I ask a lot of questions too.

An unexpected benefit that I’ve come across in my nascent mediation practice is how much fun it is to mediate cases in practice areas with which I have little (or no) familiarity. It has been a lot of fun to learn how other attorneys in my practice area work—something I see less directly every day—but it’s really cool to see how attorneys in totally different areas of the law practice. There is a great quote from Mads Mikelsen that captures my approach better than I could:

I ask a million questions, and I insist on having answers. I think that is what we have to do. I have to know what the director wants. Some are very much in their head, and I need to force it out of them. I just can't play around for eight hours and see if something happens.

This is, more or less, my approach to figuring things out. If I have time I’ll do some legal research, but more often I’m better served by asking the attorneys. If you want the inside track, here are some of the questions I find myself asking all the time:

• If you aren’t able to settle the case, how does it end? Do you get a jury trial? Bench trial? Cross-motions for summary?
• What would it cost to try this case?
• What damages are you entitled to under this theory? How are you calculating the damages?
• Are there any other settlement considerations we should think about aside from the money?
• Can we structure a settlement differently to make it more palatable, or more attractive? Can it be paid over time? Can a portion be contingent on the sale of the underlying asset?

Mikkelsen’s quote is particularly applicable to mediations because I don’t want to waste anybody’s time. The only thing worse than driving to Detroit (or logging onto Zoom for that matter) for a long mediation that goes nowhere is having to pay for the privilege. Our view is good, but it isn’t that good.