Dear Counsel:
These testimonials are meant to help you, the lawyers that do not know me , to have confidence that I have the kind of experience and disposition that would make me the right mediator for your case.
However, I would like to address the concern that, as a mediator, I might favor someone who has offered one of the testimonials below: DO NOT WORRY !
First, I would not last long in this business if I conducted a mediation where I was actually biased…and I would not deserve to.
Second, as a Judge for 20 years, I understand this concern…as well as even the “appearance of bias” as a legitimate concern that must be addressed. Hence this message.
Third, do not forget that it is a good thing for your mediator to be respected and trusted by the “other side”. When you believe you have either the facts or the law or both on your side, you want the mediator’s concurrence in that view to have meaning in the other room.
Fourth, please understand that if I do have any bias as a result of my knowledge of the parties or facts in a case, I will respond appropriately by telling you so and by not agreeing to mediate the case. As a member of the California Judge’s Association’s Ethics Committee for many years, a member of the Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, and a member of the Judicial Council’s Ethic’s Committee for many years, I understand issues related to impartiality and bias.
Please feel free to call and speak with me if you still have concerns. Remember as well, that virtually every lawyer below named, before I mediated his or her case, could have had the same concern as you do.
Sincerely,
Al Dover