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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.
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."
"This is a classic case of 'user error' – as advised during our Zoom webinar in March, if you’re going to use Zoom for mediations (or any business purpose) you should ALWAYS ENABLE WAITING ROOMS functionality and ALWAYS PASSWORD PROTECT your meetings."
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."
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.
The Working Group II (Dispute Resolution) of the U.N. Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) met in February to complete its work on the drafts of the instruments. That should be exciting to dispute resolution professionals because the end result may be significant growth of international commercial mediation.
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.
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.
"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.
Lawrence Kolin has a distinguished career in Alternative Dispute Resolution. He has been a professional neutral for over 15 years and has served as an arbitrator, mediator, and as a General Magistrate in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Through his bar association work he chaired the effort to modernize Florida Civil Procedure Rules to include E-Discovery. He has also been a member of the faculty at the Advanced Judicial College, Bench Bar conference, and The Masters Conference for Legal Professionals. You may have seen his articles in the Orange County Bar Association Briefs. He is also the author of the officially listed ABA Journal "Blawg" Orlando Mediator (www.abajournal.com/blawg/Orlando_Mediator).