“We are here today to recognize and praise a real jewel discovered in this process, whose depth and diplomacy coupled with his mediation skills took over 30 years of contentious litigation and turned the protagonists into willing cooperators . . . Carlos González.”
George E. Barrett, Esq.
Nashville, Tennessee
_____________________
“[Mr. González’s] ability to identify the problem, evaluate the alternatives, and select the best course of action makes him a superb problem solver. He uses these talents to understand the personalities of all participants, thereby leading to successful team building; and his no nonsense respect for integrity is fundamental in all that he does.”
Julius W. Becton, Jr.
Lieutenant General, U.S. Army—Ret.
President Emeritus, Prairie View A&M University
Springfield, Virginia
_____________________
“I was counsel for the plaintiff class in Knight v. Alabama, the higher education desegregation case in which Carlos González served as the official court monitor and as the de facto mediator. Mr. González demonstrated a remarkable ability to manage complex institutional and budgetary issues. As a mediator, he was able on countless occasions to get the many players in Alabama’s balkanized higher education system to find common ground, to overcome differences that I thought were insuperable, and in the end to forge agreements that had evaded resolution for a quarter century. I also have been impressed with Mr. González’s success in finally resolving the longstanding Tennessee higher education and Alabama Transportation Department racial discrimination cases. I would highly recommend Mr. González as a monitor and mediator in almost any matter.”
James U. Blacksher, Esq.
Birmingham, Alabama
_____________________
“I want to thank Carlos González, the federal mediator who intervened in this case, for helping bring us to this day — under Carlos’ watch, we never had to go to court once to resolve disagreements.”
The Hon. Phil Bredesen, Governor of Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Statement at press conference announcing the end of Geier v. Bredesen
_____________________
“I have worked closely with Carlos for over ten years. In that time I have observed his keen intellect, his sharp legal mind and his sound judgment. He brings to every issue an insight and capacity for problem solving that is considerable. The responsibility and trust that has been given to him by courts to carry out complex and sensitive tasks is entirely understandable since he does so with great skill and sensitivity.”
Dr. Robben W. Fleming
President Emeritus, The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
_____________________
“My experience with Mr. González spans more than 15 years. During that entire period he served as Court Monitor for oversight of compliance with a remedial decree. During the last several years he also served as a mediator, as he worked with the parties to terminate the Decree through agreement.”
“Under Carlos’s leadership, the Decree achieved its goal of instituting processes and programs viewed by all parties as positive. . . . Although [he] was, quite literally, placed in the position of ‘working himself out of a job,’ he took the lead and worked tirelessly to bring more than a dozen competing factions to agreement on terms for the termination of the Decree.”
Robert D. Hunter, Esq.
Birmingham, Alabama
_____________________
“Carlos González is an attorney and counselor with a knowledge of the law that is broad and deep. Over the years and in varied situations I have seen him bring about the successful conciliation of contending parties, whether the issues were in litigation or prior to the jurisdiction of a court. He is even-handed, keenly analytical, and ever sensitive to the positions of those in contention. His goal in mediation is always to find the fairest possible solution within the bounds of the law.”
Dr. H. Bryce Jordan
President Emeritus, The Pennsylvania State University
Austin, Texas
_____________________
“Finally, the Court expresses its great appreciation to the Special Master, Carlos González. . . . Mr. González’s diligent and highly-skilled efforts made the Court’s management of this case possible, and relieved the Court’s staff of bearing the burden of supervising this case on a regular basis. The Court especially appreciates Mr. González’s use of his talents as a highly experienced and successful mediator . . . to resolve many of the issues that arose in this litigation informally, thus eliminating the need for formal action by the Court. Mr. González responded immediately and willingly to every request of the Court and counsel, and the Court is well aware that the parties would not have been able to resolve the issues in this litigation without [his] efforts.”
The Hon. Harold L. Murphy
United State District Judge Northen District of Georgia
(Sitting by Special Designation)
Knight v. Alabama, 469 F.Supp.2d 1016, 1038-39 (N.D. Ala. 2006).
_____________________
“[T]he tremendously important contribution of the court-appointed mediator, Mr. González, is probably the single most significant factor in bringing about this very great day. He possessed and demonstrated to the parties the integrity and neutrality, the understanding of and sensitivity to the respective positions to be fully accepted and trusted as an honest broker. He finishes this job with my great respect and gratitude for a job well done.”
The Hon. Thomas A. Wiseman, Jr.
United States District Judge Middle District of Tennessee
Geier v. Bredesen, 453 F.Supp.2d 1017, 1019 (M.D. Tenn. 2006).
