Comment by Andre Jackson on July 14, 2012 at 12:37am

Congratulations John! Very nice! Anything you can share?

Comment by John C. Turley on July 14, 2012 at 3:42pm

This was a landlord/tenant civil case. The disputants were represented by attorneys, one from the UAW with fees paid by the union to counsel the defendant, and the plaintiff with a retained attorney. The disputants had been close friends at one time. The surface issues involved the failure to pay rent, significant property damages, and late payments and NSF checks, as well as lost opportunity income on the property, court fees and plaintiff attorney billable hours.

The issues beneath the surface centered upon a lack of communication, breech of trust, and defendant obstinacy and pigheadedness. My experience as a corporate salesman for many years told me to keep probing for the personal and business needs(positions) of the parties in conflict. I kept asking "why" whenever a salient point surfaced. I learned this technique from my business partner, ED Sketch, the former Director of Labor Relations for Ford worldwide. You will hear more about this approach in our August webinar on creative conflict management.

As a former salesman, I carry over the gift of persistence when I sense that a solution is at hand. My attitude is not rooted in competition as much as a mature understanding that people want to end the dispute to satisfy their business and personal needs. I also adhere to the facilitative mediation process.

My Creighton negotiation training with Noam and Ran taught me to facilitate the development of options for or by the disputants. The disputants need to realize the "what if" or Eureka moment with a little help from the mediator. When a mutually favorable resolution to the problem surfaces, I make sure that the clients including their lawyers take personal ownership of the ideas. This trait comes from my ADR case experience. I read as many ADR blogs as possible and I keep abreast of new ideas via the ADR/HUB and the subject matter experts including the works of Ury and other notables in our field.

During the session, the UAW lawyer was detached and somewhat aloof. He wanted to take the case to the judge. His advice in session was pedestrian at best. At one point, we reduced the total amount in dispute by $3,500.00 and the payment period from 24 to 18 mos. The union lawyer advised his client to end the mediation session since there was no apparent progress in his mind. I politely jumped down his throat to aver that a reduction in the damages and the overall payment terms indicated strong negotiation progress. We did not have a white board or easel, so I created a mental image of our negotiation progress and the mutually agreed upon solution. There were two law school observers in the meeting. One of the students commented during the debrief that I made his day by "slapping the UAW lawyer back in place." I corrected his observation by stating that I was merely adhering to the facilitative mediation process within the disputant negotiation and mutually agreeable solution phases. I observed that the union lawyer was a poor mediator, negotiator, and attorney since his client could be prosecuted for writing a number of bad checks for significant amounts. He did not understand or care that the disputants were inches away from the final agreement. The plaintiff was generous in his terms if the defendant made good on the checks for NSF.

The case was settled for which I thank my Creighton training, my two years of ADR practical experience, and the wisdom and influence of my many ADR mentors. Since graduating in 2010, I have learned so much from respected ADR leaders such as Zena Zumeta, Cinnie Noble, Tammy Lenski, Tracey Allen, and Susan Butterwick. I also stay in touch with Bryan Hanson, Bernie,Noam, and Doug Rainey who are keen to offer their help and wise advice. I believe that I am starting to come into my own as an ADR specialist as I develop my particular style and value to my clients. Creighton is a great place to start the journey toward self actualization within our profession

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