Oct. 17, 2013
Mark Rudy
See more on Mark RudyExelrod, Zieff & Lowe LLP Specialties: Employment and commercial matters Number of years in ADR: 25
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What prompted you to go into ADR?
In 1988, I was contacted by a defense lawyer who indicated to me that he was scheduled to start a three-week jury trial in a wrongful termination claim in a few days. He stated to me that the parties had participated in a settlement conference without success. He asked if I would come in on a Saturday and work with the parties in attempting to resolve the matter so they could avoid a trial. Previous to this, I had tried to verdict many wrongful discharge and employment discrimination matters and consequently both plaintiff and defense lawyers agreed to utilize my services as a mediator/settlement attorney.
Most difficult case:
A class action disability discrimination case wherein the company allegedly terminated employees once they requested accommodation for their disability. The major obstacle was convincing the defendant to look at this case on a class-wide basis even though the likelihood of class certification was minimal. The problem for the company was that the plaintiffs' lawyers had executed over 30 individual contingent fee agreements with their client so if the class was not certified, the company would have to defend, at great expense, a significant number of claims. The case ultimately settled on a class-wide basis with both monetary and injunctive relief provided.
One piece of advice for new ADR professionals: Specialize in an area of law for which [you] have experience so [you] can use the expertise [you] have already developed in pursing an ADR practice.
One thing you would change about the ADR industry:
Encourage more experienced ADR professionals to devote time mentoring those who have recently entered the profession. <!-- Mark Rudy -->
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