Yesterday I attended a great CLE/CME (Continuing Mediator Education) seminar entitled “Brave New World for Mediation: Skills for Forging the Future.” Aside from the skills learned from the mediators at the seminar, one thing stuck with me from the keynote speech. In the course of his discussion of how far mediation (and ADR in general) […]
The Anatomy of a Construction Dispute Stage 3- The Last Straw
Over the past two weeks here at Construction Law Musings, I’ve discussed the first two stages of a typical construction dispute (if such a thing exists): the claim, and how to bring heat short of litigation/arbitration. As promised, this week I’ll be discussing the next step or “last straw” in a construction dispute, namely, arbitration […]
Talking Mediation at ALPS411
Thanks again to the ALPS411 Blog continuing to allow me a platform to “Muse” on their blog. This time is about mediation and my love of the process. Here’s an excerpt: This fact of life is why, in almost every case, I recommend trying to settle the matter early, even if it is not a 100% […]
Arbitration is Waivable (Even If You Don’t Mean To)
Be careful with how you act with arbitration clauses in your contracts. If you are not careful in how you act to enforce these clauses, you could find yourself stuck in court whether you like it or not. As I stated in a recent update to a post last month, the Fourth Circuit Court of […]
More Musings From the Mediation Trenches
As those that read this construction blog on a regular basis know, I became a Virginia Supreme Court certified mediator a few years ago. I did so because I believe that mediation as a form of alternate dispute resolution is in most cases a much better alternative to resolve a construction dispute than litigation. While […]