Welcome to My Web Log

I know, I know – people don’t say "Web Log" anymore. I suppose eventually I will succumb to peer pressure and call this a "Blog," or worse, a "Blawg." But for now, I am going to resist the temptation. It took me a long time to switch from DOS to Windows, too.

My theme for this whatever-you-want-to-call-it will be on resolution of civil litigation cases – those matters where the primary motivation for the participants is money. There is a lot of literature on resolving disputes where bruised egos, shattered relationships and the like are dominant, but I have seen little out there dealing with situations where the main (if not the only) question is "how much?" and the pie tends to look the same at the end of the process as it did at the beginning.

I have been a New Hampshire trial lawyer since 1978 and have served four or five days a year as a voluntary mediator in our state’s superior courts since 1992. Most of the cases I have mediated fall into the category of personal or bodily injury. For more on my mediation philosophy, check out my article "Of Potted Plants and Personal Injury: a Contrarian View of Mediation," which was published in the Fall 2007 issue of New Hampshire Trial Bar News.

In the months to come, I will try to populate this space with posts focusing on the practical aspects of settling civil disputes over money – those which are, or which could be, the subject of lawsuits.
I will be directing my remarks mostly toward lawyers who represent clients in such matters, because they are the ones who bear most of the responsibility for resolving cases before trial. However, there is a growing trend for people to represent themselves in civil litigation, so my aim is to provide information which will serve the needs of pro se litigants as well.

I am looking forward to this venture, and hope that I will be able to contribute to the dialogue in such a fascinating field.