully. I say you have to have the right case because sometimes the risk of losing at trial is just too big. Any time we head to mediation with a client, we always tell them to match our attitudes about being willing to walk out of the room without settling. That’s because when the opposing side can see you’re not afraid to head to trial, they’re more likely to bend their numbers and meet your demanded value. Mediation is rarely about the truth or right versus wrong; it’s very often about leverage and fear. It’s a mechanism to pull those levers, and if you let fear surround you in that room, the other side takes advantage. But if you have no fear about leaving mediation to instead go to trial, then you mitigate the fear the opposing side is trying to feed on.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP A referral is the greatest compliment you could ever give us. If you know someone in need of our services, we welcome the opportunity to help. Please pass along this newsletter and tell them to give us a call at (813) 259-0022. We greatly appreciate it.

-ScottDistasio

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(813) 259-0022

THE LASTING IMPACT OF THE DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL LEGAL IMPLICATIONS WE CAN STILL SEE TODAY

the U.S. justice system. However, protecting >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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