Playing Devil’s Advocate

The litigation section of the California Lawyers Association recently published this bon mot:

“Mediators are expected to play the role of ‘Devil’s advocate,’ questioning the strength or viability of the various legal arguments being asserted by parties and/or their counsel. In this context, mediators may dive deeply into the law applicable to the underlying dispute (and defenses). The parties may provide sophisticated though conflicting analysis of that law in the mediation briefing and during the session.”

Maybe parties don’t want me to be the devil, but I was actually asked by one attorney to “knock heads together.”

If you are serious about settling your case, please contact me. We’ll come up with some ways to make it happen– perhaps devilish, perhaps angelic .