Employment Law: Legal Evidence, Questions And Answers

1. Know your case, and collect your evidence. The first requirement is to have a case, and your attorney must understand the legal elements that must be proven. Ultimately, the mediator must be able to give an opinion to each side whether there will be a likely outcome at trial or arbitration. Unless you have set out facts and law showing a potential for success at trial, the mediator has nothing to work with in convincing the opponent it could lose and lose big if mediation isn't successful.

2. Know your opponent's case, and particularly know its weaknesses. Either by formal discovery, or by informal exchange, you must anticipate the employer's defenses, and be prepared to answer them. In employment law, the focus is usually on the reasons the employer gives for terminating employment. Those reasons must be exposed as so incredible as to be likely lies. That means you have to know each and every "justification" for the termination, and be prepared to discredit it completely.

3.
Select an effective mediator. In employment law matters, that usually means a mediator with a proven background in employment law. You and your lawyer should know the reputation of the mediator in the relevant community. In employment law, for example, there are likely a handful of mediators that are regularly used by both sides because of their expertise, their balanced viewpoints, and their proven track record in reaching settlements both sides can accept. The qualities most often cited by attorneys as desirable in a mediator include mental quickness, preparation, a strong nose for nonsense or sham, a pleasant but firm demeanor, tenacity and perseverance even when negotiations sour, a command of the relevant law, and the ability to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each party's