Meet Our Mediators: Bo Dennis
Multi-sport athletes have to have their act together. Moving among different sets of people, sport-specific fundamentals and the obligations you have to multiple sets of teammates and coaches requires adaptability, extra effort and time management skills. Bo Dennis has these traits and has carried with him the lessons from being a three-sport athlete in high school and a two-sport athlete in at the University of Delaware through his career as a trial lawyer and now as a mediator. As you will see, Bo’s career has been among the most diverse. His trial practice clients, fellow members of the bar, and those who mediate with Bo benefit from that broad life experience and how relatable that experience makes him. And the persistence it takes to be an athlete and successful lawyer comes through as well.
Meet Our Mediators: Ana Cristina Maldonado
In this installment of “Meet our Mediators,” we get to know Ana Cristina Maldonado. You may already have met her as a mediator, or through her work with The Florida Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, Craig S. Barnard Inns of Court, Palm Beach Hispanic Bar Association, Mediator Qualifications & Disciplinary Review Board, and her work with various mediation and dispute resolution training groups. Cristina epitomizes what it means to be diverse in experiences, skills, and interests.
Meet Our Mediators: Karen Brimmer
Shareholder Richard Lord interviews fellow mediator Karen Brimmer, who joined Upchurch Watson White & Max earlier this year, to talk about motivation, favorite books, curiosity and creativity.
Meet Our Mediators: Frederick J. Lauten
In this installment of “Meet our Mediators,” shareholder Richard Lord interviews fellow panel member Fred Lauten. “I first met Fred almost 30 years ago and all along have considered him to be a true professional, keen legal mind and a good person. He has brought those attributes, and more, with him to Upchurch Watson White & Max, and I am pleased to introduce him to some of you.”
Meet Our Mediators: April Walker
April Walker knew she wanted to be a lawyer earlier than many and eventually decided she could best use her skills as a mediator. In this installment of “Meet our Mediators,” Richard Lord introduces us to one of the recent additions to our mediation panel. “Ms. Walker, recognized by the Florida Trend 2018 Legal Elite, grew up with a front row seat to trial practice, almost literally,” he writes. “You see, well before high school, because her mom worked in the Dade County Courthouse, April often found herself in the gallery during holiday breaks. There, she was introduced to the courtroom and to a career of wanting to help people. Like many effective mediators, she has a sincere curiosity about the role of human behavior in dispute dynamics and is a patient facilitator in the process of peeling back the layers of a dispute to identify potential solutions. The search for the elements of a possible resolution, the process of exploration and negotiation fit her interests and personality very well.”
Meet Our Mediators: Steven R. Jaffe
Steve Jaffe started his legal career as an Assistant State Attorney. In that capacity, the keen interpersonal skills he brings to mediation helped him quickly become a mentor to and supervisor of others. On the civil side, Steve first practiced insurance defense and later focused his energies on a plaintiff practice. After a decade or so in Miami-Dade and another decade in Broward, Steve became very well known for his work in consumer class actions which he handled around the country. These days, when not mediating, Steve enjoys travel and finds joy in a very special charitable endeavor. Not a big fan of being sedentary, Steve prefers active travel, with skiing, and rafting high on his preferred list. Steve also enjoys cycling trips. And, when asked about a favorite place to visit, the answer came without hesitation – Italy.
Meet Our Mediators: Marty Van Tassel
In this, our first 2018 installment of “Meet our Mediators”, we turn northward to Alabama and present shareholder George M. “Marty” Van Tassel. Marty joined UWWM in 2014 after having led the Mediation Center at Sirote & Permutt P.C. in Birmingham, Alabama. Resident in our Birmingham office, Marty graduated from both the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Law where he has served as an adjunct professor in mediation process and practice. Marty has refined his skills through the most effective means possible – experience – and is sought after precisely for those traits that he identifies as those he has seen in the most successful lawyers.
Meet our Mediators: Jeffrey M. Fleming
The focus of this edition of “Meet Our Mediators,” Jeff Fleming learned the importance of trust and credibility first as a trial lawyer and then as Orange County and Ninth Circuit Judge. Resident in our Maitland office, he has developed a devoted statewide following as mediator, arbitrator, special magistrate, umpire and guardian ad litem. In each role, Jeff draws on his past experience as lawyer and judge; but that was not the future he saw when he first started college.
Meet Our Mediators: Ricardo Cata
“In this installment, we have the pleasure of presenting Ricardo Cata, who, before joining Upchurch Watson White & Max, served as a trial lawyer in South Florida for 38 years. Ricardo mediates a variety of personal injury and commercial civil litigation matters including cross border disputes that are in litigation or international arbitration. Spending a few minutes with Ricardo, you will see that he is genuine. Spending even more time with him will reveal a thread that runs through both his personal and professional life – an aptitude for staying focused on the goal even when it is difficult to persevere. And this serves him well and by extension those for whom he mediates.
The Global Pound Conference Visits Miami
Mediators Richard Lord and Ricardo Cata recently joined other neutrals, educators, judges, business executives, inside and external counsel at the University of Miami’s Newman Alumni Center for the Global Pound Conference Series (GPC) event in Miami. The purpose of the GPC is to gauge the current state of commercial dispute resolution from the perspectives of varied stakeholders, and to generate ideas and data to inform where alternative dispute resolution goes from here. About 40 events in 31 countries began with Singapore in March 2016 and will conclude with London in July 2017. The Miami GPC (April 2017) along with those in New York, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Baltimore (June 8, 2017) constitute the U.S. stops and opportunities for influencing the “global” state of ADR.