Frederick Alimonti
Alimonti Law Offices, P.C
8 Madison Avenue
Second Floor
Valhalla, NY 10595
Phone: (914) 948-8044
Fax: (914) 946-8058
fpa@alony.com
Personal Mediation Guidelines
Pledge to Participants
If we work together, we can make this a worthwhile and effective process. For my part, I will study all materials you provide and make every effort to understand the law and facts applicable to your case. If the case needs to be further developed after our first session, we will discuss scheduling options and open items so that we may meet as productively as possible.
The mediation will be entirely confidential. I will not share anything with the other side that you do not authorize, and the only report I will make to the court is the settlement status of the case, i.e., whether it did or did not settle.
What approach is expected of Participants?
Participants are expected to know their case and to attend the mediation with the party (or entity) having settlement authority. Exceptions must be agreed in advance with the mediator. All parties are respectfully reminded that although litigation is an adversarial process, a mediation is not a trial. While I expect you to advocate on behalf of your client, it is my experience that all participants are best served by approaching mediation as a common problem to be solved, not a zero-sum game to win or lose.
Procedure
Approximately two weeks before the mediation, I will expect the following:
(1) Exchanged mediation statements. These submissions should not exceed five pages and should set forth the critical facts and legal arguments. If it is necessary to attach supporting documents, please attach only relevant portions or, alternatively, highlight and tab the critical portions. These submissions are to be shared with opposing counsel at the same time they are sent to me. E-mail is the preferred delivery method: fpa@alony.com.
(2) Ex parte settlement memorandum This should be a single-page document, e-mailed by each party, that sets out your views as to settlement [and settlement range] and your basis for this position.
About one week before the mediation, I will set a date to begin ex parte teleconferences with both parties. The purpose of these calls is to establish some rapport with each party before the actual mediation and to explore the settlement possibilities along with any perceived obstacles to a productive mediation. There may be several rounds of these teleconferences, depending upon the needs of your case and what can be resolved pre-mediation.
The mediation itself will consist of opening statements from all parties and a series of caucus sessions separately with the parties. These sessions will continue as necessary until the case settles or we reach an impasse. If appropriate, we may also hold additional joint sessions as the day continues. I generally allow for four hours per mediation session. If the case does not settle but there is reason to believe that additional sessions (perhaps after additional discovery) will be helpful, I will work with the parties to schedule additional mediation sessions as necessary.
I view serving as a Mediator to be a privilege, and I look forward to working with you!