Making Alternative Dispute Resolution Work for You
As experienced trial attorneys, our law firm is concerned about the difficulty many clients experience with the expense, uncertainty and time commitment that traditional litigation techniques can generate. To put it baldly, many clients with legitimate claims and disputes just cannot handle the risk and legal fees that a substantial lawsuit often represents.
At the Law Offices of David G. Finkelstein, we are committed to finding ways to meet all of our clients' litigation objectives, not just those clients flush enough to support protracted discovery, civil motions and trial. To learn how you can benefit from our experience with mediation, arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution, contact us in San Mateo.
Mediation can help you settle your case as well as test its strength
Our litigation attorneys take pride in our ability to make an accurate evaluation of the merit and value of a client's case, but sometimes a second opinion is necessary. Mediation is a way to place a short-form presentation of your claim or defense before a neutral mediator, who then advises each party of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the case. The mediator's nonbinding opinions often form a solid basis for settlement of even the most hotly-contested disputes.
The most skilled mediators are also highly effective at narrowing the points of dispute and steering the session toward settlement. By focusing on what each client absolutely needs to achieve in the litigation, mediation can bring parties very close to a negotiated resolution.
Binding or nonbinding arbitration can also reduce your litigation fees
Binding arbitration is more formal and labor-intensive than mediation, because the object is to determine a winner rather than forge a settlement. Nevertheless, the discovery and evidentiary procedures in arbitration generally represent significant savings over superior court proceedings, and the certainty of a binding result can bring you valuable finality.
AV-rated* attorney David Finkelstein serves both as an advocate and as a third-party neutral in Northern California arbitration and mediation proceedings, especially in real estate, commercial and construction disputes.
Even nonbinding arbitration can offer considerable efficiencies. Although either party can reject the result and continue the case in court, penalties for failing to achieve a better outcome in traditional litigation will make a party think very hard before doing so.
To learn more about the scope of our arbitration and mediation practice, contact a lawyer at the Law Offices of David G. Finkelstein in San Mateo.
* CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties, Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings evaluate two categories--legal ability and general ethical standards.
