Mediation is art, not science. Every mediator has a different approach, but every approach has the same objective: resolution of the dispute. By their nature, lawsuits create highly competitive and antagonistic environments. Turning these demanding situations into opportunities for settlement is the art of mediation in its truest form. Being a mediator is a highly individualized enterprise requiring experience in an array of issues and environments as well as a keen understanding of conflict resolution and human nature. Sensitivity to the core interests at stake is essential. Identifying those interests and shaping settlements consistent with their preservation is the key to a winning outcome. The most successful meditations are those in which the parties take ownership of the settlement, and the most accomplished mediators are those who create the conditions favorable to that outcome.
Mr. González’s effectiveness as a mediator is evidenced by the hundreds of matters he has resolved over the more than two-and-a-half decades he has been mediating. Contesting litigants, federal judges, and the Department of Justice call on him to resolve a myriad of complex cases and class actions involving commercial interests, public policy, civil rights, education, ERISA, copyright, and employment issues. Persistence and focused attention on the cases entrusted to him are hallmarks of Mr. González’s work and have established him as a highly successful and in-demand mediator.
