American Institute of Mediation : AIM Institute : Courses : Legal and Insurance Terms of Art and Settlement Strategies

Legal Nuts and Bolts for Mediators: Legal and Insurance Terms of Art and Settlement Strategies

Lee Jay Berman & Friends

There is a specific art to mediating litigated cases where insurance adjusters are involved. This course systematically walks through the issues involved, the nuances at play and solutions for dealing successfully with counsel and insurance adjusters in each practice area. It also serves as an introduction to or review of the legal terms of art and specific settlement strategies that mediators must understand in order to successfully mediate cases in each specific area of law.

Why This Course:

This course was designed specifically to pass down the knowledge of experienced mediators who specialize in these specific practice areas, to those who wish to expand their mediation practices into these areas. For example, it is difficult to mediate medical malpractice cases without knowing about MICRA limits and how the Act affects attorneys' fees, physicians' reportable limits, who the insurers are in the specialty and how these consent policies differ from other policies. And then, armed with this knowledge, there are specific strategies that help mediators to be most effective in effectively mediating these types of cases. The same holds true for most every area of law or business. In addition to understanding the terms of art for each practice area, mediators need to understand which strategies are effective in different cases. This one-day course will give mediators useful tools that will make them better equipped in their very next case, as well as expanding mediators' confidence and the range of cases that mediators feel competent mediating.

This one-day course is taught by practice area, beginning with practice area specific terms of art, followed by the particulars of each practice area (landmines and inroads), and then strategies that are most effective for navigating that practice area. Each specialty area is co-taught by specialists in each area co-training with Lee Jay Berman throughout the day. Each co-trainer has vast experience in their practice area, and has practiced law and mediated in that practice area - usually for decades. While each of these practice areas could be a full-day course, this program is more of a crash course that is loaded with good information. While it will not make anyone an expert in any one practice area, it will assist and refresh those wanting to expand their mediation practices into new practice areas.

General Litigation, Torts and Personal Injury, Insurance Claims and Bad Faith, Healthcare, Medical Malpractice, Real Property, Construction, Bankruptcy, Employment, Class Actions, Business, Corporate and Commercial, Professional Liability, Probate and Family Cases.

Many mediators move from the practice of law into mediation and are called upon by the courts and by former colleagues and clients to mediate cases that are not in the same area of law in which they practiced. Other mediators come from different professions where they were expert in that field (business, healthcare, accounting, behavioral sciences and many more), but who want to mediate in areas outside of that specialty or want to better understand the dynamics of mediating litigated cases. This course is designed for all of these mediators, and those who want to brush up on other practice areas and expand the breadth of areas in which they mediate.

Lee Jay Berman began as a full-time mediator in 1994, mediating over 1,600 cases in that time. Also an accomplished trainer in the field, he was the Director of the Mediating the Litigated Case program at Pepperdine Law School's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution from 2002-2009, when he left to launch the American Institute of Mediation.

This course is one full day, it will begin with breakfast and registration beginning at 8:30 a.m., class will commence at 9:00a.m., with an hour for lunch and one 10-15 minute break in the morning and the afternoon. Continental breakfast, lunch and snacks will be served and are included. We typically end by 4:30 p.m. Please arrange to stay to the end and schedule outgoing flights after 6:30 p.m.

NOTE: Mediator's Starter Kit is available at a discounted price of $129 (regular $149) when bundled with enrollment in this course.