Approach
Solution-Oriented Mediation
The bottom line in mediation is closure. I am passionate about obtaining closure for all involved because I know from my nearly 20 years as a litigator that the benefits of closure nearly always outweigh the financial, emotional and other costs of going to trial.
Experience
I have a track record of resolving a wide array of complex, emotionally charged and high stakes disputes (examples of which can be seen on the Experience page of this website.)
No Time is Wasted
Getting to closure often begins before we ever meet. Approximately 4 weeks before our mediation, you will receive a "Pre-Mediation Email" addressing several issues and providing you with my cell number. I invite you to call me if there is anything you believe would be helpful for us to discuss beforehand. I will arrive at your mediation fully prepared, having read your briefs and ready to hit the ground running.
Creative Approaches
No matter how much money is at stake, the "human dynamic" is, in many instances, a crucial factor in settling a case. Once that dynamic and any hidden sub-issues are identified -- barriers to resolution can then be eliminated. I am always on the lookout for creative solutions to circumvent roadblocks and for unique ways to resolve disputes in a manner that avoids the enormous cost and risk of going to trial.
Persistence
When someone asks if I've gotten a case settled, you will never hear me say "no". My answer is always either "yes" or "not yet". That doesn't mean that I settle every case (which would be an impossibility given the number and kind of cases I mediate). What it means is -- I never give up! If a case does not settle at our initial session, you can be assured I will not let go. I will always keep following up and I'll keep probing for an opening, no matter how small, that will hopefully lead to the closure everyone wants.
As one attorney interviewed by the Los Angeles Daily Journal pointed out --
If Kaplan doesn't settle your case at the mediation "You will get calls and letters and e-mails and carrier pigeons, if necessary, to make you come to reason and resolution."
Bottom-Line Mediation ®
The above-discussed traditional/Zoom mediations comprise approximately 98% - 99% of my mediation practice. The other 1% - 2% involves a unique mediation paradigm I created in 2009 -- which I refer to as "Bottom-Line Mediation". Bottom-Line Mediation involves mediating select large exposure (mostly 7 & 8 figure) high-risk cases on a nationwide basis -- entirely by telephone. I charge a pre-negotiated fixed success fee -- always equally shared by the parties -- which I am paid if and only if I am successful in getting the case settled. Bottom-Line Mediation has proven to be extremely effective. I have amassed over a quarter of a billion dollars of settlements in the approximate several dozen Bottom-Line Mediations done to date.